Arta String Quartet Scotland – Wedding String Quartet Glasgow Edinburgh

FAQs

Are you willing to play outside?

Sunlight, rain and temperature can do serious, permanent damage to instruments, much like antique furniture (wood cracks and splits, internal wood rot, varnish damage etc).

With this in mind, the group will only play outside between the months of June and September, in temperatures no less than 16°C and only if suitable cover is provided (either a canopy, marquee, and possibly large shady trees etc).

This is the minimum temperature (16°C) specified by the Musicians' Union. If cover is insufficient (particularly trees) and it rains, the group will be forced to relocate immediately even during the ceremony and/or halfway through a song.

In the vast majority of cases, acoustic groups sound better inside. This is because there is no natural acoustic to work with outside so the sound doesn’t project as well or sound as full. Due to this we recommend booking the quartet (over the trio) if at any point you wish the musicians to play outside (provided the conditions above are met).

Do I pay for booking length or performance time?

Your booking time is calculated by booking length, not performance time. Your booking starts when the group start playing.

We pay our players by the half hour (for the full time they are at an event, excluding their 30 minute setup time). This is industry standard practice and produces the fairest working conditions.

This is worth considering if you are using 2 venues for a wedding ceremony and reception as travel between them is included in the booking. With this in mind, in order to be fair to both clients and players, we don't accept bookings involving two venues that are more than 30 minutes apart.

There’s a song I want you to play that’s not on your repertoire list. Can you still play it?

For your ceremony we may arrange one piece of music for you that isn’t on our songlist if we agree that it can effectively be arranged for strings and is complementary to our existing songlists. There may be an arranging fee which we will advise if we agree to do it. Requests must be made at least 6 weeks before your wedding date and are dependent on our workload.

Is there any type of music that doesn’t work with strings?

String arrangements work for the majority of genres of music - pop, film themes, musicals, folk, classical, jazz, rock, latin etc.. Some genres such as metal, rap and punk or songs that are heavily reliant on drum(s) and/or bass are trickier (and in some cases impossible) to arrange well for strings but we will decide/confirm this with you on a case by case basis.

What do you specialise in?

We specialise in performing pop covers but we can also play film themes, musicals, folk, jazz, classical etc.  Please see our extensive songlist for more details.

How will we discuss all the details after I book?

We are available through email to discuss any details with you. We prefer to do it this way so that we can maintain a clear paper trail of what is discussed and agreed. This will include timings, song choices,  plan changes etc.

How do I book you?

After receiving a quote simply let us know by email if you wish to go ahead and we will provide a link to our short online booking form. When you complete this you will automatically receive an email providing details of how to pay your non-returnable deposit of £200 by bank transfer to secure your booking.

How much do you charge?

This depends on the size of group, how long you would like us to play and how far we need to travel. Please complete the online form in the ‘contact’ section to have a customised quote sent to you.

String Trio vs String Quartet?

A Trio is 3 players (2 violins and cello or 1 violin, 1 viola and 1 cello) whereas a Quartet is 4 players (2 violins, 1 viola and 1 cello). This means the Trio sound is slightly quieter and less full-sounding. This is a good choice for keeping costs down and is perfect for smaller venues where there is less space, however it is less effective for larger venues (with more guests) and when playing outside.

Do you play during the meal?

No - we only provide music for pre-ceremony, ceremony and drinks receptions prior to your meal. Our experience has shown that dinners either don't require live music, or a soloist is more suitable (pianist, harpist, guitarist, singer etc).

Do you issue a contract?

As part of our online booking form, our terms and conditions are available for you to read and agree to. The check boxes accepting the terms and conditions (including our policy on playing outside) must be ticked to allow your booking form to be confirmed. This constitutes our digital contract with you and allows us to maintain paperless transactions.

When will you arrive?

We will arrive at least 20 minutes before we start playing (normally 30 minutes). 

How long does it take for you to set up?

Normally it takes us less than 5 minutes but we allow 20-30 minutes for this.

Our event is in a remote location. Will you travel?

Due to high demand (especially in peak summer season) we don’t normally take bookings further than a 1.5 hour drive (one-way) from Glasgow.

What do you wear when you’re playing?

Normally we wear all black, or black bottoms/white top. However if you would like us to dress with more colour then do let us know!

Do you accompany singers or collaborate with other musicians?

Despite having worked with singers in the past, we no longer collaborate with other musicians.

Although in the past these were well received, we feel that we cannot guarantee the effectiveness as each case is different and there are just too many variables involved.     It's also not actually what we (or the other musician) specialise in providing at weddings.

In the vast majority of cases we recommend having a soloist or a singer using their own backing track (especially if they're only performing during your Signing for example) and/or have them perform during your dinner (which we don't play at).

Do you play hymns?

We have a collection of popular hymns. We typically provide a short 4-bar introduction to each hymn. This is particularly useful if your guests will be singing, as it shows them clearly when to start.

I’ve booked an organist to play in the ceremony, will this work with strings?

You can decide whether to use the organist or us to accompany hymns. It’s common for the quartet to play for the bridal entrance and signing of the register, and then have the organist playing for your hymns and exit. This avoids the organist drowning out the strings and can create a good variety of music and atmosphere in your ceremony.

I’ve booked a piper, how will that work?

We work alongside pipers regularly. Typically, the piper pipes the guests from their transport to the door of the venue.

If the pipes can be heard from inside the ceremony venue, we will take over from the piper roughly 15-20 minutes prior to the bridal entrance.If the piper cannot be heard inside then we will play simultaneously.

During your ceremony normally we would play for your Entry and Signing and the piper would play for your Exit.