![]() ![]() Nor should they be considered only a pair of hands which make noise at the piano at the appropriate times. Best practice here is to avoid the situation entirely and ensure that interactions with your accompanist on the clock are friendly, timely, and productive.Īn important distinction to consider is that your accompanist, while a trained musician, is not your coach. ![]() Moreover, if a singer gains a negative reputation with an accompanist, that reputation will spread to other pianists, who will then avoid the singer in the future. Should one of their collaborators prove to be more trouble than they are worth, they are perfectly within their rights to cut ties with that singer. An accompanist is not obligated to work with you – more often than not, they do so because they want to. ![]() Music was not copied, the singer didn’t show up at the right time (or at all) with no call to inform them of the change in plans, singer ended up wasting the time during the practice session, etc. I’ve also heard horror stories, sometimes from those same accompanists, of times they have worked with a singer who ended up treating them poorly. I’ve had the fortune of working with accompanists who show up to practice sessions prepared, and ready to make progress. “ Accompanists are professionals and should be treated as such.” The following statement bears repeating – A good, sensitive accompanist is worth their weight in gold and the best way to ensure they continue working with you is to pay them what they’re worth reliably. While spending money on a well-trained collaborative pianist might seem difficult for the student singer, it is often worth the expense. My experience with accompanists in this regard is that you get what you pay for. A more practiced accompanist in a big city will charge more than the after-school piano teacher in a small town. An accompanist will charge their own rate based on time and their level of experience. Accompanists have bills to pay and possibly the easiest way to ensure a positive relationship with your accompanist is to pay them on a set schedule. Any cuts should be clearly marked, as should any special indications regarding tempos or interpretation.įor an accompanist, showing up to your lesson, recital, or practice session is not just about the joy of making excellent music – it’s their job. If in doubt about page turns, discuss with your private teacher. In this case, the music should be prepared in a binder with either sheet protectors or pages taped together so they can fold out to ensure easy readability and simple page turns. Sometimes in the case of auditions, the singer might not have a chance to work with the accompanist beforehand. Whatever their preference is should be honored and noted for future use. The best practice would be to address that concern from the beginning and just ask them how they prefer their music prepared when scheduling. ![]() Others will request that they be allowed to do the necessary preparations themselves and will request clean copies. Sometimes an accompanist will prefer that the singer bring all of the music in already prepared. It will save you time and money and keep the accompanist from feeling like their time is being wasted and their talents devalued.ĭifferent accompanists will prefer their music prepared in different ways. If your music is not yet learned, consider holding off on working with an accompanist until you will be able to work more productively. This is highly disrespectful of their time and talents. A rule of thumb I like to keep in mind is that you should be working with your accompanist when you both have something to gain from the time spent together.Īccompanists are sometimes treated just as the “hands” that provide the backup track. The same goes for working with an accompanist. However, the considerations contained within apply equally to any musician collaborating with an accompanist, especially when they are being paid.Īs with any endeavor, those who prepare ahead of time will do better than those who do not. To help the young singer learn some ground rules for a long-term collaboration with their pianist, the following might be considered as a guide.Ī Note – I am a singer, so I refer to singers in the article. Younger, more inexperienced singers might be tempted to neglect the accompanist in the glow of performance. However, despite the value of an accompanist’s ear and musicality, singers at times forget that they are people too and require care to ensure a positive relationship. Without a doubt, beyond any single technique a singer might choose to study, one of the most valuable assets a singer has at their disposal is a close working relationship with an excellent accompanist. ![]()
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