Developing & Creating Set Lists for Performances

Hi everyone,

In todays post I will be talking about developing and creating set lists for your own performances.

For creating set lists, its always best to have music ready that you are already familiar with and already know. As this will help you to create a set list of your own. 

The pieces of music that you choose don't need to be complicated, as there's a good chance that performance nerves might get to you. So, you need to be able to still carry on and push through it (if you can). Everyone responds to performance nerves differently, and performing to audience is completely different to practicing at home.

Set List Ideas

- Themes

- Special Occassions

- Your Own Compositions

- Hal Leonard Classic Play Along Series/ Classical Players Series

- Individual Composers

- Eras/ Genres

- Films

- Musicals

- Mood & Ambience

Resources

- Hal Leonard Classic Play Along Series/ Classical Players Series

- Method Books

- IMSLP

- Flute tunes website

- Own Compositions

- Compilation Music Books

When creating a set list its important that you try and get it to flow as the best you can. If you are new to creating set lists; the Hal Leonard Classic Play Along series is brilliant for this and they are available for a wide range of instruments.

The reason why I'm recommending the Hal Leonard Classic Play Along series is because they cover such a wide range of different musical areas. Some of the areas they cover are :-

- Film and TV

- Musicals

- Disney

- Rock and Pop

With the Hal Leonard Classic Play Along series you can either buy these books as individual books or as a compilation with a variety of different music from one particular subject. These books should enable you to get a feeling of developing and creating a set list.

When first starting out I would keep your set list short, and limit it to three songs/ pieces of music; and then take it from there. You can always add more, and subtract what either you don't like playing or that doesn't quite fit in with what you are doing. Also, have a play around by doing rough set lists on paper and see what you like and what you don't like; and also explore using what you have already learnt while learning your instrument.

You might want to create a set list playing music from one of your favourite films, or using pieces by different composers to create a specific mood/ theme. You might want to perform a few numbers from Disney films, or experiment using your own compositions. You can have loads of fun with this, and just see where it takes you.