Piano Forum

Good evening, I also have played in a senior center, and have not expected any payment except that which is enjoyed, and appreciated by the elderly who are shut in, your reward will be 100 fold if you do this with no personal monetary gain in mind. God who is the keeper of all music will reward you abundantly more than 200$.

This sort of thing can get complicated and a little sticky quickly.  The OP asked what a reasonable fee for a professional musician would be for that sort of gig -- which is the question I answered.  An organization -- such as a senior centre, but it could be any one of a number of others similar in character -- should be aware that that is what is reasonable for the musician.

Now.  If the musician chooses, for whatever reason, to waive the fee, well and good and more power to them.  That is admirable -- so long as all concerned are aware that they should be paid for honest work, and that the organization should pay for honest work.

Thus where it gets a bit sticky is where the organization finds that they can get the entertainment free from someone and does so, shutting someone else who might be trying to earn a bit of money by being a musician out of the picture.

The way I have solved this conundrum -- and it has come up for me -- is to ask for and accept the fee.  Then return it as a charitable gift but never making the gift an expectation.  I haven't always done that, for various reasons.  I haven't always given the organization the same amount as the fee (sometimes less, sometimes more).  I have played casually -- without prior engagement -- at many senior centres and other such organizations for free, whatever I had handy.  But I am, or was until I retired, a professional musician.

I hope this helps.