Instrumental Performances

Weddings

Chuck offers several options. Pre-ceremony, ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, and any combination of options listed. The rehearsal prior to your Wedding Day is also an available option, and recommended for any bookings that include the ceremony.

• Pre-ceremony - This is background music played while your guests are arriving and being seated. Suggested time is a half hour before start of ceremony.
• Ceremony - Music is typically played during the processional/recessional and is often classical (Pachelbel Canon in D, Bridal March, etc.) but it doesn't have to be. If there's a special song, Chuck can create arrangements to fit your taste.
• Cocktail Hour - This is the music played in between the end of the ceremony and start of reception. It's often more lively and jazzy.
• Dinner - Musically, this is usually an extension of Cocktail Hour: from lively melodies and jazzy chords to ambient background music that sets an atmosphere, covers up those unwanted dinner sounds (plates and clashing silverware, clinking glasses, etc.) but at a volume low enough to have conversations.

Day Of Your Wedding

Chuck will arrive approximately 2 hours early (depending on how much setup time is needed). He will coordinate with your pre-established point of contact about location. Chuck will set up his equipment and complete sound check. If providing music for multiple parts of your big day, Chuck will set up at both locations and complete both sound checks. Chuck will be in position, tuned and ready 5 minutes prior to agreed start time.

Why fingerstyle guitar is perfect for your wedding

Most people, when they think about "guitar", they think one of two things - classical guitar, which is played on a traditional nylon string acoustic guitar and is typically used to play, well, classical music (flamenco, Beethoven, etc.); the other vision people have of guitar is likely something to do with Rock music and someone like Eddie Van Halen playing an electric guitar loud and fast and, of course, with no shirt on. While I personally love both of those types of guitar playing, there are a lot of styles in between that are often overlooked. My specialty is Fingerstyle Guitar. The reason I'm telling you about it is because this style is perfectly suited for weddings.

So what do we mean when we say "fingerstyle guitar"?

In short, fingerstyle guitarists play without a pick. The technique is very similar to that used by classical guitarists but it is performed on regular steel string acoustic or electric guitars. Instead of using a pick to play a single note or to strum a chord, the fingerstyle guitarist uses his thumb and fingers to pick the strings. This gives the guitarist the ability to use four picks, or fingers (the little finger is rarely used) instead of only one. What this means is that the playing style is more intricate than more conventional styles. For example, fingerstyle music is written with multiple lines of music on the staff that are played at the same time (bass lines played with the thumb and melodies, harmonies, and chords are played with the other fingers). This opens up a wide variety of musical possibilities.

What this means for you on your special day is that you can have one solo fingerstyle guitarist to play (for example) romantic classical style music for your ceremony and then upbeat jazz, laid-back blues, or pop arrangements for cocktail hour or dinner.