Do you use a set list or just go with the flow?

[Gostwriter]

Do you have a set list or just go with the flow? Care to share your favorite set list?

[ebick]

I generally have an idea of what I want to play, but keep it loose within that, no set list.

[rmyAddison]

I have "rough" set lists, and I mostly do dinner/concerts (one a month booked in 2013, at 63 that's enough, strictly for fun). My sets are 90% original so my list is no good to anybody but me..........

I go by the audience, will do more covers if there are more younger folks, but I'm basically there to do my stuff and have some fun.

[Ed422]

When I was playing in preschools, I'd talk to the teacher and play songs that supported the weekly theme or daily lesson plan. When I go to open mics, I pick a few songs and practice them as I'll play them. When I was running an open mic, I went with the flow and played whatever I thought was called for. At song circles I usually have a few songs I specifically practice, but if the circle is going in a direction that calls for something else I try to go with it.

Ed

[MikeD]

Depends on who I'm playing with. With one group we have set lists, but we also have something called the "parking lot" where we keep about 12-15 songs that we're familiar with just in case we feel we need to take the set in a different direction either based on requests or based on mood. With the other group I play with we have an idea of what we want to play, but we usually just end up jumping around a list of about 200 songs and tailor the set to the venue & crowd at the bar. Both way work, but both have their issues. I kind of like to know what's coming next, but I also like the freedom of changing things up depending on the mood.

[ukejon]

I keep it rather open and play what I want to play on uke and then guitar:


UKE (Standard Tuning)

1. All Is Fair In Love/Blame It On The Sun (S. Wonder)
2. America (V. Vox)
3. Annie's Song/Ice Cream (J. Denver/S. McLaughlin)
4. Norwegian Wood/You Never Give Me Your Money/Here Comes the Sun
5. Blue Roses Falling (J. Shimabukuro)
6. Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon and Garfunkel)
7. Broken Waltz (J. Prown)
8. California Dreaming/Blue Skies/Stairway to Heaven/Sunny
9. Calling Shirley Ann (J. Prown)
10. Carolan’s Receipt/Dr. John Stafford (Turlough O’Carolan)
11. Casting Away (J. Prown)
12. Close To You (B. Bacharach)
13. Crosscurrent (J. Shimabukuro)
14. Dear Prudence/Something (Lennon/Mcartney/Harrison)
15. Desperado (Eagles)
16. Eleanor Rigby (Lennon/Mcartney)
17. Elegy For Luke (J. Prown)
18. Everybody's Talking At Me (H. Nilsson)
19. Fields of Gold (Sting)
20. Gazing (B. Paiva)
21. Ghost Riders In The Sky/Big Iron (S. Jones/M. Robbins)
22. Going To California (Led Zeppelin)
23. Hallelujah (Leonerd Cohen)
24. Here, There, and Everywhere/Yesterday/Let It Be (Lennon/Mcartney)
25. I Will Always Love You (D. Parton)
26. I'll Be There (Jackson 5)
27. I’ll See You In My Dreams (Isham Jones/Gus Kahn)
28. In My Life (Lennon/Mcartney)
29. Kelly’s Song 143 (J. Shimabukuro)
30. Killing Me Softly (R. Flack)
31. Little Wing (J. Hendrix)
32. Lullaby For Libra (J. Prown)
33. Manha De Carnival (Luis Bonfá and Antonio Maria)
34. Me and Shirley T (J. Shimabukuro)
35. Montpelier (J. Prown)
36. Never My Love (The Association)
37. Over The Rainbow (H. Arlen)
38. People Get Ready/Drift Away (C. Mayfield/Dobie Gray)
39. Piano Forte (J. Shimabukuro)
40. Runaway (D. Shannon)
41. Solitary Man (N. Diamond)
42. Sweet Child Of Mine (Guns and Roses)
43. Time After Time (C. Lauper)
44. Tiptoe Through The Tulips (J. Burke/A. Dubin)
45. Touch (J. Shimabukuro)
46. Under Paris Skies (J. Brun and H. Giraud)
47. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (G. Harrison)
48. Wish On My Star (J. Shimarukuro)
49. Yesterday Once More (R. Carpenter/J. Bettis)

UKE (FCEA Tuning)

1. Americana Medley
(Shenandoah/Lake of Ponchartrain/Shenandoah Falls/The Water Is Wide/My Old Kentucky Home/Oh Susannah)
2. Ol' Man River (J. Kern/O. Hammerstein)
3. Piecelet in F (J. Prown)
4. Saturday Morning (J. Prown)
5. Levi’s Landing (J. Prown)
6. The Son (J. Prown)
7. Katie Maloney (J. Prown)

