> Now I've got a great repertoire list (this topic has been perfectly timed
> for me :o) and I'm about to start advertising my services. My biggest
> question now is how much do I charge? And do I provide the
pianist/organist
> or will they? And if they don't provide a pianist or organist, should I
> charge double to cover the cost of providing my own?
Jennifer,
I won't comment on the money thing. Pianists/organists.... a lot of
times they are provided at weddings, b/c after all, someone has to play for
the other parts of the ceremony, if it's held in a church, right?? (I'm
only dealling w/ weddings here). The only trouble is, I've discovered in my
experience the pianist isn't always that good, even if they normally play at
a fairly decent sized church, and even if said pianist has been given music
weeks in advance. And generally, you get maybe one rehearsal the day of the
wedding too... I'm not quite sure what to do about this sort of situation
other than perhaps choosing less difficult music may help slightly, or at
least improve the situation.
I'd say try and find your own pianist is always safest, and charge
accordingly. And with funerals, things are so last minute and disorganized,
it's good to have someone you know, rather than whomever the people in
charge managed to get last minute. I've also played for funerals - again
last minute, and it's not that i'm an awful pianist, but sometimes things
are so tightly scheduled I KNOW I don't have time to prepare for it and so I
grab an easy hymn, but playing for soloists is another story....
Fiona
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