How do I create my first setlist?

[HELLonWHEELS]

Ive been a LOOOONG time member of TB, but had always been a bedroom/jam kind of guy until a couple weeks ago i stumbled across a craigslist post of a band looking for a bass player. Turns out I have decent chemistry with the guys so I’m giving the whole band thing a shot.

So now we're at the point where we're choosing songs to play. What songs are successful in live audiences? Do you have a methodology for creating a set list?

NOTE: We're all in our late 20s, the band consists of drums, guitar/vocals, bass, and we live in Texas

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Just my opinion, but I think we need more info to make any suggestions.

What kind of band are you going to be? Rock? Country? Jazz? Dance band? Blues? Metal?

Is your goal to have a dance floor or just to have people "hang" and enjoy your tunes?

That's probably just the tip of the iceberg for info that's needed to determine song choices. And buyer beware, the opinions you'll get here on TB will be from ALL ends of the spectrum.

 

[HELLonWHEELS]

Just my opinion, but I think we need more info to make any suggestions.

What kind of band are you going to be? Rock? Country? Jazz? Dance band? Blues? Metal?

Is your goal to have a dance floor or just to have people "hang" and enjoy your tunes?

That's probably just the tip of the iceberg for info that's needed to determine song choices. And buyer beware, the opinions you'll get here on TB will be from ALL ends of the spectrum.

Genre would have helped, personally I'm open to pretty much everything expect metal. The other guys in the band aren't the classically trained so jazz is out of the question as well.

My main goal for playing live is to be entertaining, I'm thinking music that will want to make people move (at least a little bit).

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Genre would have helped, personally I'm open to pretty much everything expect metal. The other guys in the band aren't the classically trained so jazz is out of the question as well.

My main goal for playing live is to be entertaining, I'm thinking music that will want to make people move (at least a little bit).

If you want people to "move" you need an upbeat groove. Being 3 piece limits you a little. I was in a band with that same lineup for many years. We had lots of luck with things like Stray Cats, Beatles, Free, SRV. Use your imagination and think of things you'd like to hear. The world is yours if you're starting out.

 

[craigie]

Since you’re in Texas you could feature songs from some of the amazing Texan bands:

Zz top, buddy holly, SRV, Steve Earle, Kenny Rogers, Roy Orbison, a zillion blues guys...

You know better than I do.

 

[crguti]

with a blank piece of paper and a pen.

 

[hrodbert696]

A lot depends on who's singing. Pick songs they can pull off effectively.

A lot also depends on the crowd. Figure out what they like to hear. Generally people want to hear songs they know.

I believe it's better to have a band where you can define what you do in a very brief phrase, like not more than three or four words. Six Cowards covers contemporary alternative rock, for instance. "Contemporary" here means 2000s. It can be the kiss of death to try to do a little bit of everything. You wind up with a three hour gig where any given person in the audience will like one song you do at some point and is "meh" about the rest.

I'd suggest scouting out the bars and clubs you think you might gig at. Check out the crowd, see what kind of people are out. Don't just cut and paste the set lists of other bands, but pick music that goes with those crowds. If it's a country crowd, pick country music. Hipster crowd, play indie stuff. Etc. Best bet is to focus on songs that were popular when the average person in the crowd was in high school - subtract 15 from whatever their average age is and get music from that many years ago, give or take five years (e.g. a bar full of 50-year-olds is going to respond best to music from 35 years ago, i.e. 80s stuff).

 

[buldog5151bass]

@hrodbert696 is right. If the vocals stink, it doesn't matter how popular the song is.

I would check out some bands at the he places where you want to play. Find out what goes over well

 

[mrcbass]

Sounds like there's really no plan yet, which is fine. In this situation, I'd have each guy suggest three songs on the easier side of the bar just to start getting the groove on and start to bond musically. Put them in a key that the singer can manage.

If everybody comes in with similar genred songs, you'll have direction to follow - hopefully it is a genre tha will allow you to reach your collective goals (gigging, recording, whatever it is you want to do).

If they are different genres, you can collectively decide if you prefer to focus on one avenue or create a band tha can do multiple genres - it's not at all unusual for cover bands to do a mix of classic rock and country.

If you want to gig, you need to figure out what types of events/venues you can target - this may influence the direction you go as well - it doesn't make snese to build a death metal band if there is no easy path to perfornming it. I've seen more than one prioject fold because there really was no plan to book gigs.

After you figure out your genre plan, then you need a workable method for new songs addition - a lot of times this will fall on the lead singer as they will need to be able to actually sing the song and liking it helps to sell it. If more than one will sing - you may have a rule that says, "if you bring it, sing it" - you'll always know that the singer has a pan for pulling it off. It's not unusual for new songs to not make the cut - some stuff works and somestuff just doesn't for differnt reasons. Don't hesitate to drop songs that don't feel right to your groove regardless of how popular they are.

Have fun and good luck!

 

[JRA]

What songs are successful in live audiences? Do you have a methodology for creating a set list?

My main goal for playing live is to be entertaining, I'm thinking music that will want to make people move (at least a little bit).

i'm going to take it as 'a given' that all of you are hip enough to peruse the local music scene (especially places you want to play) and come with ideas --- you don't have to do all the same tunes as the band on stage, but what kinds of material/arrangements are "moving" people to dance or pay attention?

good luck on your project and your first setlist!

