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If you have participated in, or organized a piano party, could you share your thoughts about how it was organized, what worked, what didn't work so well?

I hope to have the room in the spring to begin looking for pianists in my small part of the world that would like to participate in a piano party. Because of the small population here, it would need to be open to pianists of all levels in order to generate enough interest.

Any thoughts or advice is appreciated.

I belong to a Piano Social Group that meets once a month in or around Seattle. One person has volunteered to manage Google-groups email notifications. I learned about the group through word-of-mouth.

Our "rules" are pretty informal. Everyone must take a turn hosting, which is about once a year. Hosts must provide a good piano, snacks and beverages. I was told to provide "heavy snacks" because many members come directly from work. We usually gather at 7 p.m. on a weekday of the host's choosing. Usually the host plays first but after that, it's pretty informal and pianists play when they are ready. There's plenty of time for conversation too. We usually end between 9 and 10. Before I joined, our group got quite large so we split into two sections: advanced and intermediate.

I hope that is helpful.

I've belonged to a group for several years now.

Our "rules" may be slightly more formal. We meet once and month and people (who are able) host providing their home and piano for playing. We organize food as a potluck and have signup sheet for what food items each member will bring. This helps keep it organized and any one host doesn't have to provide all that food (our largest gathering has been around 12 people or so).

Before performing we draw numbers for the order. There is a rough time limit to every performance to keep things going. After the performances are done we eat and socialize.

There is a variety of levels in the group but no-one really at beginner level and some are quite advanced.

I organize and run a group of amateur musicians, not limited to pianists only, but pianists usually outnumber other musicians. We meet once a month - usually on the afternoon of the last Sunday of the month - in our various homes, but, of course, only those with pianos and with sufficient seating space can host.

Over the years I have been doing this, the participants have found it helpful to have a program which I prepare and print out for the number of people who will be there. This requires a commitment on the part of the performers not only to submit their submissions to me several days in advance via email, but also to be prepared to perform on the afternoon of the performance.

While this may sound more formal than it really is, it does not preclude performers from trying out "works in progress" that may appear again on a future program in a more refined performance.

The advantage of having musicians other than pianists in our group is that pianists can avail themselves of the opportunity to collaborate with some of the other performers as they get to know them. Thus, some of our pianists are getting experience accompanying singers (a breed apart!) and other instrumentalists.

This is an adult group which excludes teenagers and younger, and it also excludes teachers of any of the performers. The atmosphere is one of friendly support, as each performer, especially the inexperienced, appreciates the occasional difficulties and trauma associated with performing "live" for an audience.

The group has grown over the years by word of mouth, and each month we have from as few as eight to as many as eighteen in attendance. Not everyone necessarily performs each month, nor does everyone attend every month; our mailing list numbers over 30 members. There is no telling how many will attend each month until the submissions come in, and, on occasion, I have had to cut the number of performances when the program becomes too long. On the other hand, when there is a recital that is shorter than usual, people are encouraged to play additional works, if they wish, that are not on the program.

There is no requirement that people perform on a regular basis, but it is expected that performance is part of being a member of the group.

The group has been in operation for over ten years; I have been the 'animateur' for over eight years.

Regards,

The group in my neck of the woods does NOT do food, as it is considered too much of an imposition on everybody from hosts to participants. (But for some groups food is a must, I'd imagine. 😀)

There are meetings in various homes having grand pianos during the year and an annual big recital in (usually) the art museum auditorium on a concert grand.

I am somehow the "organizer" for two adult amateur piano groups.

(1) One group focuses on classical music, has a site on Meetup.com ($120 per year if you have <50 members), meets 6 times a year at a piano performance space, and has been going for 4+ years. There are criteria to limit the group to adult amateurs only. This group may be less relevant to what you are trying to set up now, but you may find some helpful hints.

Members sign up in advance through Meetup's RSVP system, and use Meetup messaging to indicate what refreshments they will bring. The organizer posts the order of performance online in advance and prepares a program. We try to limit each session to 12-16 individuals, with performance length up to 8 minutes. Non-performers, friends and family are welcome to come and listen. Performers announce their pieces themselves; it's been difficult to get everyone to commit in advance to what they are going to play. We play for about an hour, take a refreshment break, then another hour of playing. With about 35 members, we find that 1/3 to 1/2 show up for each session. Special events: Each year we set a musical theme for the pieces for our year-end meeting (preludes, mazurkas, etc.). We have held masterclasses, outings to performances, a mock competition, and are considering a more formal "recital" at a senior living facility. Our main issue is last-minute cancellations, so we keep a backup list of people who want to play but RSVP'd after all the spaces were filled.

What's worked: Meetup.com - a great help for coordinating this group. Having a sign-up for refreshment categories so we don't all bring the same thing, and everyone contributes over the course of the year. The somewhat formal setting - piano on stage, professional lighting, audience style seating - has been helpful in preparing to play at recitals, etc. A Saturday afternoon time frame has worked for this group.

