#Find an accompanist professional

‘It’s true: there’s no such thing as an accompanist,’ says Perlman. But some of the world’s leading classical musicians, including Itzhak Perlman (pictured), take offence at this misconception. Not good enough for solo careers, they are hired to perform a service: to obey their musical partner’s instructions without question. There has long been a stereotype in the performance community that accompanists are inferior musicians. Plus, honestly it's rare to find a good accompanist, so it's definitely good to get those skills and be that rare find.This article was first published in the March 2010 issue of The Strad so some of the interviewees may no longer hold the positions described here

#Find an accompanist professional

I think almost all pianists I know did part-time accompanying at some point or another, and I know a couple people who make a substantial part of their adult professional living on accompaniment jobs. Since you have previous experience, I assume you're a pretty good sightreader, and if so, you can probably accompany with relatively little preparation time on your part (although PLEASE do NOT actually sightread in someone's rehearsal/lesson, unless you literally haven't been given any advanced notice). This can be a good way to make a name for yourself in your area and to get experience working with students, which if you plan to go on to college music will be especially important.Ĥ) I think it's a fairly viable side job, depending on your level of sightreading. I'm not sure what the specifics were, but I assume she probably paid him some sort of flat rate to do a whole bunch of students at a time.

When I was in high school, my teacher contracted with a local pianist to accompany all of her students for recitals, competitions, auditions, etc.

The other option is to get in touch with local voice and instrumental teachers in the area. Consider offering to be available as a sub if you can't necessarily find a steady position, just to get your name and face out there as much as possible. At least from my area, it seems like someone is always looking for a part-time pianist/accompanist and it's usually pretty easy music (hymns and stuff) and a lot of the other musical responsibilities will be on the choir director, so you just have to show up and be good at listening and you'll be fine. Church choirs and community choirs are excellent choices.

It's nice to know that you have experience, but I think the best thing to do would be to just go out and play, and make sure that you have some collaborative pieces under your belt that you could whip out as a demonstration (24 Italian Artsongs and Arias, Broadway standards, the basic sonatas for instruments like flute, violin, cello, etc., standard concerto accompaniments, etc.)ģ) Here's where I can offer my expertise. I don't really think business cards or a portfolio are necessary - to be perfectly honest, the only way I'd personally hire someone, and I imagine this to be true across the board, is to hear you personally. So, I think the important part is getting yourself out there and garnering recognition in your area and field. Granted, it was a college campus with lots of available pianists, but I also think in general I notice the same people in my area being available for gigs, and those are the people I'd probably ask. (I always hand them music to peruse before any final decisions are made.) So yeah, level isn't as important as time, but I also assume that if someone is being paid to play, they are good enough that they won't need six months to learn two pieces' worth of accompaniment.Ģ) Can't help you much here, but I will say that I've worked almost entirely through word of mouth. If the piece was exceptionally hard, I might tip my accompanist, but I feel like if someone is taking on my job, they're agreeing that they're able to play my pieces. Personally, I don't factor level of the music in as much as the time I expect the person put into it, which for the accompaniments to college-level artsongs and arias is probably no more than an hour for an undergraduate. Included in this, I'd expect at least 1-2 rehearsals and accompaniment/coaching for at least one lesson, in addition to the gig. For larger events like a recital or bigger solo gig, I would imagine maybe $200 or so. This would be for small gigs with 2-3 pieces of maybe 10-15 minutes of music tops. Some notes as a singer who works regularly with accompanists:įor college-level accompanists, the going rate in my area was about $30-50 depending on the specific event and specific skillset (typically underclassmen were cheaper than upperclassmen and grad students).