How to Learn Piano Accompaniment
There are many types of piano accompaniment, the most complex of which is using a written out or composed accompaniment. Written out accompaniment is necessary if you wish to accompany classical, Broadway or cabaret music, because these styles are more complex. Popular music like jazz and rock and roll do not require music reading skills to accompany. To “play along” with the band or the singer, you need to become familiar with song charts and learn chord symbols and the three main chords that most popular music is based on.
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Things You'll Need
- Piano or electric keyboard
- Song charts
- Chord symbol chart
- Key signature chart
Instructions
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Preparing to Accompany
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You need regular access to a piano or an electric keyboard. You cannot learn piano accompaniment unless you have a keyboard for practice. There are many brands of inexpensive electric keyboards available, many around the $200 range. Set up your keyboard on a sturdy surface with good lighting. Your fingers should always be slightly curved when you play, as if cupping an egg in your palm. This will make the chords you need for accompanying easier to play.
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You will need to buy, or have another accompanist write out for you, a song chart, also known as a lead sheet, for each song you want to accompany. A song chart is a copy of a song that has the words of the song underneath the corresponding notes of the song's melody. Instead of a written-out piano accompaniment, however, a song chart has “chord symbols” written above the melody and words, at intervals. As an accompanist, you will use those chord symbols to play the right chord at the right time.
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Your next step is learning to read these chord symbols. Each chord symbol spells out a specific three-note chord or triad. If the chord symbol reads “G,” that indicates the bottom note of the chord is G. If it is a “major” chord, the next two notes of the chord are B and D. If it is a G “minor” chord, the notes are B flat and D. If it is “augmented,” the notes are B and D sharp; “diminished” indicates the notes are B and D flat. Major, minor, augmented and diminished are the four main types of triads you need to start, according to the Jazz Resource Center.
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In most popular music, there are three main chords which are repeated over and over again in the music. These chords are written down in the song charts. If you know these three chords—the one chord (I), the four chord (IV) and the five chord (V)—in every key, you can learn to accompany most popular songs even if you do not have a song chart for a specific song.
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The one chord (I) is the first note of the key the song is written in. If the song is in C, the one chord uses the notes: C-E-G. The four chord (IV) is F—four notes up from C on the piano. It uses the notes: F-A-C. The five chord (V) is G—five notes up from C on the piano. The five chord has the notes: G-B-D. You can play these three-note chords with your left hand, your right hand or both hands together.
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Tips & Warnings
Make a chord symbol chart by writing out the name of each chord and the notes in the chord.
Practice by playing and saying each chord in the chart, until you know them all automatically.
Learn about key signatures and sharps and flats. C is the only key without sharps or flats.
Find someone who likes to sing to practice your accompanying.
The more accompanying you do, the better you will be.
Piano playing is a repetitive motion, like typing or writing, that can sometimes cause repetitive stress injuries. If your fingers, hands or lower arms ever start to feel tight, tingle or ache, stop practicing, flex your hands and shake them out gently, and rest before beginning again.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit piano image by robert lerich from Fotolia.com
