Choosing the Music for Your Special Event
At inTUNE, we know that the music for your special event is as unique as you are. Our team will work with you to customize the music to ensure that you hear music you love and that your guests have a great time.
Photo by: Anne Edgar Photography
Your Music Request list
As part of your event planning website, you will receive access to a music request list form. This form allows you to list specific songs that you would like to hear during the dancing portion of your event.
You can search our database by song title and artist name to find all of the songs you love, and there are also several playlists of top 200 hits, top songs from different decades and genres, and more! These playlists can help provide a starting point for putting together your unique music requests list.
If you already have a playlist on Spotify, you can import that list into our music request list form instead of creating a request list using our database.
The request list form also allows you to add notes to specific songs if needed. This means that you can give your DJ notes such as:
Dedicating a song to a specific group or person
Making sure that a specific person is on the dance floor for a particular song
Indicating that a song is a must play
Indicating that a song is a must play for a particular group, like your family or university friends
How Your DJ Uses Your Request List
Your request list is your DJ’s starting point for the dancing portion of the evening. This list lets your DJ know what kind of music you like and the vibe that you are looking for on the dance floor. Then your DJ is going to add other music beyond your request list, based on crowd reaction and music that guests are requesting (more on that below).
We don’t want you to choose songs for every single minute of your event! When you hire a professional DJ, you can trust in their ability to read the room and add appropriate music that matches the tone of your event. Your DJ will also take into account the different ages and cultures present at your event to provide a range of music that appeals to your guests.
During your initial consultation, follow-up calls, and final planning meeting, we also discuss your music preferences and make note of any genres, decades, or artists that we discuss. All of these notes get passed onto your DJ as well.
Photo by: Fedora Media
Do Not Play Songs
When you are creating your music request list, you also have the option of adding some “Do Not Play” songs. These are songs or artists that you absolutely do not want to hear at your event. Your DJ will not play any songs that are on your do not play list, even if they are requested by a guest.
Some of the most common do not play songs that we see are reflected in their inappropriate nature, their overwhelming popularity from past weddings, or their choreography elements. Songs like Macarena, YMCA and Cha Cha Slide may or may not be for you.
However, there might be other songs that you dislike or have a negative association with. There might also be a particular artist that you don’t want to hear at all. This can be noted in the music request list
We also have clients who don’t want any music from a particular genre or decade of music.
We are happy to customize our approach so you don’t have to hear music you dislike. However, we also encourage our clients not to have too many songs or genres on their do not play list. If you add too much, it can make things more challenging for your DJ.
In our experience, the most successful music request lists combine the tastes of both the event organizers and the tastes and ages of the guests.
Guest Requests
“Do you take guest requests?” is one of the most common questions that we get asked. The answer is always yes! We love to know what songs are important to you, and to give us some insight into your world of music growing up. Your DJ will balance both your music request list form and requests from your guests during your event.
There are a few ways to get music requests from your guests:
They can talk to the DJ during your event. (These requests are up to the DJ’s discretion and may not get played if the song is inappropriate or part of your “do not play” list)
Collect a list in advance. Some of our clients collect guest requests in advance (for example, with the RSVPs to their event). These requests can either be sent to us as a separate list or can be added to your request list form if you have room. If you want to be able to vet your guest requests in advance, this can be a good option.
Give your guests access to a request list form. For special events such as corporate parties or fundraisers, we can give you access to a sharable request list form that you can send out to your guests in advance. This form allows them to add songs to the request list using our database. It even shows us if more than one person requested the same song, so we know which songs are going to be crowd favourites!
Photo by: Peter B Photography
Cultural Music
We love providing music at events representing different cultures. There are many ways that our DJs can incorporate cultural music into your special event. For a more in-depth discussion, check out this post.
Niche Music Tastes
We totally understand if the music you listen to regularly is not mainstream or music that is typically popular for a wedding. We have experience with lots of events with unique music!
We recommend finding a balance between your niche music and other music that your guests are going to know and love so that you can have a fun dance floor all night long! For a more in-depth discussion, check out this post.
Music That Isn’t “Danceable”
Dancing is at the heart of a lot of the events that we do! However, there likely won’t be dancing for every single minute of your event. So if you or your guests like music that isn’t the greatest for dancing, don’t panic!
If you are trying to accommodate things like:
Slower songs
Older songs that may not appeal to younger guests on the dance floor
Jazz or instrumental music
Acoustic, indie, folk, alternative, or other more niche music
Other styles of music that might be challenging to dance to
We recommend playing these genres or song requests during the cocktail hour or dinner portion of the event, or possibly later in the night (especially if it’s a singalong anthem but not necessarily “danceable”) at your event. Your DJ can make sure that you and your guests get to hear songs that you love at some point during your event, even if they’re not songs that you can tear up the dance floor to!
Photo by: Perrins Photography
For your special event, choosing the music should be a fun part of your planning process! Our team is here to support you and work with you so that we create a unique vibe for your event and choose music that you and your guests will enjoy all night long.
Do you have questions about choosing the right music for your event? Let us know! We’d love to chat with you.
