Simplify the following text for a Grade 4 native English-speaking person.
Original: His mother , a piano player who gave Basie his first piano lessons , took in laundry and baked cakes for sale and paid 25 cents a lesson for piano instruction for him .
Simplified: His mother was a piano player and she gave Basie his first piano lessons . To earn money , she took in laundry to wash and baked cakes for sale .