Cleaning Up

I tell ya, with so many different genres of music and so much repertoire, cleaning up my music after one gig is a big project. Cleaning up after two gigs?
Major!
Okay, not really, I mean it's just putting songs back into their respective binders and re-alphabetizing certain portions, so it is just filing, but it always takes a lot longer than I anticipate.

Recently I had two opportunities to sing - one for a stampede-themed bbq and one for a client appreciation party.

I have my binders organized quite well.
I have all of my solo songs in two binders - the first from A-K the second from L-Z. Then all of the country songs (or fan favourites that can be melded into the country theme) in those binders are duplicated into a 'Country' binder. I also have a Christmas binder, a Funeral Songs binder, a Wedding Songs binder, then a binder with only instrumentals, and a binder of lyrics for songs I usually perform only as a vocalist.
It's a lot of music!
Really the only time it gets all jumbled up is when I need songs from multiple binders that need to be put into an actual set list.

Most of the time I use my two main binders and, if I need a set list, I have the songs ear-marked with a paperclip, and just go alphabetically. For really intimidating gigs, though, I create a set list from scratch and go through timing, genres, which songs melt into others, making sure it is a smooth show with no breaks, with appropriate amounts of slow and upbeat music.
It can be far more complicated than it seems!
After those gigs, putting the music back together can be frustrating... especially when there are duplicate copies in multiple binders. If I forget which binders I took the music from, I can be sitting there for a while.

The price of being organized I guess!

I also plan on adding special paperclips to earmark some of the songs that I am extremely comfortable with and that are fan favourites - no matter how a gig is going, those songs are always hits!

It is all worth it.
All of it.
I love, LOVE, My Musical Life!