(2) The other group is more informal, started ~4 years ago by people from PianoWorld and from a local music school, and is open to beginners and recent re-starters as well as longer-term amateurs. It has grown by periodic announcements on PW and networking among musical friends. The nucleus is (IMHO) at the "intermediate" level, with some variation. Members play classical, jazz, pop, and improv, and a few come just to listen and feel encouraged. One of our principles is that people can play their piece(s) again at the same session if they aren't happy with their performance. We meet about every 6 weeks at the homes of members who have a grand piano and sufficient space. We try to set the next date and location at the end of each session to avoid a lot of email back-and-forth.

To date, each host has provided light refreshments afterwards; this just evolved without any discussion. Occasionally someone will bring some food to supplement this. We're pretty casual and friendly, so the fact that not everyone hosts has not been an issue; if it becomes an issue, we'll address it.

Right now, this group uses regular email to send out announcements and share ideas. We don't ask for RSVPs, but usually end up with 8-12 people (out of 25 on our email list) showing up to play. We haven't set any time limits, and other than "host first," there's no pre-determined order of playing. Still, it always works out to 1-1.5 hours of playing and 20-30 minutes of conversation and refreshments. Sunday afternoons work for this group.

Things that have worked well: the casual atmosphere of playing in a home among supportive friends, opportunity to prepare piano duets with other members or bring in other (non-piano) musicians for duets, the chance to "play it again," the camaraderie.

One change I'd consider is moving from email communication to a Yahoo or Google group.

Some ideas to consider: Since you are in a smaller community, you may find it helpful to post flyers on bulletin boards of cafes, library, grocery, churches, any place you think appropriate. If your piano teacher is receptive to the idea, ask him/her to ask colleagues if they would share the info with any adult students. A Facebook announcement might be helpful, but coming from a Facebook page dedicated to the piano group, not your personal page. I suggest getting a separate email address that does not include your name, for communicating with anyone who inquires. Don't share the location until you have somehow vouched for each person. (Group 2 above held its first few meetings at a music school so we could get to know one another before sharing addresses.) Oh, and remember to announce the group on PW in the ABF, PC, and Parties sections.

Best of luck - and please keep us posted as your group develops.

(Thanks to WhoDwaldi, BruceD, Vid, and gooddog for sharing your experiences. I may steal some ideas.)

I forgot to mention that we put on two public recitals a year. Performer participation totally voluntary of course but each participating member pays a fee to help cover the cost of the venue. Its an opportunity to invite friends, teachers and family to come listen to us. We rent the venue (a small art gallery room with a concert grand) for around four hours which gives us enough time to prep, play, have intermission and small reception afterwards. We usually follow this up with a congratulatory dinner at a nearby restaurant for the performers and a few guests.

Our food "rules" leave it open to anyone to bring whatever they like, although each is expected to contribute something. Sometimes we have more sweet than savoury, but it almost all gets consumed. The only other stipulation is that any food not consumed is taken home by those who brought it, while the host has only to prepare tea and coffee.

I am the one who decides the program order; I attempt to arrange the program in an "interesting" or "musically rational" order, trying to alternate styles, instruments and voice.

Regards,

I am part of a group that has been meeting for 15 years now in the greater SoCal area. It meets on the last Sunday of every month 12 times a year. We have about 15 regular musician members, but the group is open to performances by anyone. We've had as many as 10 guest artists on a regular Sunday. We've had as few as 2 attendees all the way up to 80 people.

1- Participants. Participants are mostly pianists but we also have singers and other instrumentalists who participate. The level is from adult beginners of two years to a few people who have had a Carnegie debut and who concertize regularly. Several important area teachers also come too, and sometimes bring a favorite student or two if people agree to it. Most are classical people, but a couple are jazzers who gig all the time.

2- Organizing. We have a mailing list of over 100 people. Acting coordinators send out email invitations through eVite at the beginning of every month, which is still free and lets you run all correspondence through it. People are expected to RSVP as late as 4 days before.

Anyone can play or sing, anything they want, at whatever stage it's at. We ask people not to schedule anything longer than 10-15 minutes. If they want to do longer works, we schedule a special session for them. People are often getting ready for a performance, so this happens regularly. We had a concerto night to celebrate our 10th anniversary, and the performances took almost 4 hours so we had dinner in the middle of it.

3- Rules. We have a couple of rules. Anyone, at any level, is encouraged to participate as often as possible. No comments are allowed other than a "that was great!". Critics will be summarily thrown out of the house and not asked back. Marketing your studio, or anything for that matter, is not allowed, nor is offering "free" lessons. Participants are not allowed to "showcase" their students. Observe common courtesy and good concert hall etiquette if you show up late. Collegial relations and behavior are expected of everyone, so leave any petty grudges or competition at the door or don't come. If you can't be civil and polite, don't come

4- Food. The coordinator handles all the arrangements, and sometimes helps with the main dish. The hosts provide a main dish, and the rest of us provide everything else and the wine.

