As classical singers, many of you have likely been there before. You arrive at an audition, music in hand, confident and ready to show off your vocal potential. You hand your music to the pianist, introduce your selection, and begin.
That’s when it happens—the awkward “vocalist versus accompanist tempo tug of war.” Almost immediately, you hesitate and then begin to drag the tempo. The pianist struggles, unsure if he should drive the tempo or follow your lead. And by the end, your confidence is waning and you’re cursing the accompanist who you’re sure cost you an audition you’d been preparing for weeks.
It seems unfathomable. The piece felt comfortable with your regular accompanist. According to veteran collaborative pianists, however, there are several things the vocalist in this scenario could have done to better communicate and perhaps secure a stronger audition, even when working with the accompanist for the very first time.
“A lot of singers don’t realize that we’re on your team,” says Jerad Mosbey, a vocal coach and collaborative pianist based in Chicago who studied under renowned collaborative pianist Martin Katz at the University of Michigan’s prestigious School of Music. Mosbey’s experience includes accompanying everything from recitals—including a recent debut at Carnegie Hall with baritone Joshua Hopkins through the Marilyn Horne Foundation—lessons, and auditions.
“Accompanists want the singer to do well,” Mosbey says. “It’s really about fostering an equal relationship and respect. It’s about thinking more like a duo or an ensemble. Both the singer and the accompanist should feel comfortable about performing the piece.”
According to Mosbey and other seasoned accompanists, it’s not quite as uncommon as one might think for singers to not always know the right etiquette in working with an accompanist—whether one is provided, accompanying a voice lesson, providing voice coaching, or acting as a frequent collaborator with a variety of singers.
So given the earlier scenario in an audition setting, what could the singer have done differently?
“The more specific a singer can be, the better,” Mosbey says.
He usually advises singers to not walk into an audition setting assuming the accompanist has played the piece before, but to take time before the audition to properly prepare a clean copy of the score and communicate clearly with the accompanist.
“Set the tempo,” he says. “A lot of singers will sing the song’s introduction, but I always tell singers to sing the first line of the song. And, take the lead. Leading strongly and singing confidently provides a level of comfort to the pianist so they can be a greater support to the vocalist. Collaborating is almost like a sixth sense. It should feel like a conversation and a partnership. It can be tough to navigate when neither person is sure who is in control.”
The audition process, Mosbey says, can be an unnatural environment for both the singer and the accompanist. In many cases, he says, accompanists are provided, so both the singer and pianist will be meeting and working together for the first time.
And while it is possible for a singer to be paired with an accompanist who might struggle more than strive, Mosbey says the important thing is for the singer to stay focused. “In a scenario where an accompanist truly doesn’t know the piece and doesn’t play it well, just keep singing and be confident,” he says. “Those auditioning you can usually tell.”
However, even if an accompanist is familiar with the piece, every singer sings it differently and has a different interpretation. To help with this, the singer can do several things to make the process smoother and prevent confusion, Mosbey says.
“Have a clean score for the accompanist,” he says. “And if there is anything major in the score, like a cut or a repeat, mark it clearly for them in red pen.”
Additionally, he says to include music symbols, such as fermatas, dynamic markings, phrasing, or breath marks, in both the vocal line and the piano line to aid them in this.
He also says that when working with your own accompanist—for a coaching, audition, or performance—provide the music early enough for him or her to prepare.
“Give us a chance to do well for you,” Mosbey says. “Most working accompanists are juggling a lot of music at once and are always in the process of practicing and learning new pieces of music. The more time we have to work on it, the better help we can be to you.”
Beyond Auditions
Auditions are just one piece of the puzzle. The seemingly simple act of providing an accompanist with sheet music often can be a hurdle as well.
“One of the very first pitfalls—especially among younger students who don’t have as much experience working with accompanists—is that the copies provided for the accompanist do not include the bass line of the piano part because it is sometimes cut off by the copy machine,” says Elaina Burns, a pianist who has accompanied beginning high school vocalists, college students, faculty, and professional vocalists in lessons, masterclasses, and recitals for nearly two decades throughout the U.S. “In an effort to avoid this error, some vocalists will cut off the top of their own vocal line so that the accompanist is not missing any of the piano part. This is certainly done with the best of intentions; however, this causes several problems for the pianist.”
Burns says that in lessons, accompanists are sometimes asked to play a portion of the vocal line and obviously cannot when the line is missing. “The pianist also should have access to all of the lyrics so that they can work to translate the text (if in a foreign language),” Burns says. “Even just a few missing words can lead to a misinterpretation.”
Burns says accompanists are accustomed to reading multiple lines of music at once and that it is equally important for pianists to know what is happening musically in the vocal line.
“Although it may seem that the pianist is playing only his or her own two staves, the entirety of the page is taken in while reading, and any missing material can be disorienting,” Burns says. “Sometimes tempo indications and expressive markings will appear in the vocal part, but will be missing from the piano part.”
Tempo also is a common problem area between vocalists and accompanists—not only in auditions, but in lessons and rehearsals. And, like Mosbey, Burns says it works best to have the vocalist sing part of his or her vocal line before beginning the piece.
“This is something that accompanists and vocalists can work on together before the pianist even begins playing the introduction,” Burns says. “I find that it is best to ask, ‘Would you please sing a few measures so that I can get an idea of your tempo?’” It is sometimes challenging for the pair to find the right tempo after the accompanist plays the introduction too quickly or too slowly right from the beginning of rehearsal.”
Burns says this is especially true of younger vocalists who might want to take a certain tempo but who might be swayed by their pianists’ potentially incorrect interpretation. Again agreeing with Mosbey, Burns says the more confident and secure vocalists are on their part, the better they can lead.
“It’s incredibly important for young vocalists to know all notes, rhythms, phrasing, and diction at a high level before working together with the accompanist,” she says. “I’ve been fortunate to work with truly wonderful musicians. I find it so helpful when the vocalist has a clear interpretation of the piece, and I can support them in that interpretation by watching closely and following their cues.”
When it comes to fostering a good working relationship with your accompanist, Burns says it goes for both parties.
“Be kind and understanding to one another,” she says, “especially during auditions, as this can be the very first time that the accompanist and vocalist have met. It can be a stressful time for both the vocalist and the accompanist. If both recognize that together they should strive for the highest levels of musicianship and attempt to express what the composer has written on the page, the audition, recital, or lesson can be much more successful.”
