SLOW SONGS - HOW DO YOU HANDLE?

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TJS

GetSomeJuJu
Nov 8, 2018
350
372
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Ankeny, IA
www.jujulab.rocks
Just posting a curious question (didn't see this on any previous posts). Assume the bride/groom or whomever did not give you a list of specific slow songs or anything like that. How many do YOU play at one time? Also, how many songs as a whole do you typically play during the course of an evening and.... how far apart?

Sometimes I feel like slow songs are just a gamble. I personally like them but then again, I like to dance no matter what. From a DJ perspective though, you could have good energy on the dance floor and as soon as a slow song comes on either people stay or people get weirded out and clear out if no one is necessarily dancing with a significant other anyway. Then you're stuck rebuilding the dance floor again after the slow song killed it. On the other hand, the dude who can't (or won't) normally dance sitting with his wife/girlfriend (who likes to dance) gets an opportunity to dance and appease his significant other since all he has to do is "stand in one place and sway". So clearly slow songs can get other people involved during the evening. Anyway, sometimes I feel like they can just be buzz kills to the energy I'm trying to create in the room. Undecided...Thoughts?
 
I play 0-3 slow songs in a night... many couples tell me just one and many are starting to tell me none, as was the case on sunday's wedding. I will NEVER do a slow song in the middle of a set unless the set is extremely long and people just need a change of pace... but for most of my clientele that isnt an issue... have done plenty 2hr+ sets without a single slow song.

If I play slow songs, I typically do 1-2 to open up the dancefloor after dinner and ease into dancing, and start things off w a packed floor. I say 1 or 2, bc if the first one didn't do well in packing the floor or people started getting on the floor with 30 seconds left in the song, I'll add another to extend that moment... and then pick it right up. Sometimes I'll play 1 other one before cake cutting or during dessert when people are on line getting ice cream or whatever (don't forget around here cake cutting and dessert is typically 1-1.5hrs before end time), or if there are multiple courses with dancing in between I may do one there. But 90% of my weddings its just 1 slow song right after dinner and thats about it.

Many of my clients are starting to avoid them like they avoid line dances.
 
I play no more than 2 at a wedding reception. It's usually done with one of them very near the beginning to get people moving. Older couples love it also, especially the ones that want to get in one dance with their date and then leave.
 
If I played 8 songs in 5 minutes I would be booed at loudly ... I can see that for teens, but ...
 
If I played 8 songs in 5 minutes I would be booed at loudly ... I can see that for teens, but ...
Depends on the couple for weddings... those that wanna stay more current expect faster mixing... those that want more of a mix of old and new expect the older stuff to be done in the style their parents would appreciate. Sometimes I get couples that give me a lot more requests than normal and explain it’ll be hard to get them all in, to the response of no worries, we only wanna hear a minute of each song anyways so do what you can. Greek music is the same... 1 verse 1 chorus next. And that’s actually not a DJ thing in the Greek culture... it’s at live concerts. Singers perform their songs in full early on, and the second half of the concert (when everyone starts dancing on tables and such lol) is when the singer performs all the current and past anthems of various singers in a medley style, so hE or she may perform 50-75 songs in just a couple of hours with a small break in the middle.
 
Depends on the couple for weddings... those that wanna stay more current expect faster mixing... those that want more of a mix of old and new expect the older stuff to be done in the style their parents would appreciate. Sometimes I get couples that give me a lot more requests than normal and explain it’ll be hard to get them all in, to the response of no worries, we only wanna hear a minute of each song anyways so do what you can. Greek music is the same... 1 verse 1 chorus next. And that’s actually not a DJ thing in the Greek culture... it’s at live concerts. Singers perform their songs in full early on, and the second half of the concert (when everyone starts dancing on tables and such lol) is when the singer performs all the current and past anthems of various singers in a medley style, so hE or she may perform 50-75 songs in just a couple of hours with a small break in the middle.
Either the songs suck enough to have to do it, or Millennials don't have the attention span .. :)

I know you do it and it appears to be what your clientele wants, but older folks HATE it .. just for the record ..
 
i like the idea of mainly focusing on 1-2 at the beginning to get people on the floor. I can see those who leave earlier appreciating a chance to get a slow dance in, especially if it's something like What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong or a classic that appeals to several generations. That way I don't have to hijack my set in the middle with a sudden energy dump.
 
Again, it would appear that age factors into the number of slow song played. Younger age just want to "bounce" around and weave with the music, whereas older couples don't have the stamina and want to "dance" to their favorite ageless standards (Unchained Melody--Righteous Brothers, or Wonderful Tonight--Eric Clapton, or Crazy--Patsy Cline.

