When starting a Chaffee County Piano Club from scratch, I thought I'd reach out to people who have already done it.

So, I consulted with Jim Bradley of Summit County, who along with his wife Pam and their friend Kim, have founded and are operating the very successful Summit County Piano Club, since 2012.

Jim recommended I speak with John Slaby, who along with Ronnie Ip, founded the Houston Amateur Piano Club in 2008.

Combining all the great advice from these piano club pioneers, here's what I have in mind for our Chaffee County piano club (this is about 80% copied from John Slaby - many thanks):

1. We rotate through various homes with adequate room and a good piano. We'd like to have around 5 hosts. With a piano party about every 10 weeks or so, that means they host about once a year. We don't ask hosts to do much since the members bring food and drink. Hosts get to choose whether they play first, last, or not at all!
2. We have a time limit of 10 minutes per performer (including any remarks) to keep the parties at a reasonable length.
3. We are not an LLC, Partnership, or a 501(c)(3); nor do we have any officers. We keep the structure simple to avoid politics; in fact, there is no structure.
4. The website domain name ends in ".org", not ".com", because we are just an organization, not a commercial endeavor. There is no money involved. No one gets paid.
5. In general, we limit promotion of the club so that new members are found only by word of mouth and personal reference. We don't run ads nor try to optimize search engine placement for the website. This helps limit size and maintain a safe environment.
6. Since our parties are held at private homes, we don't post any specific addresses on the website. Home addresses are only sent via email to the private mailing list. There is no "automatic sign-up" for the mailing list - it's curated, one new member at a time.
7. The majority of our performers are adult amateurs who share an enthusiasm for piano playing as a hobby, with the occasional appearance by a professional who can show us how it's done. Kids are allowed if they are currently taking piano lessons, and they are encouraged to perform. Kids who are not taking lessons? Sorry, nope. This is mostly for adults, and alcohol is present in moderation.
8. The Club provides a casual, friendly atmosphere where music of all levels can be performed without pressure. Our parties are not piano competitions nor workshops. They are informal living-room recitals with no winners nor losers. The only feedback is positive, in the form of applause. Performers are free to make mistakes and work through their nerves and performance anxiety!
9. "To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable." - Ludwig van Beethoven
10. The ultimate goal is to have fun, enjoy playing the piano, and be inspired by like-minded people who share a love of music.