What is the formula for the number of songs in a set?
Songs in a set = (set length + one gap) divided by (average song length + gap between songs), rounded down. The extra gap is there because the last song has no gap after it. Set length is the gig length, minus the breaks, divided by the number of sets.
For a 45 minute set at the defaults: 45:30 divided by 4:30 is 10.1, so 10 songs. Ten songs and the nine gaps between them take 44:30.
The calculator opens on a 2 hour gig in two sets with a 15 minute break. Three of its figures are defaults: an average song length of 4:00, a gap of 0:30 between songs, and 2 spare songs. Each is labelled "default, change to suit your band". They are starting points and not measurements of anyone's set, so replace them with your own figures as soon as you have them.
It gives you three numbers: playing time, songs per set, and total songs including spares.
How many songs fit a 30, 45, 60 or 90 minute set, or a 2 or 3 hour gig?
The table gives the count for each length at three average song lengths, with breaks taken out for the longer gigs. It is produced by the same function as the calculator above, so the two always agree.
| Booked time | Sets and breaks | Songs at 3:30 each | Songs at 4:00 each | Songs at 4:30 each |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 minutes | 1 set, no break | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| 45 minutes | 1 set, no break | 11 | 10 | 9 |
| 60 minutes | 1 set, no break | 15 | 13 | 12 |
| 90 minutes | 2 sets, one 15-minute break | 18 | 16 | 14 |
| 2 hours | 2 sets, one 15-minute break | 26 | 22 | 20 |
| 3 hours | 3 sets, 2 15-minute breaks | 36 | 33 | 30 |
Two rows worked by hand, at 4:00 a song and 0:30 between songs:
- 60 minutes, one set. 60:30 divided by 4:30 is 13.4, so 13 songs. Bring 15.
- 2 hours, two sets, one 15 minute break. That leaves 105 minutes of playing, or 52:30 a set. Each set holds 11 songs, so 22 in total. Bring 24.
Why count the gap between songs?
Because the gap is stage time that is not music. Counting in, retuning, changing a capo, a word to the room, a singer finding the next lyric: each one is short, and together they add up. A 13 song set has 12 gaps, and at 0:30 each that is 6:00 of the hour. Leave the gap at zero and the calculator will tell you to bring more songs than you have time to play.
Your gap is yours to measure. Time one set at a rehearsal or a gig, subtract the song lengths, divide by the number of songs, and put that figure in.
What changes the count for your band?
- Your real song lengths. A live arrangement is often not the length of the recording. If you extend solos or cut verses, use your version's length.
- Medleys and mashups. Several songs run together count as one long item. Add their lengths and treat the result as a single song.
- Requests. If you take requests during the show, each one you accept pushes a planned song out or runs the set long. Decide which before the gig.
- The encore. If the venue expects one, it comes out of the spare songs.
How do I turn the count into a running order?
The calculator gives you a number of songs. A running order tells you which songs and in what order, and adds up their real lengths.
StageFloww, the setlist and stage-lyrics app, does that part in its setlist builder. You give each song a duration and the builder shows the set's total minutes. A song with no duration entered is counted as 3:30 there, which is shorter than this calculator's 4:00 default, so enter real durations before you trust the total. The Free plan holds 1 active setlist of up to 40 songs, which covers the 3 hour gig above with its spares.
For how the rest of the night runs from the same screen, see StageFloww for cover bands or for wedding bands. If the name is new to you, about StageFloww says what it is and what it does not do.