Break the Rules for Wedding and Party Music
Thanks in advance for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas. I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation. Tell me what you think, and I'll reply. Promise.=========================================================
As far as I’m concerned, “Feel free to break the rules” is often the best advice.
For anything, including planning wedding and party music.
Its been said that rules are made to be broken, but of course, first you must learn the rules, so you can break them wisely.
Here I am, playing at a recent wedding reception in Saratoga. Thoughtful — wondering about the rules. Thanks for the photo, Todd Rafalovich.
Today two random comments from friends got me thinking about people who break the rules. First my sister Barbara mentioned that she was offended by all the nasty political comments she found on Pinterest. She asked wasn’t this against the rules?
I replied that I thought Pinterest was originally intended for people to organize and share pictures of things they’re interested in.
But now, like it or not, imaginative people always seem to break the rules and devise other uses. For everything imaginable. In a real sense, this is how we progress.
The second comment was from a friend I knew way back in my days teaching in high school. She posted a humorous list of “the way things used to be when we grew up in the good old days” and suggested that the country is going to Hell because we’re shackled with too many rules and regulations. Shouldn’t we break the rules?
Thanks, Deb. Maybe yes, maybe no. The way we live nowadays is way too complex for any blanket conclusion. Certainly many rules are trivial and ridiculous, but many others are crucially important.
Both comments got me thinking about people who break the rules. I bet many historians have traced the growth of civilization mainly by highlighting pioneers who were willing to break the rules — or at least stretch them beyond what anyone expected.
I thought of Steve Jobs’ video, “Here’s to the Crazy Ones“, which introduced Apple’s “Think Different” campaign. Watch it.
Can you see how all this “break the rules” business relates to planning music for a wedding or a party?
There’s the traditional repertoire of wedding music. Wagner’s “Here Comes the Bride”, Pachelbel”s “Canon in D”, Bach’s “Ave Maria”, and all the rest. But realize that once upon a time these tunes broke the current traditional rules and became popular to this day.
Many weddings still include “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”. Nevertheless, nowadays many people like to personalize their choices of music. They choose sentimental favorites or songs with their names in the title. Especially for wedding ceremonies.
Recently a bride named Wendy asked us to play “Windy” for her processional. (Remember the 1967 hit by “The Association”? Oh well, ask your grandmother…)
Popular recessional tunes we play, like “All You Need Is Love”, “I Just Called to Say I Love You”, and “Happy Together” may become traditional in another generation. And then you can bet some people will begin to break the rules and select some of today’s “rap” tunes. Or worse…
We all break SOME rules. How about YOU? How do you like to break the rules?
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Thanks for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas here. Got one or two? I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation -- I'll reply. Promise.
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Meanwhile, the Magnolia Jazz Band entertains at weddings and parties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are ever nearby, you’ll love catching us in action, seeing and hearing us create a great mood.
How can I help you? Call 408-245-9120 or use Robbie@MagnoliaJazz.com. Planning a celebration? Ask about our availability.
Categories: Planning Party Music