The Sidekick

Today I am going to talk about accompanying, which has been a huge part of my life the past couple of years. I've been told it's a blessing and that even some of the best piano players don't have the ability to be a great accompanist. And I believe it! It can be very difficult to not only focus on your part, but also on the soloist or group. You have to listen to them and follow what they are playing. You have to play more softly and remember that you are not the one that everyone is listening to. Your job is to help make the soloist sound the best they can be. To make it so easy that they don't have to worry about anything but their part. I know what it feels like to be on both sides of this and I'm grateful for that because it allows me to accompany better. I have had amazing experiences accompanying others. One of which was my job. I loved accompanying for all of Sister Gehring's string students. They were all younger than me so it was fun to see them all progress and to work with them often so that we would be more comfortable playing together. I really felt like they looked up to me and I loved being a good example for all of them. Accompanying can be very stressful but music wouldn't be the same without a challenge. Often there's too much music to learn, tricky page turns, big chords, losing your place, or struggling to stay with a performer that is playing too fast or forgets a part and skips to a random line in the music. I also accompanied several songs for my high school choir. Playing for 60 singers is a lot of fun, especially when everyone enjoys the song and appreciates what you do! I have accompanied choirs at many church events, and played for many performers at solo/ensemble contests, sometimes for several years in a row! I love it so much! I love the feeling of being a part of another person's success and being there for them to enhance their performance. Because I do accompany so much, I am often left without an accompanist, which helps me appreciate my job even more, because it's not as fun to play by yourself. I look forward to accompanying more in the future and finding more opportunities to use this somewhat rare gift.