Adding an Optional Piano is a great way to crank it up a notch. Some Choral arrangements have an Optional Piano part such as Take me Home arranged by Roger Emerson.
Now, I work within the classical music tradition, but one thing I have noticed is that lots and lots of arrangers double the choir in a choral like style for piano. This is also common in small Christian congregations where all people sing the same voice. While it is perfectly fine to double the voices including the melody on the piano what you should avoid on the piano in my opinion is the choral like hammering of chords since that is not really idiomatic for piano, but is more suitable for organ where the tones can be sustainained indefinitely. Try to use ornaments, arpeggios and accompainmant figures in a lighter way and make sure the piano part lives its own life even when just dubbling and it will sound much better and a lot more pianistic. Remember that you never press down the keys when playing the piano - you strike them gently!
Yes, this is definitely true; a piano reduction like you describe is useful while rehearing chorales, but the piano is indeed more of a percussive instrument and may not sound the best if doubling the sung parts exactly! I think that good accompanists will adjust the accompaniment to be more suitable for the piano if presented with sheet music like you describe, but it's definitely best to write the accompaniment FOR the piano rather than just double the sung parts! 🙂
Very helpful video, Knut. Question, if you have time: I direct a small choir at a small private school. Since I don't have an accompanist, and since I don't sight read well (I can play by ear pretty well), we do everything acapella. This is fine, except that there is so much great choir music out there that has obligato piano accompaniment, which I don't have time to learn. Do you think that most obligato accompaniment could be replaced with improve accompaniment based on the chords (which aren't notated, of course, but which I could figure out)?
Hi Douglas! This is an interesting question and, depending on the type of music you're performing, improvising accompaniment may in fact be more in line with the way it would've been performed when it was written than following the score exactly! When it comes to obbligato accompaniment, I'd argue that, if you can break down the most important rhythmic and harmonic elements, it's completely fine to improvise some accompaniment that includes these in most cases. I think a lot of obbligato accompaniment came to be because, as the the baroque era ended, less focus was placed on improvising and more on playing exactly as written, and so the art of improvising accompaniment took a back seat. That's simplifying, and very Western-focused, but the point is that I think a lot of obbligato accompaniment is written out because the composer couldn't expect the accompanist to be able to improvise any longer, or had very specific requirements for the accompaniment. With the resurgence of early music and especially the advent of pop chord notation, improvising is more common, so if you're confident that you can improvise some accompaniment for more recent classical music, retaining any important elements within it, I think you should go for it! Some musicologists may argue that it's not "right" to do this, but practically speaking you need to do whatever lets you do a good performance with your singers 😉
One question: so I know that for the chord that that is outlined, it’s best that the melody has the chord tones of that chord. Does that same thinking apply to for example a counter melody or even a pre existing motive? I have trouble writing both melody and harmony around riffs
Well, inevitably both the melodies, counter melodies and motifs will use some notes that aren't in the chord, and this is important in creating tension and release! As a rule of thumb, whole step clashes between parts will generally sound fine; it's only when you have semitone clashes that you need to be very careful. If you're developing your melody and harmony based on a riff, try to find the scale that the riff uses first, then work out a chord progression based on that scale which you can play under the riff (and this doesn't have to be clever; using a four chord loop is fine). If you can get the riff and harmony in place first, it'll be easier to create a melody that works with both, since you can hear them together and find something that fits. Hope that's helpful! :-)
Knut's Music okay thank you for the advice! It’s usually in an on going bass line where I usually have the trouble. The balance between writing a funky groove on an instrument but at the same time not letting it outshine the main vocal melody if that makes sense :)
@@HZIEI I see what you mean! But don't worry too much about it; if you listen to, say, some disco or funk records, they usually have very busy and intricate bass lines, but somehow they don't draw away the attention from the singers. Our ears will be naturally drawn towards the sound of voices, so you'd be surprised at how low you can have them in a mix and still they'll be heard clearly!
