A MATTER OF ACCOMPANIMENT
When is an accompaniment not an accompaniment? Unless we’re talking about a pattern-based sequence of notes, such as an Alberti bass, the answer is often not so clear-cut. And though we might be tempted to glance first at the bass line for confirmation of how the roles are divided between the hands, we’ll often need to look elsewhere, especially in repertoire from the Romantic period onwards. Even by the early grades, accompaniments can be found in the RH, with the tune in the LH. Furthermore, accompaniments won’t necessarily remain rooted in one hand (or keep conveniently to a single position within the musical texture). Frequently in piano music an accompanimental line will suddenly morph into something more melodic, perhaps just fleetingly. We sometimes think of the piano as being an orchestra at our fingertips, but controlling it presents significant challenges.
It’s often helpful, at first, to think about what’s happening in at any given moment, rather than what this will involve , though of course we’ll then need to find ways of actually achieving this! Unlike single-line instrumentalists, such as trumpeters and flautists, pianists are always concerned with – controlling how all those notes are divided between the hands. Accompaniments might take the form of tremolo octaves, arpeggiated patterns, broken, rocking and/or chugging chords, or simply a triad with a melodic note on top! Accompaniments can give piano music a rhythmic ‘engine’, as well as fill out the harmonies in a nicely varied way. And it’s by no means uncommon to find ourselves challenged with playing melodic as well as accompanimental notes simultaneously, in one or even both hands at the same time.
