Arranging Your Setlist for Maximum Impact
What Makes a Great Setlist?
When you have a show booked, it's very important to make note of exactly when you're going to hit the stage and exactly when they're going to pull the plug on you (jk, but not really). It seems like obvious information, but what I'm getting at is how knowing this information and crafting a fitting setlist may very well determine how many fans you make, how many CDs you sell, or how soon you get signed! I'll tell you why
Amateur bands that have a limited number of songs in their catalogue or perhaps don't know any better simply throw all their songs on a sheet a paper randomly and hope it all goes well. This method is irresponsible, unprofessional, and a waste of everybody's time. If you're goal is to just have fun, then go for it in your mother's basement. But if you want to keep people interested in your music and not empty out the place, you'll need to learn what makes a good setlist.
The Basics:
A good set list will fill up the time you have on stage in the most exciting, dynamic way possible and keep your fans interested and entertained all the way through. Even if you're songs need work, a well-crafted setlist matched with solid on-stage dynamics and minimal dead time (see my article on Executing a Great Stage Show) will boost your credibility and professionalism as a performer — and that's what you want!
So, back to the setlist. It's a general rule of thumb that you start out strong and end strong. This well-known technique however causes many bands to simply rush the stage and blow their wad in 3 minutes flat, leaving the last 35 minutes to drag ass. That's not cool. Let's look at the basics of crafting an effective setlist and killer live performance.
The Opening:
The introduction to your performance should be captivating, and it most likely will. After people have had a break from the last band and they have been watching you set up, they are completely primed for you to deliver a stellar performance. The first 3 minutes that you start playing is a golden opportunity to impress fans and make new ones, because EVERYBODY IS LISTENING.
They only STOP listening once you lose their attention. And believe me, once you lose their attention, it's pretty damn hard to get it back. So for your intro, make it extremely captivating, almost theatrical if possible. A great gadget for your guitarist is the Ebow (check out this article on it for samples) which creates long sustained ethereal noises, which is great to build initial intensity before exploding with your latest hit song. Regardless of how you start, remember that the goal is to build momentum. You can't just get on stage, plug in and start playing. It's boring as hell. Work on a stellar introduction that segues perfectly into a fast-paced song and you're golden. Now what to do after the first song ends?
Post-intro and the "Wave":
At this point the fans are still amped up; they can take more energy — so give it to them. One or 2 more high intensity tunes will surely do the trick. But be careful not to overdo it. Fans can only take so much energy before they start to tune it out. This is wonderful concept of "dynamics", and you must master it to be a successful performer. When you've smashed your fans in the face with several high intensity numbers, it's time to let them relax a bit. This doesn't mean put them to sleep, but a few medium intensity songs will suffice.
I call this concept of shifting from high intensity songs to low intensity a "wave". The average 45 minute long setlist will have one or two "waves" at most. Any more than that and you're going to confuse your audience, and they won't be able to "lock-in" to your music.
As you have probably figured out, the wave is eventually going to make it's way back up (once the fans are ready to rock again) and that's when you hit them with a few more high intensity tunes. Now we're approaching "The Big Closer" and encores.
The Big Closer (Pseudo-ending):
There is only one more possible time in the show when an audience is just as excited as in the opening - and that's the last song, or "The Big Closer". The trick that all the pro's know goes a little something like this:
You tell everybody it's your last song; they are excited because they anticipate that it's going to rock their melt their faces off; you invite them as close into the energy as they'll allow; you deliver a killer song with a nice long jam at the end; you have a gigantic Cliche rock ending and go nuts; the fans go nuts; the fans think it's all over and are completely revved up -YOU SMASH THEM WITH ANOTHER GREAT TUNE (preferably one that they know). This is a clutch move and truly solidifies a relationship with a fan. Make sure to tell the soundman that you are planning to play one or two more songs past the pseudo-ending, or else he'll cut the PA and you'll look like an idiot strumming into a silent guitar.
So, in short you've learned that a setlist has to be dynamic and follow a wave pattern, which is just basically a map of the average audience member's tension and release pattern of excitement. It takes trial and error, but when executed properly, you will have fans ripping off your clothes as you exit the stage!
Hi
Do you know anything about the theory on how to order your setlist according to which key each song is in? Apparently in the same way a set’s order based on song dynamics can ‘work’ the crowd (like you just described) – the effect can be enhanced (or, I assume, dissipated) by which key follows which key, but I can’t find any info on it anywhere. Apparently dance DJs and classical musicians use it quite a lot (maybe cos they have less obvious variance in tempo/dynamics/rockin-out etc?). I’m assuming it kind of works in a similar way to key-shifts within songs, but I don’t know.
Any ideas?
Cheers
tom
Hey Tom -
Excellent comment, I’m glad you brought this up. I’m totally just throwing this out there, but…
It seems like maintaining the same key back to back could be beneficial in the beginning part of your set as you are basically asking people to start absorbing your band’s ‘flavor’. Although I’m sure it’s done all the time, switching keys this early on in the game may do more harm then good…your goal at the beginning is to lock people into a vibe, and it will take a few songs of similar dynamics and possibly matching key to do that.
Ethereal intros ONLY work when the song they are segueing into are of matching key…otherwise it would be like throwing your listeners into a wall. Songs with matching keys can make for great segues throughout your set because they require less mental effort on the listener’s part to transition.
One obvious problem I can see with playing too many songs of the same key is that it can create ‘audio blindness’ – where a listener’s brain will convince them they have been listening to ONE…LONG…SONG for the past hour, and they will grow bored or fall asleep.
As far as keys and their role on influencing dynamics…I would say there is a definite correlation. A great place to put an upward key change would be right after the slow middle of your set – to perk up the fans. ANY key change during a set will get a listener’s attention…just have to play around with the right times to do it.
My final thoughts are just to maintain the same key when needing to build familiarity and establish mood, and shift the key when needing to re-capture and excite. My previous article goes into when those dynamics happen so I just say correspond key-shifts to them and the overall effect will enhance!
Hope this helps!
- Rick
In classical music, there is a tradition of modulating to the dominant key and then back to the tonic. (So if you start in C major, you modulate to G major, then come back to C major.) Maybe this would be useful?
You might also want to check out sets of pieces by classical composers that hit all 12 keys (like Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier). I don’t know if they are in a particular order, but I expect they are and that there’s some reasoning behind it.