Three Choral Accompaniments I Have To Learn

[florentin]

I am in a little bit of a crunch here 

I am a choral conductor at a large church in the Midwest.

During the month of September, I was asked to play 2-3 piano accompaniments for a large convention where a 200-piece chorus will sing. I will conduct one of the pieces, but I have also been asked to play the piano accompaniments for some of the pieces.

Here's where the 'crunch' begins...

Here are a few questions:

1. What are some effective ways to learn the accompaniments, that members use in here?

2. Do I try to memorize the piano score, or do I just read it?

Considering that my sight-reading level on the piano is probably average, or maybe slightly below average, I am quite worried, especially since practices will start in late-June.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Alde]

what are the pieces?

I don't think it would be wise to memorize.  The purpose of having the score in front of you is to have complete control.  If anything were to go wrong at least you have the comfort of being able to "jump" to any location in the music.

Typically the music is more difficult for the pianist when you are by yourself (choir is not singing).   What you should also practice is the voices by themselves or in combination.  For example learn soprano with bass or soprano with alto, etc.

[florentin]

one of the pieces is the main concern, for now. It is "I Love You Lord" in Jack Schrader's arrangement for chorus and piano.

the others seems quite manageable, as far as I can tell. This one scares me.

[pianistimo]

record the practice sessions and play with the tape.  also, practice EVERY DAY.  don't let a day go by without at least a run through.  i used to play for chorales and thing s- and the daily practice adds up to confidence.   you can't just expect to play fabulously without a bit of effort.  and, you won't need to worry about the 'sightreading' by then.  also, as you probably already do - play the parts - or write them out and play them - so it's not hard to play them melodically, rhythmically and dynamically correct.

something else that helps - is to pick section leaders (as you probably already do).  they can be responsible for a lot of things that you already are.  for instance, in our old master chorale - they would each warm their own sections up (in separate rooms) for 1/2 hour or 45 minutes.  this is really really helpful.  then, you have time to concentrate on what you are going to do when you get them all together.  fine tuning. 

some pieces have different levels of difficulty of piano accompaniments.  choose the harder ones and the ones that have more interesting harmonies.  or add your own.

[richard black]

If you're going to be anything like a regular accompanist for choirs etc. you'll need all the sight-reading skills you can get. Borrow an armful of music (anything at all, solos, chamber music, operas, what the hey) from a library and force yourself to sight-read it. Practice works here just like with technique.

But in terms of specifics, you want to learn the pieces well by ear. No one could care less whether you play exactly the notes on the page but the right harmonies in the right rhythm will get you through every time, and you need to be familiar enough to spot train wrecks within the choir lines. You've got to have the playing part pretty much on auto-pilot so you can think about everything else, so you need either amazing sight-reading or comfortable familiarity with the piece - and preferably both. I'm a repetiteur so I speak from experience!

[burstroman]

The focus will be on the choir's singing and the message of the words.  Remember the accompaniment is an assist, so don't fret about exact performance if it is not possible, but keep the flow and pulse going.  No one will notice the few notes you leave out. Above all, practice.

[florentin]

I have been practicing for a few days now. I feel a lot more comfortable with the scores now, even though I cannot play them perfectly yet. There are about four pieces I have to play. Two of them are almost there, the others are too hard for now. I am playing them very slowly.

thank you all for taking the time to respond.

[Bob]

Be able to play a "performance" version of it.  You can leave notes out, the ones that no one will probably notice anyway.

Then be able to play the voice parts so you can do that during reherasals.

That's how I've cut corners.

You don't have to memorize it.  Just be able to play it solidly with the score.

I would either practice it enough or simplify it enough so you have enough brainpower left to do all the directing, etc., and not knock yourself out on one piece.

[timothy42b]

I would either practice it enough or simplify it enough so you have enough brainpower left to do all the directing, etc., and not knock yourself out on one piece.

If there's any way to avoid playing and directing simultaneously I would do so.

I have sung with a number of choirs where the director played, and though he always thought it worked fine my opinion was very very different.  I don't think it ever really succeeds.

[Bob]

I agree.  The director can give the singers a lot more confidence. 

[florentin]

I will NOT have to conduct these pieces. Phew, that would be a pain