Four Strings

Quartet Trio Duo | Weddings & Events | DFW

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Venues | First United Methodist Church-Fort Worth

March 16, 2015 by david

(c) Krystle Akin www.KrystleAkin.com

(c) Krystle Akin www.KrystleAkin.com

Name: First United Methodist Church – Fort Worth

Location: 800 W 5th St, Fort Worth, TX 76102

Website: www.fumcfortworth.org

Description: The large sanctuary provides plenty of space for guests, and the broad front means no crowding of ceremony participants. Multiple seating areas for musicians are available. The space is very resonant, so acoustic ensembles are amplified naturally.

Recommended Ensembles: Any

Amplification: Sound is available on-site (venue provided), but is not necessary. The room is very resonant and even the duo can be easily heard.

Filed Under: Event Planning, Venues Tagged With: event planning, venues

Venues | First National Bank of Tom Bean

February 16, 2015 by david

First National Bank of Tom BeanName: First National Bank of Tom Bean

Location: 109 S. Britton, Tom Bean, TX 75489

Website: www.fnbtb.com

Description: The First National Bank of Tom Bean features a Grand Community Room, a large rectangular room with a fireplace at one end and an attached kitchen. The room is hard-surfaced, so acoustics are resonant. As regular readers will know, this is both helpful and challenging, depending on your event. For a wedding or quiet dinner, musicians and speakers are easily heard by guests. In a more lively or crowded reception, guest sound can overwhelm acoustic musicians, though those closer to the music will still hear without problem.

Recommended Ensembles: Any

Amplification: Not required

Filed Under: Event Planning, Venues Tagged With: event planning, venues

Planning Your Wedding Music: Traditional 2

January 6, 2015 by david

Jeremiah ClarkeTraditional 2 represents an alternative legacy to the pieces in the Ultra-Traditional set. While not heard as often today, all are well-established wedding favorites. If you desire recognizable wedding music for your ceremony, but feel that the most common selections have become a bit cliché, this set may be just what you want!


Seating of Honored Guests

Clarke – Trumpet Tune from ‘The Island Princess’
Originally written as dramatic music for the semi-opera “The Island Princess” and frequently misattributed to Henry Purcell, the “Trumpet Tune in D” was featured in the first televised English royal wedding, the 1960 nuptials of Princess Margaret to Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon. In that ceremony it was used as the recessional music.

https://fourstrings.com-content/uploads/2012/02/Clarke-Second-Act-Tune-A2-M12.mp3

Processional of the Bridal Party

Handel – Air from Suite 1 in F
Composed in 1717 and premiered as part of the first suite of Handel’s “Water Music”, the “Air in F” is a contemplative piece well-suited for any processional.

https://fourstrings.com-content/uploads/2012/02/Handel-WM1-Air-2012.mp3

Bridal Processional

Clarke – Prince Of Denmark’s March
Sometimes called “Trumpet Voluntary” and for many years mistakenly attributed to Henry Purcell, this music is perhaps most famous as the bridal processional for Lady Diana Spencer in her internationally-viewed 1981 wedding to Charles, Prince of Wales.

https://fourstrings.com-content/uploads/2012/02/Clarke-Prince-of-Denmarks-March-2012.mp3

Recessional

Handel – Alla hornpipe from Suite 2 in D
Our second most-frequently requested recessional, the “Alla hornpipe” also belongs to the “Water Music” suites of Handel. The lively nature of the music is well-suited for exit music!

https://fourstrings.com-content/uploads/2012/02/Alla-Hornpipe.mp3

Filed Under: Event Planning, Wedding Music Tagged With: event planning, wedding music

Wedding Music Worksheet

May 22, 2013 by david

Wedding Music Worksheet Sample

Our helpful worksheet for planning your wedding ceremony music is now available for immediate download.

This step-by-step planner will ensure that your wedding musicians have all the information they will need for a fabulous performance on your special day.

