Providing entertainment for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah party is a huge challenge for a DJ with a traditional loudspeaker powered sound system.
Every time I am the DJ for Bar and Bat Mitzvah parties, I am struck by the difficulty of pleasing the 13 year old guests at the same time as pleasing their parents and grandparents. With a traditional sound system, they all have to hear the same thing. The problem is that they don’t want to hear the same thing.
If you haven’t been to one of these parties, let me describe the challenge.
(It is important to note that I am not talking about the ceremony or Jewish laws and traditions. I am simply talking about the dynamics at the dance party if they choose to have one.)
The Bar or Bat Mitzvah party usually happens near the child’s 13th birthday and they invite their friends from school. So you get anywhere from a dozen to three or four dozen kids close to that age wanting to hear their music.
Of course this is a family event, so the parents invite their friends and extended family which includes the grandparents and the grandparent’s friends who want to talk and dance too.
The DJ is trying to please three generations simultaneously.
When was the last time you heard grandparents getting excited over the music choices of their grandkids? And when was the last time you heard them agree on how loud the music should be?
It starts with only teens on the floor. Then the grown-ups demand a few songs. The teens complain and clear off the floor while the DJ works to get the grown-ups dancing. When the adults are finally filling the dance floor, the teens are demanding a few songs. Then the grown-ups complain and clear off the floor and the cycle starts all over again.
The cycle continues throughout the night with the end result that none of the generations are really being satisfied.
Think of the poor parents that are paying for it all! They are stuck between the teenagers and the senior citizens. One side is begging for the music to be turned down and the other side is begging for it to be turned up. Both sides are begging for the DJ to play something they like.
Usually the parent’s generation is pretty tolerant, but the teenagers and the senior citizens are threatening a mutiny!
Grandparents and teenagers are the age groups that have the strongest preferences for their own music and how loud it should be played. They are also the two most vocal age groups when they feel their preferences are being ignored.
It is as if in a dream. Each generation is shouting at the DJ, waving their fists and threatening violent retaliation. Suddenly the lights flicker and go out with a flash of sparks. Everyone is frozen in shock!
There is a crash of thunder a blinding light appears above the combatants heads! Is it the miracle we’ve been praying for? Yes, It is!
A host of heavenly angels begin singing as a diamond studded pair of headphones slowly descend from the heavens. Then there is another, and another, and then the air is full of headphones! Sparkling beams of light splashing everywhere as they slowly settle down over the ears of every guest!
The lights come back on and everyone is wearing Silent Disco headphones. Everyone is smiling and everyone is happy once again!
The solution is sooo simple!
#1) What do the grandparents want? They want the music to be soft enough that they can talk and they’d prefer oldies tracks!
#2) What do the parents want? They want the volume to be such that they can either dance or talk and they want to hear music titles that they recognize.
#3) What do the kids want? They want the music nice and loud and they want to hear their brand new tracks from their teens-only sources!
This is how the Silent Disco equipment solves the problem:
#1) Multiple music choices:
Our headphones allow the user to choose between three channels. So, have your DJ broadcast three different genres of music; one to each channel.
You’ll need an oldies playlist for the grandparents’ generation, a top 40 (both new and old) playlist for the parents’ generation, and of course a teens’ playlist for the kids.
#2) User adjustable volume knobs:
Each set of headphones has their own volume control, so everybody is happy with the volume.
#3) Silent Disco makes it easier to have conversations:
Long conversations at this type of event work best with some background music always playing on a traditional sound system.
I recommend using the traditional sound system for the announcements, the hora (chair-lifting) and spotlight dances using the regular sound system.
Once those are done, keep the dinner music playing quietly for the rest of the party. This gives a nice backdrop to conversations that non-dancers will want to have. They won’t need to ever put on the headphones.
But for the people that might want to dance, but also want to talk, we recommend that they wear the headphones for dancing, and set them down on their neck with the volume still up for conversations.
With the headphones on their shoulders, they will hear the songs they might want to dance to at a low volume. This doesn’t interrupt the conversation. Then they can put on the headphones and take to the dance floor at a moment’s notice. Quick exchanges while dancing can be accomplished by just lifting one earpiece without losing a beat.
Without Silent Disco, the older generation would flee from the loud-unfamiliar music half-way through the event, now they stay and enjoy themselves so much more!
The parents now have the option of dancing or talking and the music that is playing is stuff that they know and like! See my blog post about communication with headphones on for more insights.
The kids are having the time of their life listening to their own music at their own volume and never getting kicked off the dance floor by song requests from their elders.
Rent your headphones from us here at www.silent-disco-rental.com and we’ll help you have the Mitvah party of a lifetime where there is music for every generation, all at the perfect volume!
