[Gill the Piano]

Can anyone tell me the ISM (or similar reputable organisation) recommended rates for accompanying on the piano, please? I have undertaken two solid days accompanying for examinations (all at one venue) and need an hourly rate which is fair to both myself and the people paying me! Ta...

[markymark]

The ISM website seems a bit unclear about this. I have heard of accompanists in my area charging around the £25 range per hour for accompanying.
I suppose it really depends on how much preparation you have to do - taking into consideration the difficulty/complexity of the music and in short, the amount of music to be prepared. It would be unreasonable to charge a Grade 5 soloist the same rate per hour as a Grade 8 soloist if the standard of music is higher. After all, as I'm sure you know, the exams get more expensive as you move up the grades and admin is not what's knocking up the costs either! That's what I think anyway....

Have a look at this thread on ABRSM forum. It may be useful to ask some of the folks on this forum. The link is: http://forums.abrsm.org/index.php?s=a87b789812694e749702ac4f14715f09&showtopic=21466&pid=475744&st=0&#entry475744

[Gill the Piano]

Thanks for that; other than the poxy Sondheim songs (aaaaaaaaaargh!)
they aren't too demanding...it's just a long day and I have to be IN THE SAME PLACE ALL DAY which may conceivably kill me as I'm not used to it... I took a punt a twenty quid an hour and that seems acceptable to everyone. I'll certainly look on the ABRSM forum as well; thanks again for your help!

[Otto]

I used to accompany for ABRSM exams and used to charge around MU teaching rate at the time. (That was around £7 an hour in the late 1970's !, so £20 would seem a tad low to me on today's rates).

I stopped doing it because I dodn't have the time, but in reality because I had problem with a a clarinetist who failed hs Grade VI. He rang me up and complained that he had failed because I hadn't made him sound good enough! ... and no, he didn't thnk that a clarinet sonata was a 'partnership'. Any decent musician would know that it would have been written solely to demonstrate his abilities. If I didn't know that then I must be an incompetent pianist and could he have his money back.

Mind you, on another occasion I did accompany a violinist playing the last movement of the Franc A major for her grade VIII. It was a revelation as a piece of music and I still adore playng that ...
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Otto

[Gill the Piano]

I shall always be grateful to have accompanied the Poulenc flute sonata, otherwise I might never have come across it...and now it's one of my Desert Island Discs!

[Otto]

I've never played it, but definitely suffer from Poulenc-philia (I'm staging his Stabat Mater in a couple of weeks).

I went to an all Poulenc concert at Symphony Hall (Birmngham) where Peter Donohue and his wfe Elaine Burns played the double piano concerto. What made it special was that someone had had the gumption to voice the two pianos differently, so it really sounded lke a conversation.
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Otto

[sirprize]

I charge my normal hourly teaching rate £34 for 1) 30 min rehearsal 2) 20 mins round-trip and parking 3) a few minutes in the exam room

Otto, I LOVE that Poulenc 2-piano concerto. I hope one day I'll be able to play it in public (piano costs notwithstanding). My 60th birthday treat? Ever hear Poulenc play? He was a VERY accomplished pianist

[sirprize]

I charge my normal hourly teaching rate £34 for 1) 30 min rehearsal 2) 20 mins round-trip and parking 3) a few minutes in the exam room

Otto, I LOVE that Poulenc 2-piano concerto. I hope one day I'll be able to play it in public (piano costs notwithstanding). My 60th birthday treat? Ever hear Poulenc play? He was a VERY accomplished pianist