Hire Simple Sounds | String duo in Glasgow

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From£495

1 hour

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Simple Sounds | Acoustic Duo (Drinks Reception & Parties)

Simple Sounds | Acoustic Duo (Ceremony & First Dances)

Simple Sounds | Trad & Ceilidh Duo

About Simple Sounds

Top quality Violin/Vocal & Guitar Duo based in Glasgow available for ceilidhs, wedding ceremonies, drinks receptions and other events!

3 of 5 photos

String duo

Glasgow

Public liability insurance of £10 million

Verified profile

Claire Philip - Violin/Vocals - Masters in Songwriting - Post Graduate Professional Diploma in Education - First class BA (Hons) Applied Music A graduate of the BA Applied Music degree, the PGDE teacher training at University of Strathclyde and the MA Masters in Songwriting from University West of Scotland, Claire studied violin and has performed at some of the most high profile venues in Scotland. With over fifteen years of solo performance experience and as an orchestral leader, she has developed a thorough knowledge of musical styles to compliment her classical training. In addition to her violin playing, Claire is a songwriter and enchanting singer. She can sing songs for first dances on advanced request. William Johnston - First Class BA (Hons) Applied Music, specialism in classical guitar - Grade 8 (Distinction) electric guitar A graduate from the University of Strathclyde with a first class honours in BA Applied Music, William has been making music on a professional level for fifteen years as a soloist, band member and orchestral musician. William was awarded the prestigious Alexander Stone Award for an outstanding solo guitar recital in 2014. He has performed classical guitar recitals around the country, and in addition to his rising solo career, he is in demand as a session guitarist of all genres and instrumentations including electric, acoustic, classical and bass guitar, as well as the viola.

Simple Sounds

5 out of 5

3 verified reviews

Satisfaction

5.0

Professionalism

5.0

Communication

5.0

Punctuality

5.0

Simple Sounds' Reviews

5 out of 5

They were absolutely amazing. They adapted a couple of complicated songs beautifully and were perfect. Everyone at our wedding raved about them!

5 out of 5

Simple sounds played at our drinks reception, lots of our guests commented on how great they were! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to others, a fantastic addition to the day!

Reply from Simple Sounds

1 year ago

Thank you Gayle, your guests were so kind and complimentary, we loved every second!

5 out of 5

Fantastic party on Saturday made all the better with Simple Sounds. They were absolutely brilliant from the booking right through to playing on the evening. Highly recommend them!!

A very big thank you to both of you for the fantastic ceilidh at our wedding. We had an amazing time, and were really glad we had you guys playing for us. It made such a difference that you matched the music to how the guests were feeling, and played some ballads while they were recovering from the previous ceilidh number! We were so impressed with Simple Sounds. Thank you so much again!

Andrew and I were absolutely delighted with Simple Sounds! We couldn't believe there was only 2 of you playing-the sound was so full! You were fantastic at calling and great at engaging with the guests too! You were really relaxed too when talking to me and accommodating which helped ease the wedding stress (especially the first dance dread!) Claire was such a lovely singer and it was great to have Claire singing between dances to entertain the guests and also give them a chance to catch their breath for the next dance! So pleased, you should charge a lot more than you do! Extremely professional!

Read all 3 reviews

Encore badges

5 gigs

Experienced: 5 bookings through Encore

Saved the day!

Booked for an Encore gig with less than 24 hours’ notice

8th Anniversary

This act has been working with Encore for over 8 years

Simple Sounds' Song list

POPULAR

All of Me – John Legend

All You Need is Love – The Beatles

Can’t Help Falling in Love - Elvis

Can’t Stop the Feeling – Justin Timberlake

Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – Franki Valli and the Four Seasons

Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol

Close to You – The Carpenters

Eternal Flame – The Bangles

Everything – Michael Buble

Everything I Do (I Do It For You) – from Robin Hood Prince of Thieves

Firework – Katy Perry

From This Moment On – Shania Twain

Go Your Own Way – Fleetwood Mac

God Only Knows – The Beach Boys

Greatest Day – Take That

Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen

Here, There and Everywhere – The Beatles

I’m Yours – Jason Mraz

I Won’t Give Up – Jason Mraz

Kiss Me – Sixpence None the Richer

The Long and Winding Road – The Beatles

Make You Feel My Love – Bob Dylan (Adele Version)