About a year ago I started to organize Piano Parties in Leiden, The Netherlands. If you are interested, there is an active thread in the Adult Beginners Forum.
This thread is very helpful for me.
The group is growing and I think it is time to think about some rules. It is interesting to read about other groups.

I organized a piano party inviting local New York City-area players who were members of Piano World, about 10 years ago. (I believe there's a separate forum right here on the PW site for organizing and announcing these now). I've also attended one or two parties at the homes of other local folks, such as members LJC and jon-nyc.

They were pretty informal. I did provide food and drink when it was at my house. People could play, or just enjoy listening to others play. Or just talk pianos. Very nice experiences.

Member Pique' once organized a piano crawl where a group of PW members toured the stores on New York's Piano Row. Followed by dinner in a local restaurant. That was great; it's probably documented here somewhere.

Thanks so much to all of you for taking the time to provide your experiences with piano parties. There is one question prompted by Laguna Greg's experience: a rule where no feedback could be given. Did the piano parties in your experience have this same 'rule'? or was feedback at the option of the performer?

Frankly, I would appreciate the feedback from others in attendance-- but how do others feel about this?

Hi Dog,

In my group, several of the members including myself have taught at a very high level, and were important teachers in the region in that they had influence in many regional organizations, teaching institutions, and regional concert presenters and festivals. Three are regularly on faculty at local colleges and universities, although that changes from time to time.

Whether or not your group is operating at that level, it is a very good idea not to let your participant members turn your "piano party" into a platform to market themselves, or their students or services, not even piano technicians. If you let it happen, it just gets really mercenary and adversarial, and that wonderful, collegiate and convivial atmosphere of one peer supporting and encouraging another can never take place.

Believe me. I have been to several groups in two states, and this one is the very best and most welcoming group simply because they don't tolerate or allow that kind of BS.

And of course not, it's not up to the individual participants who obviously have a vested interest. It's up to the organizers, who in this case know every well when they are being used as a marketing platform.

I don't see the connection between dogperson's most recent post and Laguna Greg's response. Wasn't dogperson asking about whether or not feedback on performance is a rule, or an option, at these piano meetings?

In my group, consisting of amateurs mostly at an intermediate to advanced-intermediate level, with a few just barely beyond elementary level (if those designations make any sense), we do not indulge in feedback on performances. One of the guiding principles of our group is to give amateurs performance experience. To get that experience - which is traumatic enough for some just performing in front of others - they are not prepared to also submit their performances to a critical review. Going the route "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" is not helpful because it can involve unrealistic or insincere evaluations. We have opted, therefore, not to solicit feedback on our performances.

That doesn't preclude people from making spontaneous and sincere favourable comments about a good performance, but every performance gets applause.

Regards,

Yes, I was asking if existing piano parties allow feedback at the option of the performer or not. While I would personally appreciate it, I can see the perspective that many beginning students would see this as added pressure. Due to the nature of the group that I envision based on my location, I doubt seriously there would be anyone at a high professional level participating; certainly, teachers would not be included.

It seems the easiest to prohibit all comments.

Laguna_Greg at least answered my unasked question. I recently went to my first piano party, and was wondering if it would be acceptable to send out a message to the group to ask if anyone currently without a teacher would be interested in one or two coachings on their piece before playing for the group. But it appears my offer wouldn't be well-received by all then.

If I received such a note from a teacher, my first thought would be 'Oops, this is more serious than I thought if I need to have a coaching session prior to the piano party'. I think it would affect the informal intent of musicians getting together to play.

I guess much depends upon the nature of the group in question, but the very idea of "piano parties" suggests something less formal in nature and perhaps even less polished in performances than one might expect at a piano recital. One of the ideas behind these events is to give people the chance to expose themselves to a supportive, non-critical public, often playing their works for the first time before an audience. These "first airings" often serve as guidelines for what needs further work: sections that were fine and seemed secure in the practice room have been exposed as being vulnerable under pressure.

As dogperson says, an invitation to have a coaching session before playing in one of these events puts a total different character on the event.

It could be that some would appreciate a coaching session, but in my experience the piano party would not necessarily be the best venue for announcing it. You might want to approach a teacher-less student in private who you think might benefit from coaching after the event; even then, you would have to be very tactful in how you approach the need that you perceive for help.

Regards,

I must say I'm jealous of those of you who have managed to do this. I've tried both through Craigslist and Meetup.com to get a group started but have been unsuccessful, just couldn't get anybody interested. But then I live in a smaller community - all the piano students I know are kids and most of the adult musicians (past high school) seem to be into rock and whatever passes for rock these days - metal or whatever.

There's always something favorable one can say even just praise for the courage to play before others. No critique or advance coaching required sounds like it eases pressure on folks always striving to improve any way!