{"id":75,"date":"2013-07-01T19:16:42","date_gmt":"2013-07-01T19:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marimbas.co.za\/wordpress\/?page_id=75"},"modified":"2017-12-28T09:58:38","modified_gmt":"2017-12-28T09:58:38","slug":"faq-3","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.marimbas.co.za\/wordpress\/faq-3\/","title":{"rendered":"faq"},"content":{"rendered":"

Which band option should I choose?<\/i>
\nFor background atmospheric music, our 3 piece band is highly recommended. It is also a popular choice for weddings. The 4 piece includes a percussionist which creates a higher energy performance and is often the preferred choice for larger audiences or bigger venues.
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nWhat kind of music do you play?<\/i>
\nWe play traditional and popular African pieces as well as original compositions and African jazz standards. Have a look at our see & hear us<\/a> page and we can send you a sample list of our repertoire.
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nDoes the band need to be amplified?<\/i>
\nOne of the handy things about our African marimbas is that they are naturally resonant so no amplification or power is required. This makes the marimbas bands ideal for both indoor and outdoor functions. For feature stage performances for large audiences, 4 vocal mics on mic stands are recommended.
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nCan you control how loud the marimbas are?<\/i>
\nAbsolutely! The volume is a direct result of how hard or softly we strike the keys. We are sensitive to allowing guests to mingle and chat at events and so we adjust our volume accordingly. You are also welcome come up to us at any point during the performance to let us know if you would like us to play little louder or softer.
\n <\/i>
\nWhat do the band members wear?<\/i>
\nOur band members wear either red or blue African shirts. We can also wear all black on request.
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nHow long do I have the band for?<\/i>
\nOur standard booking period is for up to two consecutive hours at the venue so you will have the band for the period of e.g 16h00 \u2013 18h00 at the venue. Our booking periods are based on time at the venue rather than performing time because we sometimes have more than one booking on a particular day.
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nHow long does it take to set up the instruments?<\/i>
\nAbout 7mins \u2013 that\u2019s it!
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nWhen does the band set up?<\/i>
\nWe\u2019ll be set up 30mins before the start of your booking period. Punctuality is very important to us and our clients regularly compliment us in this regard. <\/i>
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nCan they set up earlier?<\/i>
\nIf the booking period starts at say 16h00, the band will be set up by 15h30. We do offer an early set up service if you would like the band set up by 15h00 in our example above.\u00a0 As our musicians charge for their time at the venue, there is a fee for the early set up service (see our\u00a0marimba band options<\/a>\u00a0for our rates).
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nDoes the band take a break?<\/i>
\nWe take a 15min break during the 2 consecutive hour booking period just to catch our breath.
\n <\/i>
\nWhen will the 15min break happen?<\/i>
\nWe are quite flexible in this regard so let us know if you would like the break to happen at a certain time within the booking period (e.g. during speeches). In general though, we play for 45mins, take a 15min break and then play for 60mins, which sums to the 2 consecutive hours at the venue.
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nMust we give the band a meal or snacks?<\/i>
\nJust some water or soft drinks during our break in order to rehydrate. Meals and snacks are not a requirement (but are always very much appreciated!).
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nHow much space should we give the band?<\/i>
\nAn area of about 3m\u00b2 is ideal, but we can make a plan to fit into whatever space you have available.
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nCan the instruments be moved from one area to another at my venue?<\/i>
\nYes! The band members will pick up the instruments and carry them where required. Just let us know beforehand and the band will move the instruments during their break.
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nHow will the band know what to do when they arrive?<\/i>
\nAll the info we need appears on our enquiry form<\/a>. Once you’ve filled in all the details on the form we will have all the info on hand on the day (e.g. who to contact on arrival, where to set up, special requests, start and end time of booking period etc).
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nCan we meet with you?<\/i>
\nSure! We can meet over Skype or if you\u2019d like to pop in, we can arrange a meeting on an evening during the work week
\n <\/i>
\nHow do I book the band?<\/i>
\nCheck our availability, select your band size, fill in the enquiry form<\/a> \u00a0and we\u2019ll reply via email to you to find out if you\u2019d like to confirm the booking. If yes, then we\u2019ll send an invoice for the 50% deposit which secures your date.
\n <\/i>
\nDo you travel for functions?<\/i>
\nYes \u2013 we have performed throughout South Africa, as well as in Italy, Sweden, Finland, USA, China, Russia, Malaysia and Argentina.
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nIs there a travel fee?<\/i>
\nThere might be – it depends on your venue. We use a specialised vehicle to transport the marimbas plus the musicians to and from function venues. For bookings within the Cape Town city bowl and southern suburbs, no travel fee is charged. For venues further afield, please refer to our marimba band options<\/a> for the applicable rate.
\n <\/i>
\nDo the band members sing?<\/i>
\nYes they do sing as an accompaniment to the marimbas (background rather than soloist feature singing).
\n <\/i>
\nCan you source gumboot dancers or African dancers?<\/i>
\nWe may be able to assist you with one or two dancers, depending on their availability.
\n <\/i>
\nCan you provide a drumming group?<\/i>
\nCertainly! We can provide a group of either 3 or 5 djembe drummers. The costs will be the same as the cost for our 3 and 5 piece marimba bands respectively.
\n <\/i>
\nWhere can we download your music?<\/i>
\nAll of our music is available on SoundCloud<\/a>.
\n\u00a0<\/i>
\nDo you do drumming workshops?<\/i>
\nYes we do! Our drumming workshops are a popular choice for teambuilding. Drop us a mail to tell us when you\u2019d like to have the workshop and how many participants you have in mind and we will send you all the info you need.
\n <\/i>
\n\"2013_07_04<\/a><\/p>\n

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Which band option should I choose? For background atmospheric music, our 3 piece band is highly recommended. It is also a popular choice for weddings. The 4 piece includes a Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marimbas.co.za\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/75"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marimbas.co.za\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marimbas.co.za\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marimbas.co.za\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marimbas.co.za\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75"}],"version-history":[{"count":60,"href":"https:\/\/www.marimbas.co.za\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/75\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":417,"href":"https:\/\/www.marimbas.co.za\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/75\/revisions\/417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marimbas.co.za\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}