Over the Rainbow – Eva Cassidy Version

Shut Up and Dance With Me – Walk the Moon

Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours – Stevie Wonder

Songbird – Fleetwood Mac

Stand By Me – Ben E. King

There She Goes – The La’s

Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran

A Thousand Years – Christina Perri

When You Say Nothing At All – from Notting Hill

Wherever You Will Go – The Calling

You Make My Dreams – Hall and Oates

Your Song – Elton John

You’re Still the One – Shania Twain

FILM

Fairytale - from Shrek

For the Love of a Princess - from Braveheart

Gabriel’s Oboe - from The Mission

Glasgow Love Theme - from Love Actually

Hogwarts Hymn - from Harry Potter

May it Be - from Lord of the Rings

Moon River - from Breakfast at Tiffany’s

My Heart Will Go On – from Titanic

Now We Are Free - from Gladiator

Portuguese Love Theme - from Love Actually

Pure Imagination – from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Tennessee - from Pearl Harbour

Valse d’Amelie - from Amelie

DISNEY

Beauty and the Beast - from Beauty and the Beast

Can You Feel the Love Tonight? - from Lion King

How Far I’ll Go - from Moana

If I Never Knew You - from Pocahontas

I See the Light - from Tangled

Love is an Open Door - from Frozen

Part of Your World – from The Little Mermaid

A Whole New World - from Aladdin

You’ve Got a Friend in Me - from Toy Story

CLASSICAL

Arioso - J. S. Bach

Cavatina - Myres

Canon in D – Pachelbel

Flower Duet – Delibes

Gymnopedie No. 1 – Satie

Hornpipe in D - Handel

I giorni - Einaudi

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring - J. S. Bach

Jupiter (Main Theme) – Holst

Largo from “New World” Symphony - Dvorak

Largo from Winter - Vivaldi

Panis Angelicus - Franck

Salut d’amour – Elgar

Sheep May Safely Graze - J. S. Bach

The Swan (from Carnival of the Animals)– Saint-Saens

Traumerei - Schumann

Trumpet Tune - Purcell

Trumpet Voluntary – Clarke

Wachet auf - J. S. Bach

TRADITIONAL

Ae Fond Kiss

Amazing Grace

Another Stolen Kiss

Ashokan Farewell

Highland Cathedral

Home Away from Home

Hut On Staffen Island

Loch Lomond

My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose

Louis Wlatz

Ye Banks and Braes

(plus a variety of marches, jigs, reels and waltzes)

Simple Sounds' Prices

Last updated: 2024

Note: prices may vary based on travel distance. For an exact quote, click “Check availability”.

Performance duration	Price
Up to 1 hour	£495
Up to 2 hours	£595
Up to 3 hours	£645

Customer questions

What do your clients love most about your performances?

We regularly get complimented on our versatility (covering violin and vocals along with guitar), our range of genres, and our ability to adapt to the particular event.

Which venues have you performed at in the past?

We are central Scotland based, we love venues like Oran Mor, Cottiers, Seamill Hydro, House for an Art Lover, Cornhill Castle, Crossbasket Castle, Trades Hall, but we have travelled the whole length and breadth of the country!

Which artists have you been most influenced by?

Top acoustic musicians such as James Taylor, Nora Jones, Eva Cassidy, traditional musicians such as Alasdair Fraser/Natalie Hass Duo, music from Riverdance, of course the superstars of pop and rock like The Beatles, Beach Boys, Queen, and also the greats of the classical world, J.S. Bach, Mozart, Luduvico Einaudi!

What is the most high profile gig you've performed?

We have played a few cool gigs for American business people wanting a taste of Scotish music at their events, but generally we just love to play at people's weddings, it's their chance to be high profile for the day!

Do you have different line-up options?

Simple Sounds only go out as a duo, however we provide violin and/or vocals and guitar, so we are very versatile, if you're interested in a bigger lineup for daytime music, please check our partnering group Simple Strings Quartet!

What if my timings change after I've booked you?

We always try our best to be flexible to help ensure your event runs as smoothly as possible. If timings change slightly in the run up to the event just let us know.

How much time do you need to set up?

For Ceremonies, we like to arrive 45mins-1hr before guests are due to arrive to give us time to setup, for Drinks Receptions we can usually be setup in 30 mins. For ceilidhs we arrive 1hr before the first dance is due to start.

Can I pick the pieces you play from the set list?

Yes! For longer playing times such as at drinks receptions, we recommend giving us an idea of the genre and styles you'd like and we will tailor our setlist to you. If you have a handful of particular choices you'd like us to include, we try to make sure to play those when you're nearby.

Do you bring all the equipment you need to perform?

Yes! We take great pride in only using high-end professional equipment that we keep regularly serviced and PAT tested.

Can you learn specific pieces before the event?

Absolutely! Simple Sounds take enormous pride in learning new songs just for you, it's one of our signature skills that we love most about what we do to help make your day especially unique and memorable for you!

Musicianship

Genres:

Ceilidh

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Types:

String duo, Acoustic duo, Classical duo

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Event types:

Private event, Wedding, Corporate event, Charity event, Burns night, Birthday party, New Year's Eve

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