Cruise Ship Gigs: How Many Songs Will Actually Get You Hired? — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00You've probably heard the number 150 songs. And  if you're sitting there thinking, "Okay, maybe I
2. 0:05have 40 or 60 if I'm being generous with myself,"  then this video is for [music] you. Because here's
3. 0:09the thing, 150 songs sounds terrifying. But once  you understand what actually counts, [music] how
4. 0:15to build towards it, and the mistakes most  musicians make when they start, it becomes a
5. 0:19lot more manageable than you think. I'm Lara, and  I spent four years on cruise ships across eight
6. 0:24contracts. I've also been working alongside  booking agencies and I now coach musicians,
7. 0:29mainly solo musicians who want to get hired. So,  in this video, I'm going to tell you exactly what
8. 0:33kind of songs need to be in your repertoire, how  to build toward 150 without losing your mind,
9. 0:39and the shortcuts I wish someone told me  when I started. Quick thing before we start,
10. 0:43everything I'm going to cover today applies  to solo acts, duos, [music] trios, or bands
11. 0:49applying as entertainment acts. Because if you  want to join the ship's orchestra or show band,
12. 0:54that's a completely different application [music]  process with site reading requirements and I'm
13. 0:58not going to cover this today. This video is  mainly for the piano vocalist, guitar vocalist,
14. 1:03the solo performer or duos/trios/bands [music]  going for a contract. I post videos like this
15. 1:09weekly, so make sure to like this video and hit  the subscribe button if you want to hear more
16. 1:13about cruise [music] ship work and how to get it.  So, let's start with what 150 songs actually mean.
17. 1:18So on land, you might not need to know this many  songs because you're going to be hired for a gig.
18. 1:24You're going to be hired for one night. [music]  And even if you just have like 30 or 40 songs,
19. 1:28it's going to be okay because you're never  going to have to [music] play as much as you
20. 1:31will on cruise ships. But what happens on cruise  ships or residences and hotels, resort, etc.,
21. 1:37is that you play every single night and a lot of  the time you're going to have the same audience
22. 1:41for a week or sometimes [music] even two weeks.  And what happens if you only have 40 songs is that
23. 1:47you're going to play the same thing. You're going  to repeat songs and [music] guests will get tired
24. 1:50of it. On my contracts, I was playing two to four  hours a day. And so that was enough to keep me
25. 1:56going even when the guests were staying for longer  on the cruise ships. It doesn't mean that you're
26. 2:00not going to repeat songs cuz you will. At some  point, I was playing the same song every single
27. 2:03day because it was requested. But you need to  have this repertoire to get hired so that agents
28. 2:07know that you'll be able to handle the [music]  entertainment and to handle the guests. So 150
29. 2:12songs is actually the bare bare bare minimum.  It's more usually 200 or 250 [music] that they
30. 2:17will require from solo duos or trios and bands.  Now I hear you asking, "Yeah, but how am I going
31. 2:24to learn 150 songs of by heart?" You don't have  to. I don't think I even know three songs of by
32. 2:30heart. So don't worry about this. You can have a  tablet. You can have the chords. And what I use is
33. 2:36I use it uh and so I have my iPad and I  basically use so I have the lyrics and I have
34. 2:43the [music] I'm not sure you can see it here but  I just have the chords and that allows me to have
35. 2:48so if you look at my whole library I have like  615 songs. [music] Not sure if you can see it.
36. 2:55Um this app is called song sheet pro. So you  can definitely have the chords and the lyrics
37. 3:00in front of you when you play. And thanks God for  this otherwise I don't know how we will all do
38. 3:04as [music] crush musicians. So you really don't  have to know it off by heart. The standards are
39. 3:08not that high like especially if you play in  a piano bar or if you're guitar vocalist. If
40. 3:13you knowish the songs [music] I tend to think that  the guests are quite tolerant with it because they
41. 3:17see the amount of songs that you have and because  you have so many songs you can also [music] play
42. 3:22the songs they request and so they tend to  be more tolerant than if you were in a full
43. 3:25theater [music] you know with people watching  you like this. You're playing in a bar, you're
44. 3:29playing on a cruise ship. So, we really have to  bet on quantity over quality. The goal really is
45. 3:34to be able to perform it in front of passengers.  [music] It doesn't have to be perfect. And so,
46. 3:39let's talk about what generas actually need to be  in there. Like, what's really important to have
47. 3:44in your 150s song list? So, you really want to  cover different genres and to have diversity. So,
48. 3:49if you're going to apply as a band, it is  different depending on the kind of band. If
49. 3:53it's a party band, it needs to be really upbeat.  If it's a Caribbean band, then Caribbean songs,
50. 3:57etc. But yes, you just need different generous. So  mainly pop, rock, sing along, classics, a bit of
51. 4:04country, a bit of soul. I'd say really try to keep  it upbeat. This is a thing that got me penalized.