 

[TBPlayerOC]

For the bands I have been part of, we have always had 3 simple rules for selecting songs.
1. The song is one that everyone knows, i.e. popular
2. The song is one the people can dance to
3. The band has to be able to play it

 

[CallMeAl]

Lots of good tips already, way to go TB! I'll stress songs someone can sing, and songs that are easy to start you off. Let yourselves get to know each other as musicians and really lock in.

Our band has well over 100 tunes in our book. We play anything from classic rock, blues and roots rock n roll, to country and bluegrass, to jazz and folky rock. This allows us to cater to the venue and crowd. That will be down the road for you, but something to think about!

 

[StyleOverShow]

Some general rules:

- try to avoid playing songs in e same key back to back, ‘everything sounds the same’. If you’re playing in E and A a lot try to break up the songs that have similar rhythms.

- the setlist should have an Arc. Start with something snappy and close with something anthemic. If you slow it down be careful about bringing the audience along with you.

- if your start time doesn’t coincide with the arrival of your audience play a few tunes to buy time then go to the start of your setlist even if you have to cannibalize your laid out plans. You want to put our best foot forward.

- These are guidelines. Go with the flow, watch the audience for signs of fatigue. Make changes as necessary.

 

[DirtDog]

Sounds like there's really no plan yet, which is fine. In this situation, I'd have each guy suggest three songs on the easier side of the bar just to start getting the groove on and start to bond musically. Put them in a key that the singer can manage.

If everybody comes in with similar genred songs, you'll have direction to follow - hopefully it is a genre tha will allow you to reach your collective goals (gigging, recording, whatever it is you want to do).

If they are different genres, you can collectively decide if you prefer to focus on one avenue or create a band tha can do multiple genres - it's not at all unusual for cover bands to do a mix of classic rock and country.

If you want to gig, you need to figure out what types of events/venues you can target - this may influence the direction you go as well - it doesn't make snese to build a death metal band if there is no easy path to perfornming it. I've seen more than one prioject fold because there really was no plan to book gigs.

After you figure out your genre plan, then you need a workable method for new songs addition - a lot of times this will fall on the lead singer as they will need to be able to actually sing the song and liking it helps to sell it. If more than one will sing - you may have a rule that says, "if you bring it, sing it" - you'll always know that the singer has a pan for pulling it off. It's not unusual for new songs to not make the cut - some stuff works and somestuff just doesn't for differnt reasons. Don't hesitate to drop songs that don't feel right to your groove regardless of how popular they are.

Have fun and good luck!

Just want to +1 this as it's great advice - even for experienced bands!

 

[RichardW]

There are a thousand different ways to approach building a set list. Lots of good suggestions above, and I would add you need to know your audience/venue. Are you playing a bar where people will be there anyway and you're just the soundtrack? Will the audience be mostly friends or family? Average age of the audience? This last one is especially important, because most people want to hear music they listened to when they were young (say age 15 - 35). That means if your audience is mostly Baby Boomers, you'll want to play a lot of classic rock and Motown. If your audience is mostly Gen X, then you're looking at a lot of 90s-era grunge. If your audience is a bunch of 20-somethings, then you'll want a lot of contemporary stuff (hiphop, alt-rock, emo, etc). Within any of those broad ranges, you'll find plenty of stuff to get people moving.

Beyond that, my band likes to start each set with something really uptempo. We'll save slower stuff for mid-set, and then close again with uptempo. By the last set, however, we are generally going full bore on all uptempo/dance oriented stuff. That's when the audience is usually well into the music (and well lubricated by drink).

 

[waynobass]

Ignore clichéd generational distinctions. Play whatever songs you want to play well, and the audience will appreciate you.

 

[The Mogpipe]

Ive been a LOOOONG time member of TB, but had always been a bedroom/jam kind of guy until a couple weeks ago i stumbled across a craigslist post of a band looking for a bass player. Turns out I have decent chemistry with the guys so I’m giving the whole band thing a shot.

So now we're at the point where we're choosing songs to play. What songs are successful in live audiences? Do you have a methodology for creating a set list?

NOTE: We're all in our late 20s, the band consists of drums, guitar/vocals, bass, and we live in Texas

You should do Helen Wheels by Wings

 

[zubrycky]

My general formula is 3 fast songs, 1 slow song, 3 fast songs, 1 slow song, 3 fast songs, 1 slow song... You get the idea.

Also avoid playing consecutive songs in the same key.

 

[grillman]

Choose a song you like

>> follow Youtube recommandations

 

[TheReceder]

If I'm doing a setlist for a bar band, I try to keep things up tempo till about the 6th or 7th song, then throw in a slow song and an anthem rock type song. This gives the people a chance to hit the bar, and waitresses a chance to take and deliver orders. Let the bar know about what time they'll be getting slammed. This kind of communication gets my bands hired back. Come back with strong dance tunes till the last song of the set, then end big. My goal. Make people thirsty and generate revenue for the bar. I've been at gigs where there were record alcohol sales.... and the bands weren't that great. Just played the right things at the right times.