I haven't seen it, but we do have an itemized contract that includes a certain number of learned songs. This was more a "hey, would you guys be able to squeeze this one in too".
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Last minute request for wedding
- Thread starter DaveParker39
- Start date
I answered, it was a Tim McGraw song I just didn't remember the name.
I went back and looked and it is "My little girl"
I can play the bass by reading the chord chart, it's the rest of the band I'm not sure about. We're two guitars, drummer, bassist, and a female lead singer. All of us except for the drummer sing as well. The song has piano and strings we would have to adapt.
I might actually be the only guy in the band who can hit the low notes vocally and I don't think I can get this song down beyond karaoke level in a few days in terms of singing. Bass no problem.
Our lead singer could probably do it an octave up with enough time.
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I've been running pubs and clubs for nearly 30 years and prior to that was a roadie and DJ for about 8 years. The biggest fights I've ever seen have nearly all involved weddings. The standout one was a wedding in one of the function rooms at a huge club. The groom, best men, bride and most of the brides-maids attacked security when their alcohol had been cut off. There were about 20 security trying their best to subdue them. Eventually police turned up and the bride, groom, and numerous others got to spend the night in lockup.
Play the actual recording. Who needs that nonsense? If you all want to learn the song for the fun of it, that's another story.
My days in nyc I played a corp /wedding band to pay the rent and fund my jazz habit . The last minute request was common and usually an “easy” song. Sometimes we would learn part of the song and play it as part of a medley. But many times it was on the fly , or after one listen . Often we would also transpose it to our singers key on the fly .Really not that uncommon I think I’m todays pro wedding bands .
Wish the op best of luck ! It does sound like your group has the skill and time to learn it , but don’t want the hassle , which is definitely a choice.
Wish the op best of luck ! It does sound like your group has the skill and time to learn it , but don’t want the hassle , which is definitely a choice.
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I would say no. You would have to either find a version with the instruments in your band or come up with your own rendition. I am not familiar with it, but it sounds very piano and string heavy. Might also have to transcribe it to a different key if your singer is unable to sing in that key. Too short of notice imho.
I think if it was a situation where it wasn't something we had to alter significantly in order to play and/or was a song we might see ourselves playing again down the road, we might try it. But with one rehearsal left that is two days before the wedding, it's a push.
Also, I should add, neither bride nor groom are going to be upset or disappointed if we don't play it. They just said "if you can that would be awesome but we understand if you can't"
My I-tunes has a bunch of songs I would never buy that we had to learn in the car at the gig because of a last minute request at a wedding or corporate event.
I listened to it on YT and read the comments. Definitely a Wedding Rock classic. At least they didn't ask you to play Forever by Kiss or Love of a Lifetime by Firehouse.
One of the top comments on YT reads: "I danced this song with my daughter at her wedding on July 25, 2015. As the lyrics conjured up memories of all our special times together, we were both reduced to tears. She's all grown up now; a professional woman with a wonderful husband (who's almost good enough), but she is no doubt still my little girl.
Kristy, I love you so very much. Nobody has brought me more happiness than you, my sweet daughter. This song will always have a special place in my heart because of you."
Yuck.
Anyhow, seems a bit tricky to nail given that the strings and piano are key and you have neither in your band. Yes, you could figure out the arrangement as others suggest but it will most likely disappoint. Press play, and walk away.
I play gigs at churches, with players that can all learn a new set of 4 or 5 songs in 5 days. Some bands can’t learn a new song in a month. Whether or not learning one new song in 5 days is “reasonable” is not the real question - the question is if your band is that capable.
If you aren’t, don’t promise to do it - tanking a big part of someone’s wedding not only hurts your reputation, it may unlock the rage of bridezilla, or (even worse) her mom.
If you aren’t, don’t promise to do it - tanking a big part of someone’s wedding not only hurts your reputation, it may unlock the rage of bridezilla, or (even worse) her mom.