Hi! That's a very tricky kind of feedback to interpret, I must say! If I were to describe what I would consider "generic" accompaniment, I'd say it's a very simple bass line with chords played on top, with little variation over the course of the piece. However, sometimes this is fine, so it's hard to give general advice... But here are some things you can do to spice up accompaniment a little: 1. Alternate between using block chords and arpeggios; maybe do a quiet section with block chords, then increase the intensity with arpeggios when the dynamic gets stronger. 2. Use some syncopation, i.e. don't always play on the first and/or third beats of the bars, but maybe have some changes happen on the second or fourth, or between beats (depending on whether it's suitable for the style, of course)! 3. Change the register of the accompaniment. It's very easy to keep it all in the tenor/alto and bass ranges, but it can be effective to move it into the soprano register for a while, or even further up, to create some contrast, particularly for quiet sections of an arrangement. 4. Have a countermelody in the right or left hands. The harmony doesn't have to be very busy when you do this, since a countermelody already adds a lot of interest. It's also very interesting to do this in the lowermost part, since it avoids constant root-position chords, which is an easy albeit definitely generic route to take! Else, remember to use dynamics, same as with the vocal parts! If you're writing popular music it's also a good idea to include the chord symbols if you're okay with the accompanist improvising, since this gives them license to spice up the accompaniment themselves! I have some moving score videos on my channel where you can see my solutions to accompaniment; one where I use basically all the tricks above is the one for "Takeda Lullaby": czcams.com/video/Tli2Esicdfk/video.html I hope that's a little helpful! 🙂
Good advice in there. I also (reluctantly) agree with the advice of putting the bass (function) in the piano, and not the bass (voice). It's hard to argue that the presence and resonance of the piano makes it necessary to put the foundation there. I think it's a shame to describe it as "freeing up the basses to do fun stuff", though. As a bass singer, part of what I enjoy about singing bass (voice) is when I get to provide the bass (function). I realize that it might not work in an accompagnied setup, but I wouldn't think of the bass being given to the piano as as "being freed up to do the fun stuff". I'd swap the melody for a good bass line anytime. Thankfully, I don't see you doing this in your arrangements, but the notion that the bass function is something you need to be "freed up from", seems to lead some arrangers to treat bass singers as "tenors who can't handle high notes". I sometimes sing arrangements where it feels like the basses were treated like a liability that the arranger had to live with, rather than a musical tool in itself (sort of like some arrangers treat the altos as a garbage bin for whatever note they couldn't fit elsewhere).
Hey! Yes, you're right; it probably wasn't the best choice of words! I think I put it that way because I've seen a lot of arrangers not be very creative with their choice of bass lines, and in consequence giving the bass singers nothing but long, low notes that get lost in the texture when they could've made things a lot more interesting by not having the same line over and over. I've even seen situations where an arranger will switch the bass and tenor parts in an effort to change things up, leading to both parts being in an awkward range! Any arranger that treats the basses, altos, or any of the other parts as a dumping ground for extra notes is not doing their job properly, which is why I always recommend distributing the melody before doing anything else, as it helps to avoid this mentality. Of course, there's nothing wrong with having the bass singers sing the bass line; in fact, it's an important part of their job! But I do think that, when you have piano accompaniment, the bass singers can get a bit lost if they're singing the bass line due to the piano usually projecting much more than they will in the bottom range. It's ridiculous how much a piano will cut through in a concert space, even when playing quietly and with the soft pedal engaged! So I'd personally give them a strong harmony note or a bit of melody or countermelody, so it's guaranteed that they'll contribute to the sound as much as possible. It's just a practical consideration, and not a strike against bass singers! Keep in mind that my tips are usually geared towards community choirs too, where true basses with strong projection are few and far between, and I'm not taking artificial amplification like microphones into account, which of course changes things significantly. So I apologize for the choice of words; I'm of course not advocating treating the basses as tenors who can't handle high notes! ;-P (In fact, a lot of people in the tenor section can't even handle the high notes!)
@@KnutsMusic No need to apologize. I agree that bass lines can get boring if all you do is repeat the same background vocals. I just thought I'd warn that the opposite approach can also create problems. I do sing at the community choir level myself, so I see the issue with projection. That doesn't mean I won't appreciate the odd low note just for the fun of it :)
Adding an Optional Piano is a great way to crank it up a notch. Some Choral arrangements have an Optional Piano part such as Take me Home arranged by Roger Emerson.
That opening skit was taken right out of my life, and exactly why I am here! Thank you!
I love your video very insightful. Good information thank you.
Thank you very much; I'm happy to hear that you liked the video! 🙂
Now, I work within the classical music tradition, but one thing I have noticed is that lots and lots of arrangers double the choir in a choral like style for piano. This is also common in small Christian congregations where all people sing the same voice. While it is perfectly fine to double the voices including the melody on the piano what you should avoid on the piano in my opinion is the choral like hammering of chords since that is not really idiomatic for piano, but is more suitable for organ where the tones can be sustainained indefinitely. Try to use ornaments, arpeggios and accompainmant figures in a lighter way and make sure the piano part lives its own life even when just dubbling and it will sound much better and a lot more pianistic. Remember that you never press down the keys when playing the piano - you strike them gently!