Download and Print:  Wedding Music Worksheet

Filed Under: Event Planning, Wedding Music Tagged With: event planning, wedding music, worksheet

Planning Your Wedding Music: Wedding Singers

February 24, 2012 by david

We are sometimes asked whether we can accompany a singer at a wedding. The short answer is, Yes. And under the right circumstances, it can be very beautiful. But the true answer is longer and more complicated. Before you make the decision to incorporate a singer or to ask the quartet to accompany them, please consider the following.


1. Singing in public is hard, even for professionals.

People are often surprised when a professional singer bungles the National Anthem. I am not. Singing in public is scary and difficult. You are the sole focus of attention of the entire audience. At a wedding, you are in front of family, friends, and strangers. You know you are being videotaped and recorded. The hall, and your voice in the hall, may sound nothing like what you are used to. Singing well is all about control – breath control, voice control, pitch control – and control is exactly what nerves take away. Your friend/sister/co-worker who “has a really nice voice” and “sings karaoke all the time” may find themselves utterly overwhelmed in the actual moment. Their otherwise lovely voice may disintegrate. This is uncomfortable for the audience and humiliating for the performer.

2. Singing with an instrumental ensemble is nothing like singing with a pianist, a karaoke track, or the radio.

Compared to a piano (or organ, or guitar): A pianist can adjust to the singer, including their mistakes. An ensemble cannot. So, if the singer comes in early, there’s nothing we can do. If they come in late, there’s nothing we can do. If they skip a section, there’s nothing we can do. There is absolutely no way for me to figure out what the singer has done, communicate it to three other people who are also playing, and then get everything back together. A pianist can, with minimal interruption, make corrections.

Compared to karaoke/radio: Our accompaniment will sound nothing like what the singer is used to unless they are singing with string quartet karaoke. We will not have the mass, the volume, the instrumentation, or the harmony vocals. This alone can be enough to throw even an experienced singer. I know, because I’ve witnessed it.

3. Singing with an instrumental ensemble will require rehearsal time, which may increase the cost.

There is no way around this. Even a professional singer wants to do a couple of takes with the group. Practically speaking, this will need to be on the day of the ceremony, well before guests arrive, so we will need an earlier arrival, and unhindered access to the space (I’m looking at you, wedding photographer). If your singer is also a member of the wedding party, they may be involved in photographs and other pre-wedding preparations. This can complicate rehearsal and may require additional booking time.

4. Singing with an instrumental ensemble may require music arranging, which will increase the cost.

The quartet cannot play from a piano part. The music must be specifically set for strings. If the music is not already within our repertoire, this will require an arranging fee. Even if the music is within our repertoire, the singer may require a different key (i.e., a higher or lower version), which may also mean a new arrangement. We must know this well in advance, and the result is fixed. We cannot adjust if the singer decides they want the song higher or lower on the day of the wedding.

5. If you still want to use a singer, please consider these options.

1) Hire a professional wedding singer — There are professional singers who make a side career out of regularly performing The Lord’s Prayer, Ave Maria, etc. at weddings. They are used to singing a specific repertoire in the wedding environment and working with a variety of accompaniments.

2) Use a single accompanist or pre-recorded backing track — If you are not using a professional wedding singer, you should consider having the singer accompanied by a pianist/organist/guitarist or a karaoke-style backing track. The advantage of the backing track is that the singer can practice with it as much as they want, and it will be exactly what they are used to. This will help them to be more comfortable and confident in the moment of performance.

3) Use the quartet — We will be happy to play, of course, provided that ample time can be allotted for rehearsal. In the event of a new arrangement, I can also provide an mp3 for the singer to use as a practice backing track, to help make the transition to live string backing as comfortable as possible.

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Filed Under: Event Planning, Wedding Music Tagged With: event planning, singers, wedding music

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Typical Wedding Packages

Quartet $750+
Trio $600+
Duo $450+

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