piano accompanist

[dora96]

Dear all,

I have been playing the piano since I was seven. Recently, I joined community choir, I was mesmerized by the pianist, her amazing sight reading and the way she accompanies the choir. Whatever, the conductor gives her to play, she just plays it fluently and I don't think she has seen the sheet music before hand. My question is how to develop such as good sight reading. I guess that most of the music, we sing and music score is about grade 5 to 7 level. I must admit I couldn't play it without analysing and practising the music. There are lots of chords, quite a complex rhythm, in  different keys, lots of accidentals  sharps, flats and naturals that make me head spinning.

I have tried to play some of the sheet music, it has taken me two weeks to learn them, but still I haven't got the fluency and confident to play that well. It is not only play the music , know every note, but listening the choir's singing , watching the conductor, as well as turning pages. She is doing all these at the same time. I just don't know how people learn such as a skill.

Few months ago, a professional flutist asked me to accompany her. She gave me some music, I just can't play them on the spot, it is so embarrassing. I guess that the music is not hard once I practice them with separate hands and work out the rhythm. It was quite easily, but I keep playing the wrong notes , make stumbles especially when I need to turn pages. Turning pages will be the dead of me !. If you are a professional accompanist, and you are able to sight read anything, please let me know how to accomplish it. Thank you.

[iansinclair]

Not as easy as it looks, is it?  In fact, accompanying is -- in my view, at least -- at least as difficult as playing solo, if not more so.

However, it is also very very good discipline.  Your objective, of course, is to support whomever you are accompanying (I might add, though, that if it is a solo instrument, such as your flutist, or voice, particularly in the more advanced lieder repertoire, you are not really accompanying -- you are one of two equal performers -- also true of some chamber music). 

Perhaps the first rule -- if not the only one -- is keep going, whatever happens!  To this end, the usual sight reading rules apply -- take the time (you will have enough) to scan through the piece; make sure that you know where such obstacles as key changes occur, and get some idea of the most important lines (for a choir, look at their entrances and think about where they are going to get their notes from your music, and perhaps even highlight those places).  And then carry on.  If necessary, drop one hand out completely.  Leave out a note or two (or three!) in a chord.  If there are ornaments and you are getting behind, or rattled, leave them out.  But keep on going!  As you do more or it, it will become easier for you.

If there are page turns, take a really good look at the turn: you are going to need a free hand to do it, so plan ahead as to which hand is going to drop out to make the turn, and figure our how far ahead you can turn and still keep things going. 

And... there is only one way to learn the skills: practice and lots of it, and time.  And I completely agree with you -- it is amazing.

[j_menz]

And... there is only one way to learn the skills: practice and lots of it, and time. 

Completely agree. Sightreading, just as any other aspect of piano playing, is something you need to learn, through practice; it's not something people are born with.

Practice on your own to start with, start on much simpler pieces and when you can read through them at speed and without stoppping, not making howlers (though not necessarily hitting all the notes etc), move on to slightly harder stuff. Practice with a choir, singer or other instrumentalist is extremely useful, but in the early stages this should probably be done in a non-performance setting and with one that is pretty understanding.

[richard black]

I'm a professional accompanist and I sight-read like that. Contrary to what the last post says, I reckon it very much is something you are born with. I could sight-read fluently from my first piano lesson. That said, whatever your 'natural' level of sight-reading, you can always improve it by practice. Just get an armful of scores from a library, ideally music that's reasonably well within your comfort zone from a technical point of view, and get on with playing it straight off. You may never become an 'extreme' sight-reader like John Ogdon (whom I once caught out sight-reading a very difficult opera paraphrase in a concert in a major concert hall) but you will improve.

[pianoplunker]

I'm a professional accompanist and I sight-read like that. Contrary to what the last post says, I reckon it very much is something you are born with. I could sight-read fluently from my first piano lesson. That said, whatever your 'natural' level of sight-reading, you can always improve it by practice. Just get an armful of scores from a library, ideally music that's reasonably well within your comfort zone from a technical point of view, and get on with playing it straight off. You may never become an 'extreme' sight-reader like John Ogdon (whom I once caught out sight-reading a very difficult opera paraphrase in a concert in a major concert hall) but you will improve.

Interestingly enough, in my life I have asked numerous good sight readers how they do it and one thing they say is they just "do it". Another thing they all say is they read ahead of where the fingers are. My mother who is a fantastic sight reader says she learned because she would not practice the music her piano teacher wanted her to so she would just show up to piano lessons and avoid getting in trouble for not practicing - by sight reading.  For me , I definately was not born with it and dont do it very well. Even simple music.

[nagatomo]

I find accompanying the instrumentalists, singers and choirs quite different actually...  Obviously, sight reading elements are similar, but if you are accompanying the choir for rehearsals as the original poster was mentioning, you sometimes have to add a few voice parts to help them along etc, etc... and this is a skill you will gain from experience.  I often find playing the orchestral reduction (of an oratorio etc) a nightmare, with loads of notes and making sure the rhythm is tight etc, but again you will learn which notes and parts are more important as an accompaniment, and which notes to miss out (if you see what I mean).  For accompanying singers and instrumentalists, often the piano part is vital for a musical out put, so you will have to learn the part thoroughly, just in case, the soloist does something unusual in the performance and you still have to cope!  Personally, I think a rehearsal pianist for a choir has the hardest task...

The accompanying is a different art but is so rewarding and enjoyable.  I love it!

[dechtenberg]

In answer to the sight-reading part of the question: The "wiring" between the eye and the part of the brain's motor cortex controlling the fingers and hands is most easily shaped at a very young age (as are many cortical areas) -- and, as some have pointed out, genetics can have a significant effect on what level you begin at. But sight-reading ability can always be improved through experience, regardless of age - just do it, and do it, and do it, and do it, and you'll gradually get better at it.

I do a great deal of accompanying, and I can tell you that accompanying is a separate skill from sight-reading. It requires you to not only play, but also listen, watch, follow, and understand the needs of the instrument (or voice) that you're accompanying. One thing you might try is to observe more accompanists. Specifically, don't watch the music; rather, watch the pianist -- watch how he/she keeps an eye on the other musician(s), how they react to the playing/singing, breathing, and body language of those they accompany.

If you want to gain an even greater understanding of what an accompanist needs to do, I recommend taking up an instrument that is accompanied (the most affordable such instrument is the voice!). Bottom line: by being accompanied yourself, you'll quickly see what you as a soloist need from the pianist and, as a result, what you will need to give others when you accompany them.

Hope this helps!
LD

[imbetter]

I accompany a church choir on the organ (completely different instrument from the piano) and I sight read almost everything we do together and I can tell you that even though i was pretty decent at sight reading to begin with I have improved considerably over the six months that i have been doing it so just keep at it and you'll get better.

[martinrdb]

Is there an inverse relationship between ability to sight read and ability to memorise pieces?  Whilst my sight reading is not too bad, I now find it impossible to consider playing without the score in front of me (the only playing in public I have done is as an accompanist so it has been OK).