So as I mentioned in the other thread, I want to approach the people at the art shop about starting a piano club and Iād like to ask them to have their shop be the clubās meeting space. But I feel like I need to know what Iām doing, what my goals are, and also maybe what I donāt want to happen, before I talk to them.
My goals: 1) to create regular opportunities to play in public, to perform for people, 2) to find a piano community and make some friends who also play. And by regular opportunities, Iām thinking maybe once a month?
Anything in the above that Iām missing?
What Iām asking from the art shop: 1) let the piano club use their piano and their space, 2) put the club meeting in their online calendar (so that other people can see it and maybe that becomes a way to get more members).
One question concerns money. They have a large space in the back, like a separate room, that can be used for events, but the piano is at the front of the shop. Right now, if you walk into the shop and thereās no event in the back, you can play the piano. (i.e., you donāt pay to play) But if we have regular meetings, and they put us into their calendar, maybe we should collect a participate fee from each player to pay the shop? And certainly if we wanted to have a more formal recital (and maybe have the piano moved into the event space) then I would assume we should pay for that. So maybe I need to be ready to talk about that as well.
Maybe I could suggest that initially, no ādues,ā but if the group got larger or we did something special, then we would collect dues or participation fee to pay the shop?
Oh, I should add, this shop is run by a non-profit and all the artwork thatās sold in the shop is made by local artists. Thereās a board, and the artists who have their artwork displayed there all have to volunteer in the shop (as salesclerks etc) I think itās like 8 hours a month, Iām not sure. I would not be able to do that (volunteer 8 hours) so I guess I need to be ready for that to come up in discussion. But because itās a non-profit, thatās why I think it maybe makes sense that if they āsponsorā the piano club, eventually the club members would have to pay something?
Background in case you missed it in the other thread: thereās an art shop at the mall and they have a small grand piano which they like for people to come and play. Recently they added a little seating area near the piano as well. Iāve played there a few times. Recently, I met another woman there who was playing the piano, and yesterday we arranged to meet up and play for each other.
Another bit of background: when I was taking lessons at the community music school, they arranged for an āadult collaborationā group (I think thatās what they called it). I was hoping it would be a good way to practice performance, but for some reason it didnāt work well. For one thing, there were two trumpet players who came and then some of the piano players were beginners who didnāt have even one piece they could play from start to finish and couldnāt really play HT. It seemed like the beginners were there because they were looking for extra instruction, and another one was trying to get everyone to work on a song that we could all play together. It was total chaos and I was convinced that sitting in this small room listening to these trumpet players play was going to permanently damage my hearing! In the end, I only attended that group once. :/
So I definitely want it to be āall skill levels welcome,ā but I donāt want anyone to think that this is some kind of group lesson, if that makes sense. Also, I think it should be all genres welcomeā¦ I guess I want it to be something like ācome to play and come to listen.ā Like an in-person version of a PT recital!
If you read this far, thank you! Please share any comments you have, any advice, or anything that maybe I should be thinking about but have overlooked.
Also, if you have a group that you meet up with to play, do you pay any kind of dues or participation fee?
TIA!