13

Accompanying Melodies

In This Chapter

◆Working with a lead sheet

◆Figuring out what to play

◆Understanding different types of accompaniment

◆Adding a more interesting bass part

◆Accompanying on guitar

If you play piano or guitar, at some point in time you will be asked to accom-
pany another musician or group of musicians. Maybe it’s playing behind a
singer at church, or backing up your children’s choir at school, or even vamping
behind a harmonica soloist in a blues band. Whatever the situation, you’ll be
expected to provide at least rudimentary backing to the primary musicians.

If, along with this request, you also are handed a page of detailed sheet music,
you’re set. All you have to do is read your part, play the notes, and take your bows.

However, if there’s no written music accompanying the request, you have your
work cut out for you. Depending on the gig, you might have to transcribe the
melody, figure out the chords, and compose your own part—all of which you
can do, if you have the proper grounding in music theory.

What’s the Score?

When you’re asked to accompany someone on piano (or guitar, for that matter),
you should first figure out how much homework you need to do. This is deter-
mined by the amount of written music you’re given.

The best of all possible situations is that you receive a complete musical score.
If this is the case, you don’t need to read any further in this chapter—you’re set!

However, it’s more likely that you’ll be provided with only sketchy written
information—or none at all. If this is the case, you need to apply the skills
you’ve learned in the previous chapters to figure out just what you need to play.

Chapter