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Accompanyist/music job opportunities? (1 Viewer)

Njn

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Was wondering where and how I could perhaps make some cash as an accompanyist? Or even as a performer, or something other to do with music? The idea came to me after I accompanied a family friend of mine for her violin exam.

I actually have noooo clue where to start. My main instrument is piano (6th grade, started learning more than 10 years ago but stopped for a while).
 

chumbumm. =D

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hi5!
piano is cool yea?
ive been learning for 1o years 100...tho i still suck at it....

wat does an accompanyist do?

im srry...im suppose to be answering your question...not asking a question..

u can become a teacher?? but you'll probaly have to finish 8th grade first..
 

Njn

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chumbumm. =D said:
hi5!
piano is cool yea?
ive been learning for 1o years 100...tho i still suck at it....

wat does an accompanyist do?

im srry...im suppose to be answering your question...not asking a question..

u can become a teacher?? but you'll probaly have to finish 8th grade first..
Haha an accompanyist... accompanies! Accompanies someone as in... you know, someone plays violin while you play piano as their 'accompaniment'. Hopefully.. you get the gist! xD

Teacher... blah, I'm not too keen on that one, I would have noooo idea where to start, and not to mention I don't even have a music teaching degree =/
 

chumbumm. =D

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ohh..lols...that sounds pretty cool.

um. i dont think u need a music degree to teach..my first piano teacher didnt have a degree...u could just teach little kids..

wat bout a music therapist...i was considering that onee....u could play to ppl and make them feel better!

=D
 

Njn

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chumbumm. =D said:
ohh..lols...that sounds pretty cool.

um. i dont think u need a music degree to teach..my first piano teacher didnt have a degree...u could just teach little kids..

wat bout a music therapist...i was considering that onee....u could play to ppl and make them feel better!

=D
Hah, that never came to me, hmm.
 

sparkerasp

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chumbumm. =D said:
um. i dont think u need a music degree to teach..my first piano teacher didnt have a degree...u could just teach little kids..
Correct, you don't need a degree, but it's better on your cover letter if you have one :)
 

wixxy2348

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Basically finish all the AMEB exams and then do the further exams (the Fellowship ones I think?)... I'm pretty sure once you've done all that you can contact The Con and be registered as an official accompanist (I know they have a list of contacts available to the general public).
 

Njn

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wixxy2348 said:
Basically finish all the AMEB exams and then do the further exams (the Fellowship ones I think?)... I'm pretty sure once you've done all that you can contact The Con and be registered as an official accompanist (I know they have a list of contacts available to the general public).

Woah, up to fellowship?! Geez.
 

Cerry

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wixxy2348 said:
Basically finish all the AMEB exams and then do the further exams (the Fellowship ones I think?)... I'm pretty sure once you've done all that you can contact The Con and be registered as an official accompanist (I know they have a list of contacts available to the general public).
You probably don't have to go as far as that, unless you want to register with The Con in Sydney (I'm sure our local con has people registered as accompanists who don't have fellowship). But I would go up to at least 8th grade exams, because it will look better, and get you more work. It's a bit stupid, since I know some really good pianists who haven't got anything past about 5th grade, but that's the way it works.
If you can get some experience playing for friends exams or whatever, then that's good, because it can help build a reputation, and once you've got a good reputation, it will be easier to pick up work. But if you advertise in the paper or online, you should be able to get some work as an accompanist, even if it's not much. You probably won't be able to charge much, either - most of the accompanists where I live charge about $20 for a half hour rehearsal/performance, and lots of them have at least an A mus, and years and years of experience.
 

chumbumm. =D

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wixxy2348 said:
Basically finish all the AMEB exams and then do the further exams (the Fellowship ones I think?)... I'm pretty sure once you've done all that you can contact The Con and be registered as an official accompanist (I know they have a list of contacts available to the general public).
so wats fellowship?
is it fmus?
so after eight grade theres....amus, lmus, then fmus?
omg.
soo much to dooo...
but i think i'll only go up to eight grade..
=)
 

wixxy2348

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Njn said:
Woah, up to fellowship?! Geez.
Just saying, it's your best chance of getting serious work.. plus it'll KEEP you in work all through Uni & even after that.
 

sparkerasp

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chumbumm. =D said:
so wats fellowship?
is it fmus?
so after eight grade theres....amus, lmus, then fmus?
Correct F.Mus.A so essentially there are 12 grades :) You don't have to go into fellowship, it's not necessary, but it does prove your capabilities.
 

Njn

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*Sigh*.... sucks how I've stopped doing grades for a couple years now, I might not start again until after school. Maybe then I'll just skip over to the 8th grade exam. xD
 

chumbumm. =D

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noooo..
if ur on 6th grade now...
i dont think you should sjip to 8th..
cos u'll miss out on a lot of stuff...
i have a few friends who skipped grades..and there results were that good...

just take your time with it..
u should learn piano becos u like it and enjoy it..not to just finish the grades...exams are everything..