I frequently do 55+ community dances where the pace is just the opposite--4 or 5 slow songs, a line dance, a few jukebox up-tempo hits...then back to slow dances (Sinatra, Tony Bennett).
 
Most of my weddings are any where from 2 to 5 slow dance songs for the whole night excluding parent dance and first dance. 5 is kinda rare, but 2 to 3 happens at 75% of my weddings, and 4 occur at about 10%. I would say that ONLY 1 occurs at 5%, ZERO at 5% and 5 at 5% give or take of course! :)

There have been a handful in the past where I played 6 or more slow dance songs, but I have not done one of those in at least 5 years.

It depends, BUT I always recommend at least 2 because the older crowd LOVES slow dance songs, and honesty, most upper 20, 30 and 40 somethings will get out with their S/O and dance as well.

If the couple has elected for me to perform a married couples dance. Then that is 1, and I will play at least 2 to 4 later in the night. I usually TRY to time my first slow dance set AFTER the cake cutting if the cake cutting is scheduled after open dancing starts. I already had the action broken up by the cake cutting. The cake has to be cut, and it's tough to get people back into fast dancing right aft the cake cutting. So that is an optimum time to slow it down for 2 songs in a row.

If no married couples dance, then usually I get 2 to 3 in total. Usually 2 in mid way through the night, and 1 in towards the end of the night.

If you want to consider Sweet Caroline a "Slow Dance" then that can be added to the list typically. I also often will go into that after a couple of slow dances and build momentum from there. About 30% to 40% of my weddings have Sweet Caroline on the request list on my form. Sometimes it is a must play selection

Personally, I do not like doing a wedding without a single slow dance. ThE Wedding celebration is centered around LOVE, and slow dancing with the one you love goes hand in hand with that. Rave, or absolute fast dance party weddings just feel a bit empty at the end of the night if there wasn't a slow dance that everyone could have a chance to partake in.
 
I typically open the dance floor with one, and play one second to last. Whether I do any more depends on the room. Probably 4 at the MOST in a night unless I've been given specific instructions to go heavy on them. But 2-3 is more typical.
 
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Either the songs suck enough to have to do it, or Millennials don't have the attention span .. :)

I know you do it and it appears to be what your clientele wants, but older folks HATE it .. just for the record ..

I still think it depends on the tune. The only part of Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody that people care about is the chorus. But the song is 5:14 long! Nobody needs the whole song. People just want to sing along for a bit, and then you can keep it moving.

Similarly... boomers love the Grease Megamix. So I think it has more to do with what songs are being played, versus are you mixing through them quickly. :)
 
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but older folks HATE it .. just for the record ..

hmmmmmm i know you guys keep saying this....but ...be honest with yourself....have you ever even done it....skillfully?

old folks LOVE Jive Bunny...Stars on 45... and as Ross said... The Grease Megamix...

ALL Skillfully done quick mixes...

When i do my old people sets ...they are redrums...and I play verse and chorus... and there are cheers galore....i can also hit like 10 to 15 of their favorite songs before they even have a chance to breathe... They scream out the chorus...and cheer when the next one slides in effortlessly...and im talking 70 to 80 years olds.

If you are not a skilled mixer... then yes... any feeble attempt at slopping together a few songs at multiple bpms and a skewed vibe and flow will result in hate from your crowd... but...be honest...are they mad at the length music...or at you.

cc
 
hmmmmmm i know you guys keep saying this....but ...be honest with yourself....have you ever even done it....skillfully?

old folks LOVE Jive Bunny...Stars on 45... and as Ross said... The Grease Megamix...

ALL Skillfully done quick mixes...

When i do my old people sets ...they are redrums...and I play verse and chorus... and there are cheers galore....i can also hit like 10 to 15 of their favorite songs before they even have a chance to breathe... They scream out the chorus...and cheer when the next one slides in effortlessly...and im talking 70 to 80 years olds.

If you are not a skilled mixer... then yes... any feeble attempt at slopping together a few songs at multiple bpms and a skewed vibe and flow will result in hate from your crowd... but...be honest...are they mad at the length music...or at you.

cc
I will also take exception to "old folks LOVE .. " I've played all those .. not as much love around here .. YMMV.
 
I don't play any slow in the first set - we just had first and parent dances, I want people up and engaged, drinking, etc.

About 30-45 min in we'll do garter/bouquet, etc and then more fast -then a slow song, if it goes well, I'll play a second. Then back to fast.

It's very traditional here to do a money dance/dollar dance - some run 20 minutes, all slow songs. So I skip playing any near that event.

After that read the floor...if slow fills the floor and fast doesn't...more slow. And vice versa.