The White Tree

We understand that planning a wedding can become pretty overwhelming! We realise that booking a wedding band raises various questions – particularly with our business model that allows couples to DIY the configuration (incidentally, we think this is part of the fun!). To help with this decision we have prepared some brief explanations and options for
The White Tree Band’s different line ups…

Firstly, please note that the size of the band also means the number of musicians. So a 3 piece band has 3 musicians, a 4 piece band has 4 musicians etc. Our male singers double as either a guitarist or keyboardist, so with them you are effectively receiving “2 for the price of 1”. Whoo hoo!

From out point of view, the bigger the band = the better the sound (and more fun for everyone). However, we obviously understand that there are budget restraints when planning a wedding, so we’ve therefore come up with configurations that are designed to suit all budgets…

Also please note that the overall size and volume associated with the line ups below does not really vary much. The bulkiest bits of equipment are the drums, bass and PA system – and these are prevalent in every line up. As a rule of thumb, a band will take up about 3m deep x 4m wide (give or take a little). Also, the overall volume is controlled by the mixing desk, so again, the decibel level doesn’t change much between a 3 and 9 piece band.

2 Piece Band – *A small acoustic option for laid back settings only (please see detailed information regarding our 2 band band below)

3 Piece Band – This has the basic elements you need for a band…A singer (important for obvious reasons), a chord instrument (which is guitar or keyboard – this offers the harmonic structure), bass (this fills out the bottom end of the sound) and drums (vital for the dance sets later on…people get down and jiggy with the beat of the drums!). Our male singers double as either guitarists or keyboardists, so even though there are only 3 musicians, you still have a solid core band. This line up cannot include a female singer as she does not double as a chord instrumentalist.

The 3 piece can only be Male Vocals/Guitar, Bass and Drums OR Male Vocals/Keyboard, Bass and Drums. A good 3 piece is fine for the early on chilled sets, and good for the dance sets too, but repertoire is slightly limited, and sonically it doesn’t sound quite as rich and full as the bigger band sizes.
It can also be a tiring gig for the singer as they need to cover all the vocals and all the chord parts by themselves.
Summing up…the 3 piece still does the job, and it’s good for the budget!

4 Piece Band – The 4 piece offers you the choice of an additional musician/instrument. In terms of the best instrument for the 4th, we strongly suggest adding the second chord instrument first, meaning a line up of Male Vocals/Guitar, Bass, Drums and Keyboard.
We understand that it’s tempting for couples to book a 4 piece with the addition of a female singer, but in our years of experience, this isn’t the best option. It’s much more important to fill out the sound first, by adding the second chord instrument. This leads to a much more energetic sound for the dance sets, and helps the male singer to rock out with support from the second chord instrument. The best way to explain the benefits of 2 x chord instruments is by a song example. Check out “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk. Have a listen to the band parts that are at work…the keyboard and guitar are both extremely prevalent. This is the case for 99% of all pop songs, that is, keyboard AND guitar are busy at work. If you are tossing up between a 3 and a 4 piece, we strongly suggest going with the 4…it’s a much more energetic line up.

5 Piece Band – This is a very popular line up for weddings. It offers great repertoire versatility and a diverse sound.
Once you get up to a 5 piece, there are a few more options for you to take advantage of. Below are the 3 main line ups that we do for a 5 piece configuration…they all sound great…

5 piece option 1: Male Vocals/Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboard and Female Vocals

5 piece option 2: Male Vocals/Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboard and Saxophone

5 piece option 3: Male Vocals/Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboard and Latin Percussion

Option 1 sees the awesome addition of a female singer. Our female singers are the best in the country, and cover
the top 40, pop and soul music extremely well.

Option 2 is the roundness of a 4 piece but with the funky addition of sax. Adding sax is great because it can give standard covers a new jazzy element which makes it sound more original…and less cheesy.

Option 3 is great for the dance sets. Adding Latin Percussion (congas, bongos and timbales) can add a lot of energy to the dance floor. Before you know it, your guests will be forming conga lines and dancing around the floor like tribal warriors.

6 Piece Band – This is another common line up for weddings. It offers great repertoire versatility and a diverse sound.
A 6 piece allows some great options for you to take advantage of. Below are the best options for this line up…

6 piece option 1: Male Vocals/Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboard, Saxophone and Trumpet

6 piece option 2: Male Vocals/Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboard, Latin Percussion and Saxophone

6 piece option 3: Male Vocals/Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboard, Female Vocals and Saxophone

Option 1 has the punch and excitement of a full horn section. Saxophone and Trumpet together sound awesome!!
*On that note, if booking only one brass instrument, you’ll notice that we suggest saxophone not trumpet, this is because sax blends better than trumpet with the other instruments). Here is a perfect example of saxophone and trumpet working together extremely well. *Skip to around 2mins if you’re time poor.
Option 2 is a great energetic sound for the dance sets. It has the drive of percussion and the funky sound of sax too.
Option 3 has the versatility of 2 x vocalists, and also the saxophone grooving away.

7 Piece Band – This is one of our favourite line ups for large scale weddings. It is incredibly impressive visually and sonically. It has the versatility of two singers as well as the punch of a full brass section.
There’s of course scope for choice, but the most common 7 piece line ups are one of two below…

Option 1 featuring Male Vocals/Guitar, Keyboard, Bass, Drums, Female Vocals, Trumpet and Saxophone

Option 2 featuring Male Vocals/Guitar, Keyboard, Bass, Drums, Female Vocals, Saxophone and Latin Percussion

8 Piece Band – The energy and sound just keeps getting better and better! The standard configuration we do for this band
size is as follows: Male Vocals/Guitar, Keyboard, Bass, Drums, Female Vocals, Saxophone, Trumpet and Latin Percussion.
If your budget allows, this is a knock out band line up!!

9 Piece Band – This is a brilliant band configuration for elaborate weddings with large guests numbers (200+). The sound is incredible.
The standard configuration we do for this band size is as follows: Male Vocals/Guitar, Keyboard, Bass, Drums, Female Vocals, Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone and Latin Percussion. Adding trombone to the sound creates an extremely punchy and bright horn section – it has that real Big Band sound that’s classy and energetic.

Note: The 2 piece band line up is up to you, but common configurations are Male Vocals/Guitar & Female Vocals. Male Vocals/Keyboard & Female Vocals. Female Vocals & Guitar. Male Vocals/Guitar & Percussion. Male Vocals/Keyboard & Double Bass.