repertoire of songs

[Nama Ensou]

Originally Posted by leew3

...singers shouldn't talk and vice versa.

This is a great point, and while I don't often follow it, talking during break in a loud room is an ironically easy way to find your voice worn down just following what was supposed to be a recovery period. All things in moderation, and if you're going to talk while on break, continue to pay attention to your breathing and take extra care when the room is loud.

[tdrake]

Originally Posted by leew3

My motto is that singers shouldn't talk and vice versa.

Heh, I like this, and as a singer who hates to talk, I'm for it.

BUT, on the other hand: it was my more outgoing instrumentalist bandmates who loved to schmooze during breaks who would most often line up the next gigs.

[Nama Ensou]

Originally Posted by tdrake

BUT, on the other hand: it was my more outgoing instrumentalist bandmates who loved to schmooze during breaks who would most often line up the next gigs.

Hah! I actually signed a 4-night a week job that turned into a two month gig, with a drunk guy whose son (also drunk) had come in the night before spewing all this stuff about his dad owning a bar and would book us if he came in and heard us! Keep them guys talking and line up those next gigs!

[J Patrick]

…I’ve found it varies….break time that is….and is best decided by the venue or event manager….personally I’d be comfortable playing most any 3 hour engagement with about forty songs to choose from….figuring I’d, play 25-30 of them…..

[The Bard Rocks]

If it's a concert, I play for an hour, take off 10 minutes or so, then play to finish out the second hour. Here, the intros are more important, but I still try to keep them under 1 minute. When working up a set list, I plan on 12-13 songs, but put in 14-15 with some "throwaways" near the end of each set, ones that I can easily skip if needed.

When I am background music, then I might just keep playing. And keep any spoken intros very very short. So then it would be 15-16 songs per hour, with a couple more prepared for "just in case".

[bufflehead]

Twenty minute breaks? Is that legal?

[buddyhu]

It depends on what kind of gig you have.

If you are playing at a Farmers Market, or some other venue where people wont linger for more than 40 minutes (and most will be there much less than 40 minutes), you could repeat your songs, and maybe only need 15-20 songs, and it would be fine if you took a 10-15 minute break every hour.

If you are playing quietly at a winery or a restaurant or a gallery opening, you would be wise to take fewer and shorter breaks, and to have many more songs in your rpertoire.

If you are playing in a bar, you already have good advice from other posts to the thread: know LOTS of somgs, take short infrequent breaks, otherwise you will lose some of your momentum, and you lose your audience.

[rabbuhl]

We do around 10 songs in an hour (+/- 2 songs). What also helps is to make a Spotify set list with the songs. You can see approx how long it takes to play those songs. Your set list should group songs which fit together. Play set 1, take a break, then set 2, etc.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by ggibson189

How many songs do you need to know to start out playing 3 hour sets?

Are sets typically 40 minutes on, 20 minute break?

How many (average) songs per set?

A three hour set, sounds like a pub or restaurant gig to me.
That implies that your "audience" is there to et and drink and talk to each other, and you are a human jukebox.

If so, here are two ways to "entertain"
1. sing pop songs that they'll know.
2. sing/play in the back ground, that doesn't interfere wih their evening.

I took over a restaurant spot from a friend a while ago (pre covid).
He sings pop songs and was well known to most in the town.

I don't do pop songs. I found that my National played
gently with bottleneck and some nice instrumentals played on my dread worked best. interspaced with some medium tempo songs.
In that context you can get through songs like a juke box, but you can take five/ten minutes "comfort stop" every 30 minutes or so.

For a concert for a listening audience I work on five minutes a song.

I do talk to audiences in this case whilst adjusting tuning, capo etc., and introducing the next song - in a way that they can understand what you are saying,(No mumbling while eating an SM58 (!) and keep it short and appropriate.

Always have an up tempo "interesting" chord progression for the first song, and if possible vary your sound - I use my 12 string for every 4th/5th song just to change the dynamic.

Always have far more songs available in case of encores, and be prepared for interruptions shortened or lengthened sets.