Newbie asks about:Playing with others?

[starlady]

I am returning to the piano after decades away, and this time I want to learn the things I didn't learn first time around, like music theory and how to play with someone else.  A dear friend who is a violinist is after me to play some simple Bach pieces with her, and I am terrified.  So I am going to ask really, really simple dumb questions about how to play together! Don't laugh! (Ok, laugh, but do answer the questions).  Does one person give the beat and the other follow? Do you arrange beforehand who leads?  Do you stick to a metronome? What do you do if you get out of sync--how do you recover? 

Thank you all for any kind words! I enjoy reading this board very much.

About me: good sight-reader, not a good ear. I love to play Bach and am working on the easier 2-part inventions and the easier movements of the English Suites. 

--s.   

[quantum]

Both people feel the pulse of the music.  Depending on the context, the person with the more prominent part may get to influence the pulse more.  This can be either pianist or violinist - that is why it is important to understand what the music is doing at any given time.  

Some of the decisions are made during rehearsals, the others during live performance.  Usually the big structural points and general interpretation is set out during rehearsal.  Nuance and improvisational interpretive decisions can be imbued in performance.  It is better to think as two people having a conversation rather than one person leading a conversation.  

Metronomes are used for measuring speed, not for fixing ensemble alignment.  In short, you do not ever rely on a metronome to keep ensemble players playing together.  

If you get out of sync, someone looses his/her place, etc. you need to listen and work together to get back on track.  

When reading the score, it is very important to follow the other persons part.  Do not just follow your own part.  To paraphrase Eugene Corporon: You go to rehearsal to learn the parts everyone else plays, not your own. 

The most important aspect of ensemble playing is listening.  An agile ear is a tool that will serve you well. It is the ear that keeps and ensemble in sync, the ear that will get you out of trouble, and the ear when wide open that creates dynamism within the ensemble.