52. 4:09I really start like the agent was like, "Okay,  you really need to show me that you can play
53. 4:14some upbeat songs because otherwise it's not going  to be okay." So really focus on the upbeat music,
54. 4:19like really important. It's really important that  you cover a lot of eras as well from the 50s to
55. 4:24nowadays. And I'd say the 70s and 80s are really,  really important. Like do not skip these because a
56. 4:31lot of cruise ships, they have older people and if  you don't know the songs they enjoy listening to,
57. 4:37they're just going to leave. [music] And also, if  you know their songs, they're also more likely to
58. 4:41give you tips. So definitely learn these. I  would really prioritize international hits,
59. 4:46English songs. If you have different  languages [music] in the songs you choose,
60. 4:50that's amazing. But at the start, you really  need to build a foundation. You really need to
61. 4:55make sure that the songs that you're playing are  internationally known and it's really important to
62. 5:00have songs that work across all nationalities like  right like the Beatles for example, Elton John if
63. 5:06you're on the piano. So yeah, really try to look  at like contrasted [music] songs um in terms of
64. 5:12how they're played because especially when you  create your show reel, the more contrasted the
65. 5:17songs you're playing are, the better. This is  also what agents are looking for. They want to
66. 5:21see that you're you can play different stuff.  Okay, so this is what you should not include in
67. 5:25your song list. The first thing is do not include  your original music. This is useless. You will be
68. 5:31able to play original music on ships if guests  ask you, especially if you're a solo performer.
69. 5:36But putting that in your own list when agents  will look at it is useless and it shows that
70. 5:40you haven't really understood the point of working  on cruise ships. [music] So even if you have them,
71. 5:45great. Just don't put them in your list when you  send it out to agents applying for contracts. Do
72. 5:50not include songs that are too niche or that are  just unknown or like not really famous because
73. 5:55these are pointless. [music] If you have them  in in your repertoire, you can put them in there
74. 5:59cuz it adds up. But I wouldn't learn specifically  niche [music] songs or songs that are not really
75. 6:04known because it's not going to work in your  favor. And the last thing is when you learn songs,
76. 6:08really make sure to learn songs that are not  too vocally demanding. This is really important.
77. 6:12Like I'm thinking about the song Let Her Go by  Passenger. Well, you only need the light when it's
78. 6:17burning low. This song is so I mean I didn't sing  it that many times on crushes [music] but makes
79. 6:22makes me think of the fact that it has like  literally three notes in the melody so it's very
80. 6:27easy to sing or even imagine. I used to start all  my sets with imagine by John Lenon that is really
81. 6:33easy to sing and your voice is going to thank you  later. By the way I have put together a master
82. 6:38song list that work really well on cruise ships  from my eight contracts and also from friends who
83. 6:43are musicians and who found [music] these songs  really successful on chips. I've also got a list
84. 6:48of agencies to contact and templates so that you  know exactly what to say when you reach out to
85. 6:53them and how often to contact them. It's literally  everything you need in one place. And trust me,
86. 6:57I really wish I had this when I started. If you  want access with all of that, feel free to book
87. 7:02a call with me down below. When you book a call  with me, I give you all these resources and we
88. 7:07also spend an hour going through your repertoire,  your exact situation, your show reel, and you
89. 7:12leave with every resource that you need to move  faster. Now, how to learn songs faster. I'm going
90. 7:17to share with you the mistakes that I made when I  tried to learn songs cuz I didn't have anybody on
91. 7:22YouTube telling me how to do it. And so, the first  mistake that I made was over obsessing over the
92. 7:27introduction or like the solo part or trying to do  things on the piano or even vocally that are too
93. 7:35much. Again, as I said earlier, when you prepare  for a gig on land or when you're writing songs,
94. 7:41it's [music] very different because you're like,  "Okay, I'm going to play this one song. I need
95. 7:45to learn these 10 songs and that's it." When you  have 150 songs to learn, you can't think this way.
96. 7:51You have to think in terms of quantity. You  have to think in terms of simplicity. And I
97. 7:55really wish I knew this earlier because I remember  spending so long learning solos or different ways
98. 8:01of accompaniment that were just too difficult  and that I didn't even end up playing on the
99. 8:04ship [music] because what's truly important when  you are on the ship is the connection [music] with
100. 8:12the audience. Of course, musicality and the way  you play stuff is is important, but especially
101. 8:17around accompaniment, [music] I think it's really  important to make it super simple. And as you're
102. 8:23going to get performance experience [music] on  cruise ships, you're going to get better at it
103. 8:27naturally. You're going to add more notes. Your  music ear is going to get much better and you're
104. 8:29naturally going to get better. But trying to learn  specific [music] songs of by heart is just like
105. 8:34the thing that was so useless for [music] me. As  I said to you earlier, I only just use chords.