=)
 

sparkerasp

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chumbumm. =D said:
u should learn piano becos u like it and enjoy it..not to just finish the grades
Exactly, well said chumbumm! If you're doing piano just for the grades, then I would probably suggest that you stop and think about where you really want to go with your music.
 

Njn

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Me? I stopped playing grades a while ago, even though I'm still playing! So I daresay I wouldn't be in the "just for the grades" category.

But I suppose it might be true, since I also know a few grade skipping friends, some of who did well and some that didn't go so well.
 

becibu

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I'm a singer and pianist who has worked with some proffessional accompanists and I've accompanied some singers before.

There is no official way to 'claim' yourself as an accompanist, it's like teaching you are basically self employed. However it helps to be part of an association or guild ... it's good to have some sort of qualification.

There are grade 8 pianists and A mus A pianists I know that can't even sight read. I am not kidding, they can't read well. To learn a piece fast and to accompany well it is essential to have good sightreading skills. A good accompanist also follows the soloist and doesn't bang on the thing but brings out the soloist. Also, a good accompanist can arrange and improvise or jump in if the soloist is doing anything wrong or forget's his/her bit. One accompanist I had, held the arrangement of something that played my melody, he arranged it so that the part didn't double. It's being able to understand some theory and being able to read well that makes accompanying an easier job.

Alright, I bet you already knew that. I think to really get into accompanying it's good to get as much experience as you can by doing free jobs in school, finding musicians (singers, flautists, violinists, etc). The more experience you get the more you understand instruments better. A flautist or singer can only hold a note for so long until they die of no oxygen. A saxophonist often needs the music to be transposed into Bb, etc.

Fortuanatly Trinity College London (also known as Trinity Guildhall) supply a piano accompanying syllabus from grade 5 upwards. Some teachers (who are also accompanists) I know occasionally coach an ensemble on some lessons.

An exceptional accompanist that I once worked with told me that she just started out playing in schools. She told me that she learned so much through that. I think that is the key, experience!
 

jet

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becibu said:
I'm a singer and pianist who has worked with some proffessional accompanists and I've accompanied some singers before.

There is no official way to 'claim' yourself as an accompanist, it's like teaching you are basically self employed. However it helps to be part of an association or guild ... it's good to have some sort of qualification.

There are grade 8 pianists and A mus A pianists I know that can't even sight read. I am not kidding, they can't read well. To learn a piece fast and to accompany well it is essential to have good sightreading skills. A good accompanist also follows the soloist and doesn't bang on the thing but brings out the soloist. Also, a good accompanist can arrange and improvise or jump in if the soloist is doing anything wrong or forget's his/her bit. One accompanist I had, held the arrangement of something that played my melody, he arranged it so that the part didn't double. It's being able to understand some theory and being able to read well that makes accompanying an easier job.

Alright, I bet you already knew that. I think to really get into accompanying it's good to get as much experience as you can by doing free jobs in school, finding musicians (singers, flautists, violinists, etc). The more experience you get the more you understand instruments better. A flautist or singer can only hold a note for so long until they die of no oxygen. A saxophonist often needs the music to be transposed into Bb, etc.

Fortuanatly Trinity College London (also known as Trinity Guildhall) supply a piano accompanying syllabus from grade 5 upwards. Some teachers (who are also accompanists) I know occasionally coach an ensemble on some lessons.

An exceptional accompanist that I once worked with told me that she just started out playing in schools. She told me that she learned so much through that. I think that is the key, experience!

Extremely well said.
I originally began to accompany in year 10 (in year 12 now) just from playing with others for their music assessments. It teaches you so much about ensemble work and really helps with the sight reading. Now I occasionally have people asking me to accompany them.
What becibu said was right. You need to follow the soloist the whole way, so much so that you can't really even look at the sheet music or your hands. I have also accompanied the small vocal ensemble that we have. This is somewhat different in that you need to follow the conductor, and know exactly what they are doing so you can catch whatever they are trying to communicate with you. I would recommend starting small because I recently played in an ensemble at a rather large festival (around 2000 people i think) and you basically need to follow the conductor, ignore the audience and be mindful of the other ensemble members, all while trying to play.
Also, you don't need a fellowship. It is so hard to get that it is hardly ever awarded each year. I am grade seven. You just need to know where to look. Another good place is with local theatre companies or choirs looking for piano players.
 

Davomann

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I play woodwind instruments and i've had a couple of jobs playing in the ensemble for Penrith Musical Comedy Company for the musicals The Wedding Singer and Thouroughly Modern Millie and I am soon to do Footloose. You could try to contact a local Musical company and ask/audition to play in the ensembles to supply the music. I got payed $350 for each show which isnt bad for me. In the Wedding Singer, cos it was all 80s music with synthesisers, there were 4 piano/keyboard players and in TMM, we didnt have a piano player so the conductor played the important piano parts. So piano players seem like theyre in demand from what ive seen of musical companies
 

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