In your musical journey, you will often find yourself playing with an accompaniment.
At first, this can feel daunting, but with preparation and practice, it can become a rewarding part of making music.
More often than not, accompaniment is with piano. But how exactly do you prepare for an accompanist? Let’s look at a few ways you can prepare for not just a confident practice session but also a successful performance.
Master Your Part
Having thorough knowledge about your own part is first and foremost. When you are playing with accompaniment, you do not want to worry about if you can get through a piece, but you want to focus on how you get through the piece. Be able to maintain a steady tempo for your part, and have a clear plan when approaching accelerandos or ritardandos. Above all, keep going even if you make mistakes—if you stop, the accompaniment may end up ahead of you, which is more difficult to recover from.
Understand the Accompaniment
Sometimes it can be valuable to study the accompaniment part, especially when working with a piano or another accompanying instrument. Understanding what the piano is doing can help you anticipate your own entrances or important musical moments. Knowing how your part fits into the overall texture allows you to shape your dynamics more effectively. Spare yourself from counting blocks of rest by simply familiarizing yourself with the accompaniment’s musical phrases. You do not necessarily need to memorize the accompaniment, but knowing what is happening around your part can make playing together so much easier.
Find Recordings
One of the most helpful practice tools is finding recordings of just the accompaniment. These recordings allow you to practice with the accompaniment even when your accompanist is unavailable. YouTube can be especially useful. If the recording is too fast for your current level, use the playback speed controls to slow it down while you learn the piece. Gradually increase the speed until you can comfortably perform at the intended tempo.
It can be exciting and nerve-wracking to play with accompaniment for the first time. With preparation, however, you can keep the excitement and while calming the nerves. The more familiar you are with both your own part and the accompaniment, the more freely you can focus on just making music—together.
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Hi, I’m Devon! I play the flute and enjoy writing music in my free time.