106. 8:39And so all these little parts that I was trying  to create either vocally or on the piano,
107. 8:45I had to memorize them. And this is wasted time.  And so if a song is hard for you vocally or if
108. 8:52on [music] the piano or whatever you play,  you struggle playing it, just skip it. And
109. 8:57if you're a part of a band who want to get ready  for cursive, same thing. [music] Like if the band
110. 9:01is struggling, you know, with each other and that  every time you play it, you kind of struggle to
111. 9:06get it right, just skip it and use another one.  there are enough songs in the world to pick the
112. 9:10ones that are right for you and that are easier  for you to play and to remember how to perform.
113. 9:15The goal is really to feel confident about your  repertoire. I remember at the very start when I
114. 9:21saw this ad on Facebook groups that was saying  they were looking for a piano vocalist for a
115. 9:25crush ship and I contacted the agent and I had  just like you right now maybe like 40 or 60 songs
116. 9:30and they were like okay I want to hire you but I  can't because you don't have the repertoire and
117. 9:34so I had no idea what to what songs to learn and  these kind of things and I it took me like 3 weeks
118. 9:39to work like 6 hours a day to learn all the songs  that I needed [music] 150 to 200 songs I learned
119. 9:46and it was really really hard but eventually  you get there. And I think as musicians,
120. 9:50we tend to be a little bit perfectionist. Like  we really want to show off what we can do. And
121. 9:55I don't know about you, but I tend to have some  judgment towards the way I play. If I just play
122. 9:58basic chords or if I just sing [music] the melody  simply, I'm going to be like, "Oh, I need to get
123. 10:03this to be better. I need to show off my artistry  or whatever." And if you add this perfectionism in
124. 10:08the process of getting to your 150 songs, you're  just not going to get there because it's going to
125. 10:14take you [music] way too long to get each song  to the standard that you want to get it to.
126. 10:19So my advice would really be to focus on  simplicity. You're allowed to have the the tablet
127. 10:25in front of you. So use [music] it. You don't  have to show that you have the perfect memory.
128. 10:30And just make it as simple as possible because  you're naturally going to get better. You're
129. 10:34naturally going to learn more songs when you're  on the proship. It's silly, I think, to spend too
130. 10:38much time learning the repertoire for something  that you don't even have yet. Wait until you get
131. 10:42the job and then you can make everything better.  What I would do if I was you, it would be to pick
132. 10:47all the songs that you want to learn. Of course,  you can change it at some point, but I would
133. 10:51create the 150 songs list [music] and I would  actually send it to the agents by saying to them
134. 10:57that you know the songs even if you don't. [music]  Um, actually just do this if you're already know
135. 11:03a hundred or something like that because they're  not going to check if you know every single song.
136. 11:07And if it if they give you a job, you're still  going to have a few weeks or a few months before
137. 11:13you get on board. And so you're going to have this  time. So build the song the song list [music] with
138. 11:18everything I said in this video. And you can  start applying straight away and then you keep
139. 11:22learning them as you go. And again, I would  really prioritize learning the songs that are
140. 11:26very known, that are international, that everybody  know because this is what's going to work in your
141. 11:31favor. It depends how urgent your goal is to get  on a cruise ship, but I would really advise that
142. 11:37you learn at least one a day or two per day. And  it's also going to be easier because a lot of pop
143. 11:41songs specifically, [music] you know, have the  same chords. And so reading chords and depending
144. 11:45on your level, it's going to get easier over time.  And if you get into a routine of learning songs
145. 11:50every day, your brain is going to adapt. So yes,  do not completely lie. Do not say that you have
146. 11:56200 songs when you only have 20, this is not going  to work neither. But if you're, as I said, if you
147. 12:00had 100 and [music] your list is showing 150, it's  fine. What agents do not check is if you know your
148. 12:07whole repertoire, if you know every single song,  but what they do check [music] is your show reel,
149. 12:13your song list, how professional you are, and  your ability to connect with people, which is
150. 12:17really important to show off [music] in the in  the show real as well. So now you know exactly
151. 12:21what to build, how to build it, and what actually  matters when you apply. The next step if you are
152. 12:26serious about this is sitting down and actually  auditing what you have at the moment [music] and
153. 12:32then making a plan. This is exactly what we do  on a coaching call. You come with your current
154. 12:36repertoire. We look at the gaps together. I give  you the master song list, the agency contacts,
155. 12:41the outreach templates, literally everything that  took me years to figure out in just one session.
156. 12:45The link [music] is in the description if you want  to book. Good luck with your repertoire and if
157. 12:49that was useful, [music] subscribe. I post videos  like this weekly for musicians who are thinking of
158. 12:54taking this path. And feel free to comment about  how many songs do you have. Let me know in the
159. 12:58comments and if there are any specific videos  [music] you'd like me to make. It's so good to
160. 13:02have you here. Thank you so much for being part  of this amazing community and I'll see you next