I'm thinking of performing for functions for parties.

(I'm just thinking mind you!)

I've had a look at some music books and I haven't had much luck in finding something I like.
I'm looking for piano solos and piano/guitar/vocals.
And I'm looking for songs which aren't too popular (not too cheesy), easy going, good for background music and performance.

Does anyone have any songbook suggestions?

I think the Gershwin songbook is a winner if you're looking for great tunes that most people will enjoy. There's also a series of books called 'Play Piano with... [name of artist]'. I've got the 'Play Piano with Nina Simone' and it gives transcriptions of authentic piano parts that Nina plays.

I have had thoughts along the same lines (playing at wedding functions etc)

I had a google search for wedding pianists. Many had websites with their repertoire list on - and some had examples of their playing.

I used these just as a guide as to what goes down well at weddings - and turns out I've already got loads of songbooks with the sort of songs in that feature in the lists of professional wedding pianists.

Might be a good starting point?

I'm trying to raise money for a trip/pilgrimage thingy in a couple of years' time, and have thought about offering services as a pianist at parties. When my mum has Indonesian friends get-togethers, if they have a piano I'm usually roped in for 'Happy birthday' (if applicable!) and a couple of pieces, which I get to choose. (Playing for no fee though!) However, I think it would be difficult because I still don't have a very wide range of repertoire, and probably wouldn't be able to cope with requests. Can anyone suggest how I might get advertise, or indeed whether it's a good idea??

Apologies for going a bit off topic, and having no songbook suggestions...

If you look at the web pages of wedding pianists, a lot have their repertoire list in their site. There is usually a mix of a bit of jazz, classical and popular music.

A lot of them say that if you want to request a particular piece, then they need notice, and may charge extra if they need to buy a copy of the piece and practice it - so many don't do "on the spot" requests.

Having said that, I'd keep a stock of "usually requested" songs so that if they do happen to say "can you play...?" then you might stand a chance of having it their handy.

I'm lacking in jazz repertoire at the moment, so have just bought myself "Jazz Tunes You've Always Wanted To Play" to start me off - simple, but amenable to improvising etc...and to see what jazz pieces are popular.

The usual "stint" is 2-3 hours - some say they take a 10 minute break every hour.

I'm currently working my way through my books at the moment to see what I can play and what needs work. I've got lots of film/show/popular music (80's, 90's, love songs, etc etc) and lots of "popular classics" - but you'd probably be surprised at how many tunes you know once you get going. I think I'm up to about piece number 200 and am writing them down as I go along so that I know what sort of list I could feasibly put on a website etc.

As for advertising - I haven't got to that stage yet!

Dan Coates Complete Advanced Solos is full of popular song arrangements for solo piano. But some of them do have quite a high cheese factor... still, all in all, for fourteen or so pounds you get a telephone directory sized book and loads of very well arranged songs.

speaking of telephone directories has anyone purchased the piano white pages?

I think I know the one, but having glanced through it, many of the arrangements looked identical to the ones in the Unforgettable series, some of which are pretty good, but many look like the bare bones of the piece. Dan Coates arrangements are quite challenging, and though the book is hefty and I've only done a few from it-which leaves me feeling a bit inadequate- Bryan Adams Everything I Do, LaVie En Rose, Say A little Prayer, and even-and i'm turning pink here-a song by Leanne Rymes, also Send In the Clowns, and a few Disney themes-now i'm beetroot...well you know what they say, guilty pleasures and all that.