How to Perform Background Music

As a musician, the spotlight is usually yours. After all, capturing the full attention of the audience is part of the job, but for some gigs, you need to take a step back and provide the background music. This demands a really different way of working and of performing and can sometimes be hard to pull off. Here, Guestblogger Kevin Okkema offers some tips for getting the best out of those quieter shows.

Playing Background Music Demands a Different Mindset

I’m a wedding singer and songwriter, so I play at a lot of gatherings and receptions. In that situation, people are busy having a chat over a drink or snack and generally just mingling and enjoying themselves. After every gig like that, someone will inevitably ask me: “Don’t you find it annoying that everyone talked through your set and didn’t even clap for you?” It’s not a strange question because generally, we think that any performing artist always demands the full attention of everyone in the room when they play. The thing is, background music has a different function. All you’re really doing is filling in the silence and providing a backdrop for the guests’ bubbling conversations. Your job isn’t to entertain the masses but to create the atmosphere.

This demands a different mindset and was something I really had to get used to in the beginning. There’s a constant buzzing in the room while you’re playing and, when you finish a song, no one is going to give you any applause or cheers. But what I’ve learned is that, the lack of response doesn’t necessarily mean that no one is into what you’re playing. That people are having a good time and a good catch up is actually a compliment to your playing – you’re contributing to all of that.

How to Perform Background Music

Pick a Set to Fit the Event

When you’re providing the background music, you’re essentially playing in service of the event so it’s important to build the right repertoire to fit the atmosphere. This means you need to check in advance where you’ll be playing and get some details about the event or the vibe. If you’re playing while people are enjoying a luxurious feast in the ballroom of a castle, then some jazz standards or more chilled pop songs will do the trick. If you’ve been booked to play a fun wedding reception on the beach, then you’ll want some good up-tempo tracks in your set. The first rule of putting together your set is to never underestimate the difference that your background music will make to the ambience of the night.

Know Who You’re Playing For

Besides knowing what kind of venue and event you’re playing at, you also need to make sure that you’re playing the right material for your audience. You want the songs you play to appeal to the majority, not the minority, so if I only play the songs that I like it means I’m pretty much ignoring the atmosphere and I’m unlikely to get any further bookings out of it. So, try to tailor your set to suit the kinds of people that are likely to be there. What’s the average age and what kind of people would you usually find at these kinds of events? When I play at a wedding, I often try to cater for the widest audience possible – from the teenagers all the way up to the grandmas and grandpas, so mainstream hits from various decades will always have a broad appeal. I recommend having a look through the top 100 songs of all time for inspiration.

How to Perform Background Music

Match Your Volume to the Sound in the Room

Before anyone books me for an event they always ask me how loudly I’m likely to play. Will people still be able to have a conversation? While a DJ can get away with playing the music too loudly for people to hear each other, a background musician cannot. With this in mind, always try to match your decibel level (so your volume) with the volume in the room you’re playing in. You might mean that you need to keep adjusting levels during the first couple of songs, but the moment you can hear that people are laughing and joking with one another, you know you’ve hit the sweet spot. When you’re playing outdoors, getting the volume levels right is actually a lot easier than if you’re in a really noisy space. In any case, I always recommend playing using in-ear monitors so you can hear yourself clearly.

Always Play Amplified

To get the right volume level, it just makes sense to always play amplified or using a PA system. If you play acoustic instruments, then it’s worth kitting yourself out with an electro-acoustic model, otherwise you’ll never be able to balance your volume with the volume of the people chatting in the room. You’ll just be too quiet. Also, trying to sing over all that clamour without a microphone can be a nightmare for your vocal cords. Luckily there are plenty of great solutions out there for amplifying smaller live groups. I use a really compact and simple line-array box with a 4-channel mixer built in. It’s really quick and easy to set up and fits in the boot of my car.

Being a working musician is tough, so having an extra revenue stream like performing at weddings and other events can really help, and I hope that my tips for being a good background musician have also helped. Are you also a background musician and have some extra tricks to share? Let us know in the comments!