GUITAR

1. Halfway Home (Tommy Emmanuel) Drop D/Capo II
2. Lewis & Clark (Tommy Emmanuel) Capo II
3. Since We Met (Tommy Emmanuel) Capo II
4. Angelina (Tommy Emmanuel) DADGBE/Capo II
5. Mombasa (Tommy Emmanuel)
6. Miyazaki’s Dream (Tommy Emmanuel)
7. Blue Moon/Walking In Memphis (Richard Rogers/Marc Cohn)
8. Flying Down KK (J. Prown)
9. Crystal Lake (J. Prown) DADGBE
10. Rising Blue (J. Prown)
11. Amazing Grace (Trad.)
12. Someone Like You (Adele)
13. Lovesong (The Cure)
14. Don’t Think Twice Its Alright/Early Morning Rain (Dylan/Lightfoot)
15. Drifting Past Maiden Rock (J. Prown) Drop D
16. Windy and Warm (J.D. Loudermilk)
17. C’mon Tommy (J. Prown)
18. Twin Peaks Theme (Martin Tallstrom) DGDGBE
19. Doc’s Song (J. Prown)
20. Common Ground (Andy Mckee) Drop D
21. Both Sides Now/Water Song (J. Mitchell/J. Kaukonen)

[Brant0086]

Back when I was playing live, it varied on the length I played. I only played acoustic for hours/multiple sets a handful of times, and I did play from a set-list. I played in rock bands (electric) and when we played long sets, we also played from setlists, but it was rather loose. When I/we opened or did an open mic (mostly to try out originals live) then it was pretty much ad-lib.
Playing on stage for hours and keeping the energy level up can be tough, and trying to remember which songs you have already played and wondering if you have played one of your best or not is tough to try and think about for me. However, audiences are always different and being to strict on your setlist can also be unproductive. I was playing one night in one of the electric bands I was in, and we did "Hey Jude." It was a younger audience and I really didn't think it would do well. We played it anyway. The whole crowd was singing the "na na na" parts with us. We played the song three times. No one was rolling their eyes that I could see. That was a case of doing ad-lib, yet we still played the set-list other than replacing a couple of songs with that one.

Bryant

[Fred]

If I'm playing for a "listening" audience, I have to fight performance anxiety by following a set list that I have practiced OVER AND OVER without variation well ahead of the event. If I'm playing background music, I have a list that I select from as the mood strikes. So it all has to do with my emotional state....

[Bob Womack]

I've done both. I typically prefer to work things up tightly but I have to say some of the most exciting gigs I've ever done were with a blues band that had no set list but thirty to forty years experience per person. We'd go in with no plans and decide on the first song while we set up. From there it was simply someone (audience or band) calling a name and, if needed, chords. We traded vocals to whomever knew the song and we trade off on leads. Talk about staying on the edge of your seat! I slept well after each of those gigs!

Bob

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Gostwriter

Do you have a set list or just go with the flow? Care to share your favorite set list?

Hi G-writer...

It really depends on the venue.

If we are background Musak, we usually start with a master list in front of us, and extend many pieces for extra verses.

If we are limited in time (like an hour for a noon-time at the library) we may theme it and build a list around the theme.

Sometimes we call those on the fly too.

For weddings, the agenda for the ceremony is set, but before or after (if we are asked to play before it starts or ends) we keep it light and often focused on church friendly music.

If we are in concert, and we only have 3 or 4 pieces, we know what we will play when before we ever do sound checks.

So there is no set one-list-fits-all for us.

We are more likely to save one of our better pieces to end on than to worry about the opening parts of a set.

[min7b5]

I go with the flow, but with an alphabetical list of forty or so tunes at my feet to remind me of my options

[Andromeda]

I do both, but mostly lean toward an established set list and would insert other material as mood warrented.

[TerryAllanHall]

I always bring along a set list, but deviate from it quite a bit, depending on the audience, specific requests and/or last minute ideas.

[bmc]

Master list of songs. Read the audience and what they respond to. We have about 100 songs. My partner has a photographic memory and has countless songs stored in his head. We've done complete nights of "by request", never having done songs before. If he knows the songs and I see what he's playing, it's usually easy. Weird arrangemnts require a good ear to follow where some songs are headed.

[jricc]

I have a list divided into 4 columns. The first is quieter songs, good for use in a restuarant/bar during dinner hour.
The second is a little more rock-y.
The third column has the sing- a- long songs.
The fourth column is a a little of everything.
I pick and choose from the columns.
My complete list is made up of about 175 songs.