I want to be a professional accompanist?

We hear this a lot! So here's what you can expect. Accompanists play instruments like a keyboard or guitar and support vocalists, dancers, and theater performers. Accompanists wear a lot of different hats; for example, they may accompany the church choir as pianists and/or accompany guest performers for a segments for a television show. A collaborative pianist typically performs with vocalists and dancers in a rehearsal setting. Lots of accompanists double as teachers or educators and are capable of teaching and supporting a student's performance while playing as well.

Accompanist at a dance rehearsal

Here's what they don't tell you! Accompanists must respond quickly to performance elements such as tempo, key changes, phrasing, and interpretation, often while collaborating with a singer for the first time and often in high-pressure settings like competitions and/or auditions.  Most accompanists work on a different schedule every week, but there are full-time positions at music schools have more consistency, but beware rehearsals and performances are often scheduled at night and on weekends.

The world is your oyster

Reaching expert accompanists of different music genres, styles and traditions has become so much easier over the last 25 years. A simple Google search on the phrase "Bandoneon instructor in Rio de Janeiro" or "Irish tin whistle teacher in Dublin" will give you pages of real contacts who are hungry to help you learn their craft. It's always intimidating to embrace new technology at first, but over time it's become hard to ignore the new paradigm. We've learned that the terminology and functionality of teleconferencing products is really the same and there are lots of tools to choose from; Zoom, Google Meet and Skype are probably the most widely known though. Skype (owned by Microsoft) has been around the longest and it is still a great choice for professional accompanists.

April Alsup discusses Scottish Cèilidh Music with Sandy Brechin from Edinburgh Scotland

Most accompanists will explore the underlying characteristics of different music genres, traditions and styles and often have to reach out to resources from various corners of the world to better understand a particular musical pedagogy. Here's an example: April Alsup, a Denver accordionist and music theater composer, was conducting research for a new musical theater work about a small island in the Hebrides and wanted to make sure to capture the nuances of Scottish Cèilidh music. An internet search, an eMail and Viola... she's able to setup regular meetings with a professional Cèilidh accordion player from Edinburgh Scotland and get all sorts of tips and tricks for Cèilidh dance accompaniment.

Accompanist for Scottish Cèilidh dancing

We get all sorts of accompanist requests over the course of a year and we can usually find someone who can fit right in. Most of our inquiries are for an expert piano accompanist for auditioning actors for an upcoming music theater work. We've worked with a lot of different theaters in and around the Denver metropolitan area. Sometimes the requests that come in are for a last minute substitutions for an instrumentalist who may have become ill or for a church service when the staff organist, singer or music director has a vacation planned or some other conflict.

Cèilidh Dance Training

In any case, we get some unusal requests from time-to-time too; for example, we recently heard from a Denver area creative team looking to identify someone familiar with Scottish Cèilidh dancing. So we reached out to several area Scottish dance organizations and were able to find a professional Scottish dance team living in Colorado who were involved with Cèilidh dancing in Scotland. We had a Skype call with our accordion resource to discuss the specifics and penciled in a date to all get together. Everyone was eager to participate and learn more about the Scottish dances and the culture behind them too. We played tune sets for a Gay Gordon, a Reel and a Jig and the client was thrilled. It was so much fun! 🎭

Do Accompanists use Streaming Audio Services?

Using streaming audio services can be a powerful tool for any accompanist looking to provide performers with rehearsal materials to practice their parts on demand. The hard part is selecting the service that best fits your needs. Google Drive is good for accompanists who want to give access to various people in different ways, but you'll need to come up with a folder nomenclature to organize your music material.

SoundCloud

Spotify

Apple

Amazon

YouTube

Recently, April Alsup expanded her music distribution channel to include several major streaming audio services; Spotify, Apple, Amazon and YouTube, but she still uses Soundcloud for music theater performers looking for rehearsal and/or audition materials because it's easy to use and you don't have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get your practice parts out there for people.

Professional accompaniment services from your friends at www.accompanist.com

With the new Omicron variant sweeping across the country we've seen an uptick of inquiries regarding remote accompaniment capabilities. The staff and contractors at accompanist.com are available seven days a week and we are familiar with the latest teleconferencing tools from Zoom, Google, Skype, Facebook and Microsoft. Just let us know your music genre, instrument ensemble and any accompaniment requirements and we'll make sure to contact you to discuss talent and scheduling options.

"Accompanist.com has demonstrated a unique combination of technology insight, musicianship and professionalism over the pandemic." The Performing Arts Project. 

Looking for an accordionist in the Denver area?

There's been a growing interest in the accordion. The popularity of the instrument has really gained a lot of momentum with younger audiences and we're finding more interest from people in Colorado looking for an accompanist with the ability to read and/or arrange accordion music. The music notation is similar to a piano, but there are a lot of differences too.

The right-hand manual is notated the same way as piano music, but the treble clef is used almost exclusively for piano accordions since the written range extends no lower the three ledger lines below the staff. On the other hand (no pun intended), the Stradella system is always written in the bass clef. Single notes are written in the lower half while the chordal buttons are notated in the upper half. This is in accordance with the official AAA notation standard adopted around the world.

April Alsup
Accordion Accompanist

Finding an accompanist with the ability to read and arrange on and for the accordion using universal notation and is familiar with the subtleties of playing in a pit orchestra can be difficult. Please let us know if your latest score requires someone with this skill set. We'd be happy to help.

What is a Sitzprobe rehearsal?

In musical theatre, a sitzprobe (from the German for seated rehearsal) is a rehearsal where the actors sing with the orchestra, focusing attention on integrating the two groups. It is often the first rehearsal where the orchestra and singers rehearse together. It really is a milestone for any Musical production since the entire team is involved. In the early stage of a production the actors usually work  with only an accompanist, who plays a simplified (Piano/Conductor) score with the singers. During the sitzprobe the music director takes over and works with the team as a whole to tweak various parts of the show.

April Alsup working with Sisyphus Music Director

Sisyphus Rehearsal with ensemble