If your band is trying to break into the lucrative-but-very-strange wedding gig circuit, "My Little Girl" would actually be a good song to have in your repertoire. Sometimes weddings make a big deal about a Daddy-Daughter dance. Everyone else clears the floor and the bride and her father dance a slow dance, as the center of attention. Then dad sort of symbolically hands off responsibility for his little girl to her new husband, and they have their 'First Dance' (even if they've been living together for three years), everyone claps, and then general dancing resumes. This is exactly the sentiment expressed in My Little Girl, and it's about the right tempo for a Daddy-Daughter dance.
A stripped-down version with two acoustic guitars, no bass, no drums could work. You don't need the strings or piano really. The piano intro can be approximated with one guitar playing the left hand chords and the other guitar playing the right hand arpeggios. Other than that, simple chords, simple chord motion, a couple of simple guitar fills. [Get the drummer to play claves or wood block though, best not to let most drummers walk around unsupervised where there are drunk bridesmaids.
]best not to let most drummers walk around unsupervised where there are drunk bridesmaids.
Good, practical wisdom
As a former wedding photographer and bandleader, I couldn’t agree with this post more. Drummer could also use sidestick.If your band is trying to break into the lucrative-but-very-strange wedding gig circuit, "My Little Girl" would actually be a good song to have in your repertoire. Sometimes weddings make a big deal about a Daddy-Daughter dance. Everyone else clears the floor and the bride and her father dance a slow dance, as the center of attention. Then dad sort of symbolically hands off responsibility for his little girl to her new husband, and they have their 'First Dance' (even if they've been living together for three years), everyone claps, and then general dancing resumes. This is exactly the sentiment expressed in My Little Girl, and it's about the right tempo for a Daddy-Daughter dance.
A stripped-down version with two acoustic guitars, no bass, no drums could work. You don't need the strings or piano really. The piano intro can be approximated with one guitar playing the left hand chords and the other guitar playing the right hand arpeggios. Other than that, simple chords, simple chord motion, a couple of simple guitar fills. [Get the drummer to play claves or wood block though, best not to let most drummers walk around unsupervised where there are drunk bridesmaids.
Try to get it done with the simplified arrangement @MoireBass suggested. Really, you won’t regret it. Especially if the vocalist can cop a Tim McGraw vocal sound. That’s probably how the song was presented to him, anyway. Keep it simple, and let the vocalist control the tempos.
Same. Last minute as in: We're on stage and the bride's mom wants to sing some obscure song. Hey, it's their party, we'll give it a try.Last minute song requests seem to happen for pretty much every wedding in my experience
If your band is trying to break into the lucrative-but-very-strange wedding gig circuit, "My Little Girl" would actually be a good song to have in your repertoire. Sometimes weddings make a big deal about a Daddy-Daughter dance. Everyone else clears the floor and the bride and her father dance a slow dance, as the center of attention. Then dad sort of symbolically hands off responsibility for his little girl to her new husband, and they have their 'First Dance' (even if they've been living together for three years), everyone claps, and then general dancing resumes. This is exactly the sentiment expressed in My Little Girl, and it's about the right tempo for a Daddy-Daughter dance.
A stripped-down version with two acoustic guitars, no bass, no drums could work. You don't need the strings or piano really. The piano intro can be approximated with one guitar playing the left hand chords and the other guitar playing the right hand arpeggios. Other than that, simple chords, simple chord motion, a couple of simple guitar fills. [Get the drummer to play claves or wood block though, best not to let most drummers walk around unsupervised where there are drunk bridesmaids.
Fair point. While I'm still not comfortable learning it for Saturday it might be a good one... that's kinda why we learned "Amazed" by Lonestar despite not being remotely a country band... it comes in handy in situations like this.
We do a fair amount of weddings but don't often get asked to play country songs because of our reputation for being rockers... we are doing four country songs already for this wedding (I'm singing a Vince Gill song) and it's been fun working them out.
Oh, jeeze. We learned this one years ago specifically for weddings. We were rehearsing it for the first time and trying to be funny, I replaced the line "The smell of your skin" with "The smell of foreskin", cracking up the whole band. It was all we could hold it together through that song for the actual wedding and anytime we've played it since. Hell, I'm giggling as I'm writing this. I really need to grow up.
