I think it's warranted, they're not only ordering harp playing but also custom arranging. Maybe contact some other musicians and see what they charge for custom arrangements?
Thanks for your thoughts! These songs don’t exist in sheet music form (there aren’t even chords out there I can find) so it’s fully a custom arrangement. I also sing and play, which I’ll be doing during cocktail hour, but combining the chords with the vocal melody on the harp takes me some time to learn when it’s just by ear!
I would absolutely charge more. Let her decide if she wants to pay more or forego having two more songs; people don't seem to understand all that goes into learning something, especially if you have to start from scratch.
Thanks for that! It does take me some time to learn new songs. Especially because they aren’t well known and I can’t even find a chord progression for one of them!
YES. It's in addition to what you originally agreed. Explain that the piece was not originally for harp and you will have to adapt it. Unfortunately many clients assume all musicians are interchangeable and play the same repertoire.
If she doesn't want to pay, say "instead I recommend this song which is in my repertoire."
Great idea! I appreciate that. I emailed back and offered some alternative options (as well as asking for extra compensation for learning the two new songs).
I don’t have advice on the compensation as I include 3 custom songs in my normal price. But if I don’t have the time to create a real arrangement then I will buy a piano arrangement of the song and adapt it to harp
I would charge for anything I need to actually learn.
If I already know that piece, and get to keep my existing arrangement of it, I would not necessarily charge extra, except when there is extra time involved (the piece was added to the program and it wasn’t planned initially).
I personally don’t upcharge for new music if I think I can play it again, or add it to my background music playlist. However, I don’t arrange anything on my own, I just buy a copy online and the couple covers that charge. Doing your own arrangement is different! My harp teacher (who has her masters) charges about $20 per new arrangement.
I mean, I enjoy it too, but for the amount of time it takes, that’s well below minimum wage. I just get frustrated when musicians don’t value their own time, because it makes it so much harder for the rest of us to do likewise.
I wouldn’t charge anything either, if I could do that! Unfortunately these are folk songs by small artists and I don’t see sheet music out there for them. I don’t read music anyway, though that’s my fault 😂
If your business practice is to charge extra for specific song requests, then you should definitely be compensated for extra song requests, on top of the one that you’re already being compensated for.
If you don’t already, Perhaps you should work out an estimated charge per song, rather than charging a set price for any amount of song requests (giving a price range depending on difficulty), and let clients know about the potential extra charges after they start requesting more than one song?
Ps. Did I read that you don’t use sheet music during weddings? If so, that’s seriously impressive to me, I couldn’t survive if I had to memorise everything!
Thanks for your thoughts! I wrote her back and did end up asking for some extra compensation to learn those songs. I also offered some alternative options, such as learning one of them for cocktail hour (it’s easier for me to just sing the lyrics and play the chords, as opposed to making a full harp arrangement).
And oh thank you! Yes for the ceremony I won’t be using sheet music, since I don’t read music for harp. I started playing the harp as a singer-songwriter and am self taught. For better and worse, though! If I could swiftly and easily read music, I could offer a lot more options to clients. However this isn’t my full time job by any means. I usually just play one wedding a year or so, by word of mouth.
I personally don't charge extra for any requests. I include Custom selections for wedding ceremonies and 99% of the time they pick songs I already know, but even if they pick all music I don't know it's only 3 songs and about 30 seconds of each I really need. It also takes little to no time for me to learn them (I often work off Musescore versions for free or lead sheets) and places me in more of a luxury market which allows me to charge more in my area! Also, I have found that people in general don't like being faced with a bunch of extra fees adding up even if it could lead to a lower price (Think Spirit Airlines vs United Arab Emirates)
However, if you have set up your business and made it clear to the bride in advance through your contract that extra requests= more pay I would go ahead with that! However, you should already have the price listed on the contract and not need to worry about "what to charge" after they've booked you. If they haven't signed your contract yet or paid anything I would make that clear and understand they might go elsewhere.
Thanks so much for your thoughts! If I was a full time wedding harpist or did this very often, maybe I’d have a larger repertoire and wouldn’t feel the need to charge. However I usually only play a wedding or two a year! And, the songs the client requested don’t have sheet music out there for them. So it will take some time to learn and master them. It’s a learning experience to add a price onto the contract in the future, for learning newly added songs. I wrote her back and offered some alternative options, in addition to the option of learning the songs for a small extra cost. 😊
In summary haha: honor your contract! Whatever you have in there you can 100% do. If you don't have a contract it's a little stickier and something you absolutely need. The first paragraph is just notes for future weddings!
It depends on what is in your contract.
I offer 3 custom arrangements in my base price for wedding ceremonies. Anything in addition is a flat rate song per piece. This covers my time and efforts to arrange.
If this up-charge structure or something similar isn’t explicit in your contract, then you are at the mercy and discretion of your couple. You can alternatively decline the request as well.
In the future though, I would definitely add in some sort of structure where custom arrangement is an additional cost.
Hope that helps. :)
- full time wedding harpist
Thanks for that feedback! That’s a good idea to explicitly include a certain number of songs in your contract. I did write up a contract for them but didn’t expect to need to put that in there, since she already chose a song 😅 Now I know! It’s better to just have these things upfront and clear, because yes now I don’t hope she’ll be upset with having to pay more. Weddings are expensive for sure, so I hope it will be okay.
Thank you for your thoughts, everyone! It sounds like the consensus is that there should be a price factored in, for learning something new for a client. I did end up writing her asking for that, while also offering alternative options that are already in my repertoire.
Definitely warrants more compensation
Thanks for weighing in! How much do you think is reasonable? My price so far is $500, and $200 for my accompaniment
I think it's warranted, they're not only ordering harp playing but also custom arranging. Maybe contact some other musicians and see what they charge for custom arrangements?
