As morbid as it sounds I'm looking into possibly contacting local funeral homes to see if they need a musician for memorial services. Does anyone have any experience in this? I'm sure much of the work would come in at last minute and I would need to be prepared for a rate, etc. Any advise is appreciated.
Thank you!
Make it happen! I play for funerals at some Catholic Churches in the Philly area and the fee is usually $100 and up per service. The AGO suggests 100-225 for funerals.
I always find out 2-4 days in advance. Sometimes the night before if they move quickly.
I cant remember where read it here (maybe it was here), but I know there are trumpet/bugle players that hook up with funeral homes and play taps for veterans that have past.
That's a brilliant idea.
Yeah I did that kind of gig when I was about 15...I grew up in a small town with only one well-known funeral home and got hired for a full summer as their in-house piano player. It's a depressing gig trust me...although very well paid. I got 200$ per service and usually had 2 or 3 a week. The same kind of songs are often being requested (Tears in Heaven and Love Story Theme Song, anyone?) so you don't need to have much material to start with, just make sure you know the usual tear jerkers and the rest will often be requested a day or two in advance by family members. I know for me, the funeral home was the one paying me, the fee would be paid by the family to the funeral home and then I would end up getting 200$ for each service...but I don't know how things work in other places, I might have gotten lucky with that gig.
Let us know how it goes!
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