We had our first workshop discussion about "Playing Well With Others" on Thursday, February 20th, 2025. It was a 30-minute exploration of the topic to see if people were interested and what knowledge and experience they had to share.
We had an excellent group of people. The range of experience: those whose first experience on stage was mere months ago to people who had been doing this for decades. I invited Jim Morrison (one of my favourite performers and accompanists) to join me.
We had a lively discussion, with lots of questions and some juicy anecdotes.
I'm grateful for everyone who came, and for all the ideas that we shared.
Here are my notes:
Key questions - What's on your mind when you accompany others?
What Key?
What's the Rhythm?
Who is controlling the tempo?
What's the chord progression?
Follow up on common chord progressions
Nashville numbering system for chords (e.g.,1,4,5)
Whose version of the song are we doing?
e.g., Summertime (Ella Fitzgerald or Janis Joplin)
Who's directing traffic?
Leading the song, the musical director
When to be loud or soft?
What if they don't like me?
The other people on the stage
Sometimes, you get to stand down
Ideas for song/set leaders
Communicate
Key
Chord progression (e.g., C, F, G or 1, 4, 5)
Rhythm
Version (if applicable)
Dynamics (loud/soft)
Tempo (deliberate changes)
Who gets to solo
Picking the right song
For the audience
For the players
Ideas for Accompanists
Listen!
Your job is to make everyone else sound great
If you can't hear the vocalist, you're too loud
If you can't hear the soloist, you're too loud
Not a place to experiment (depends on the style of music)
Don't noodle around trying to figure out the song
"Let me know when you find the note you're looking for"
You don't have to play all the way through
Not everyone has to play all the time
Ideas for everybody
Honour the song
Respect the audience
Support the others on stage
On stage, it's not about you
Next time, we'll talk about how to put these ideas and more into practice.
The next session will be on Thursday, March 6th, 2025. 6:30-7:00 p.m.
At the end of the night, we handed out Chick Corea's advice. Food for thought.
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