Psychological aspect of piano accompanying

[cygnusdei]

I don't know about you guys, but I've always thought that there is something demeaning about being a piano accompanist. I'm speaking in a very general sense, to include non-classical music venues (bars, church, etc.)

There is an aura of subordination in piano accompanying, in that the pianist is expected to dutifully perform behind the anonymous barrier of the physical piano, while the credit of the performance by nature goes to the performer(s) in the spotlight. Although this tendency is less prominent in classical music where musical partnership is paramount, it is inherent in non-classical music settings. Phrases like "Play it again, Sam" or "Sing us a song you're the piano man" come to mind. Oh, and that pianist chick in High School Musical.

Any thoughts?

[pianistimo]

it depends upon the sophistication of the conductor.  typically, the better educated - the better they treat the pianist. 

i've learned a lot from accompanying.  tips that you hear about singing or musicality can transfer to piano technique (sometimes) if you think about it.  for instance, if you hear words to some melodies - you can phrase better.

also, with choirs - you learn a lot about balance.  to be softer when they are singing and suddenly appropriately loud when they are not.  to know exactly how much and when is an art.  if you are too loud -it sounds brash.  too soft -timid.  so you have to be somewhere in between.

after piano lessons - good conductors have taught me most of what i know.  to divide things down into workable sections.  to be methodic.  and, to listen for those notes that you know aren't right - but you sometimes just let go.  and, perhaps most of all - that the most fun in music isn't necessarily solitary.  to hear a choir laugh together is almost as good as hearing them sing. 

i think appreciation works both ways.  if you appreciate your choir - they will appreciate you.  i try to be specific with compliments because i don't like to hear 'you're such a good pianist.'  it doesn't mean a whole lot.  i like to hear specifics like 'you can sightread really well.'  or, 'you phrased that so beautifully.'  i think vocalists like feedback, too.  it's just that you have to be careful and wait for them to ask.  never just tell a vocalist - you sound really 'thin' there.  they'll explain their cold or whatever - always some excuse.  the good ones never have any excuses.  they just sing through the cold - or stay home.

[mike_lang]

tips that you hear about singing or musicality can transfer to piano technique (sometimes) if you think about it. 

Yes, and they can also bring $$$ when transferred to one's own vocal coaching endeavors.  There's nothing like being paid to play for weekly voice lessons which would ordinarily cost $150-$200 for a private voice student - and banking on the knowledge amassed during that time.

Best,
ML

[thalberg]

I don't know about you guys, but I've always thought that there is something demeaning about being a piano accompanist. I'm speaking in a very general sense, to include non-classical music venues (bars, church, etc.)

There is an aura of subordination in piano accompanying, in that the pianist is expected to dutifully perform behind the anonymous barrier of the physical piano, while the credit of the performance by nature goes to the performer(s) in the spotlight. Although this tendency is less prominent in classical music where musical partnership is paramount, it is inherent in non-classical music settings. Phrases like "Play it again, Sam" or "Sing us a song you're the piano man" come to mind.

Any thoughts?

As a classical musician, it has always depended on my partner whether I was subordinated or demeaned.  Fellow instrumentalists have been nice to work with, and most vocalists also.  2 sopranos come to mind who were mean, but I also played for one nice one. 

The only uniformly bad group of people are choral conductors.

[dnephi]

I've always felt good accompanying at church.  At school, I feel demeaned.

[thorn]

it used to really irritate me at college when people would just turn around a few days before a performance exam and ask me to accompany them because they knew i played piano- especially when whatever they were playing had a pregnant dog of a piano part, i used to have to say to some of them 'look, it probably took you 2-3 months to work on this piece, and you're expecting me to learn the accompaniment, alongside my own performing exam stuff, in 2-3 days?'

i really enjoy accompanying to be fair, i just hate it how some people are ignorant enough to think you will be able to reel off anything they put in front of you "because you play piano"

[richard black]

You'll only enjoy accompanying out of the spotlight (i.e. playing for exams, student recitals, entertainments etc. etc.) if by nature you get a quiet buzz out of doing a support job well. I do that sort of stuff most of the time and love it. It's just a private challenge. Some student comes to me with a Hindemith sonata for whatever, which perhaps I've never even heard, 3 days before an exam, and asks me to learn it - more than likely because his or her fellow-student pianist had promised to do it and then bottled. Or some singer turns up at an audition with a super-florid Handel aria I've never played, or something from one of Strauss's less well-known operas. I actually really enjoy having to do that, it gives me a nice warm feeling when I succeed. I'm not saying I turn down more prestigious and 'visible' jobs, but the behind-the-scenes stuff is exciting in its own way - if you're that kind of person. My wife's a pianist and she wouldn't touch a lot of my work with the proverbial bargepole!