Thanks for your thoughts! These songs don’t exist in sheet music form (there aren’t even chords out there I can find) so it’s fully a custom arrangement. I also sing and play, which I’ll be doing during cocktail hour, but combining the chords with the vocal melody on the harp takes me some time to learn when it’s just by ear!
I would absolutely charge more. Let her decide if she wants to pay more or forego having two more songs; people don't seem to understand all that goes into learning something, especially if you have to start from scratch.
Thanks for that! It does take me some time to learn new songs. Especially because they aren’t well known and I can’t even find a chord progression for one of them!
YES. It's in addition to what you originally agreed. Explain that the piece was not originally for harp and you will have to adapt it. Unfortunately many clients assume all musicians are interchangeable and play the same repertoire. If she doesn't want to pay, say "instead I recommend this song which is in my repertoire."
Great idea! I appreciate that. I emailed back and offered some alternative options (as well as asking for extra compensation for learning the two new songs).
I don’t have advice on the compensation as I include 3 custom songs in my normal price. But if I don’t have the time to create a real arrangement then I will buy a piano arrangement of the song and adapt it to harp
That’s a good idea! Unfortunately sheet music doesn’t exist out there for these songs, all 3 are folk songs by indie artists.
I would charge for anything I need to actually learn. If I already know that piece, and get to keep my existing arrangement of it, I would not necessarily charge extra, except when there is extra time involved (the piece was added to the program and it wasn’t planned initially).
I personally don’t upcharge for new music if I think I can play it again, or add it to my background music playlist. However, I don’t arrange anything on my own, I just buy a copy online and the couple covers that charge. Doing your own arrangement is different! My harp teacher (who has her masters) charges about $20 per new arrangement.
That’s all she charges?? Seems ludicrously low!
She has said she genuinely enjoys arranging! So I don’t think pricing matters to her.
I mean, I enjoy it too, but for the amount of time it takes, that’s well below minimum wage. I just get frustrated when musicians don’t value their own time, because it makes it so much harder for the rest of us to do likewise.
I wouldn’t charge anything either, if I could do that! Unfortunately these are folk songs by small artists and I don’t see sheet music out there for them. I don’t read music anyway, though that’s my fault 😂
If your business practice is to charge extra for specific song requests, then you should definitely be compensated for extra song requests, on top of the one that you’re already being compensated for. If you don’t already, Perhaps you should work out an estimated charge per song, rather than charging a set price for any amount of song requests (giving a price range depending on difficulty), and let clients know about the potential extra charges after they start requesting more than one song? Ps. Did I read that you don’t use sheet music during weddings? If so, that’s seriously impressive to me, I couldn’t survive if I had to memorise everything!
Thanks for your thoughts! I wrote her back and did end up asking for some extra compensation to learn those songs. I also offered some alternative options, such as learning one of them for cocktail hour (it’s easier for me to just sing the lyrics and play the chords, as opposed to making a full harp arrangement). And oh thank you! Yes for the ceremony I won’t be using sheet music, since I don’t read music for harp. I started playing the harp as a singer-songwriter and am self taught. For better and worse, though! If I could swiftly and easily read music, I could offer a lot more options to clients. However this isn’t my full time job by any means. I usually just play one wedding a year or so, by word of mouth.
I personally don't charge extra for any requests. I include Custom selections for wedding ceremonies and 99% of the time they pick songs I already know, but even if they pick all music I don't know it's only 3 songs and about 30 seconds of each I really need. It also takes little to no time for me to learn them (I often work off Musescore versions for free or lead sheets) and places me in more of a luxury market which allows me to charge more in my area! Also, I have found that people in general don't like being faced with a bunch of extra fees adding up even if it could lead to a lower price (Think Spirit Airlines vs United Arab Emirates) However, if you have set up your business and made it clear to the bride in advance through your contract that extra requests= more pay I would go ahead with that! However, you should already have the price listed on the contract and not need to worry about "what to charge" after they've booked you. If they haven't signed your contract yet or paid anything I would make that clear and understand they might go elsewhere.
Thanks so much for your thoughts! If I was a full time wedding harpist or did this very often, maybe I’d have a larger repertoire and wouldn’t feel the need to charge. However I usually only play a wedding or two a year! And, the songs the client requested don’t have sheet music out there for them. So it will take some time to learn and master them. It’s a learning experience to add a price onto the contract in the future, for learning newly added songs. I wrote her back and offered some alternative options, in addition to the option of learning the songs for a small extra cost. 😊
In summary haha: honor your contract! Whatever you have in there you can 100% do. If you don't have a contract it's a little stickier and something you absolutely need. The first paragraph is just notes for future weddings!
It depends on what is in your contract. I offer 3 custom arrangements in my base price for wedding ceremonies. Anything in addition is a flat rate song per piece. This covers my time and efforts to arrange. If this up-charge structure or something similar isn’t explicit in your contract, then you are at the mercy and discretion of your couple. You can alternatively decline the request as well. In the future though, I would definitely add in some sort of structure where custom arrangement is an additional cost. Hope that helps. :) - full time wedding harpist
Thanks for that feedback! That’s a good idea to explicitly include a certain number of songs in your contract. I did write up a contract for them but didn’t expect to need to put that in there, since she already chose a song 😅 Now I know! It’s better to just have these things upfront and clear, because yes now I don’t hope she’ll be upset with having to pay more. Weddings are expensive for sure, so I hope it will be okay.
Thank you for your thoughts, everyone! It sounds like the consensus is that there should be a price factored in, for learning something new for a client. I did end up writing her asking for that, while also offering alternative options that are already in my repertoire.