Building Your Professional Repertoire

1. PLAY WHAT YOU LOVE!  You are much more likely to practice if you choose songs you love to play. Also, people like to see and hear musicians who are enjoying what they do.
     
2. MIX IT UP! Make your Repertoire interesting by playing from a broad spectrum of genres such as Irish, Hymns, Pop, Classical, Etc.  As rule of thumb, you should learn  5-10 songs from each genre.  Have a little bit of everything for every occasion.

3. THINK OF THE OCCASION! Choose music that is appropriate for the environment you will be performing in. For example, if you are playing for a wedding reception, classical music would be a good choice. Pop music could be played for a coffee shop or a birthday party and Irish music is a nice touch for a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration.

4.  BE PREPARED! Learn enough music to last you through one hour of professional playing.
Then you will be ready for any occasion that is booked at the last minute.