Yes, this is definitely true; a piano reduction like you describe is useful while rehearing chorales, but the piano is indeed more of a percussive instrument and may not sound the best if doubling the sung parts exactly! I think that good accompanists will adjust the accompaniment to be more suitable for the piano if presented with sheet music like you describe, but it's definitely best to write the accompaniment FOR the piano rather than just double the sung parts! 🙂
Very helpful video, Knut. Question, if you have time: I direct a small choir at a small private school. Since I don't have an accompanist, and since I don't sight read well (I can play by ear pretty well), we do everything acapella. This is fine, except that there is so much great choir music out there that has obligato piano accompaniment, which I don't have time to learn. Do you think that most obligato accompaniment could be replaced with improve accompaniment based on the chords (which aren't notated, of course, but which I could figure out)?
Hi Douglas! This is an interesting question and, depending on the type of music you're performing, improvising accompaniment may in fact be more in line with the way it would've been performed when it was written than following the score exactly! When it comes to obbligato accompaniment, I'd argue that, if you can break down the most important rhythmic and harmonic elements, it's completely fine to improvise some accompaniment that includes these in most cases.
I think a lot of obbligato accompaniment came to be because, as the the baroque era ended, less focus was placed on improvising and more on playing exactly as written, and so the art of improvising accompaniment took a back seat. That's simplifying, and very Western-focused, but the point is that I think a lot of obbligato accompaniment is written out because the composer couldn't expect the accompanist to be able to improvise any longer, or had very specific requirements for the accompaniment. With the resurgence of early music and especially the advent of pop chord notation, improvising is more common, so if you're confident that you can improvise some accompaniment for more recent classical music, retaining any important elements within it, I think you should go for it! Some musicologists may argue that it's not "right" to do this, but practically speaking you need to do whatever lets you do a good performance with your singers 😉
@@KnutsMusic Thank you for the thorough reply! I shall have to give it a try and see how it goes...
One question: so I know that for the chord that that is outlined, it’s best that the melody has the chord tones of that chord. Does that same thinking apply to for example a counter melody or even a pre existing motive? I have trouble writing both melody and harmony around riffs
Well, inevitably both the melodies, counter melodies and motifs will use some notes that aren't in the chord, and this is important in creating tension and release! As a rule of thumb, whole step clashes between parts will generally sound fine; it's only when you have semitone clashes that you need to be very careful. If you're developing your melody and harmony based on a riff, try to find the scale that the riff uses first, then work out a chord progression based on that scale which you can play under the riff (and this doesn't have to be clever; using a four chord loop is fine). If you can get the riff and harmony in place first, it'll be easier to create a melody that works with both, since you can hear them together and find something that fits. Hope that's helpful! :-)
Knut's Music okay thank you for the advice! It’s usually in an on going bass line where I usually have the trouble. The balance between writing a funky groove on an instrument but at the same time not letting it outshine the main vocal melody if that makes sense :)
@@HZIEI I see what you mean! But don't worry too much about it; if you listen to, say, some disco or funk records, they usually have very busy and intricate bass lines, but somehow they don't draw away the attention from the singers. Our ears will be naturally drawn towards the sound of voices, so you'd be surprised at how low you can have them in a mix and still they'll be heard clearly!
@@KnutsMusic Okay thank you! Please keep the amazing videos coming :)
Thank you for the lesson Knut
A note I’ve been given is that my accompaniment is “too generic”. How do I fix that???
Hi! That's a very tricky kind of feedback to interpret, I must say! If I were to describe what I would consider "generic" accompaniment, I'd say it's a very simple bass line with chords played on top, with little variation over the course of the piece. However, sometimes this is fine, so it's hard to give general advice... But here are some things you can do to spice up accompaniment a little:
1. Alternate between using block chords and arpeggios; maybe do a quiet section with block chords, then increase the intensity with arpeggios when the dynamic gets stronger.
2. Use some syncopation, i.e. don't always play on the first and/or third beats of the bars, but maybe have some changes happen on the second or fourth, or between beats (depending on whether it's suitable for the style, of course)!
3. Change the register of the accompaniment. It's very easy to keep it all in the tenor/alto and bass ranges, but it can be effective to move it into the soprano register for a while, or even further up, to create some contrast, particularly for quiet sections of an arrangement.
4. Have a countermelody in the right or left hands. The harmony doesn't have to be very busy when you do this, since a countermelody already adds a lot of interest. It's also very interesting to do this in the lowermost part, since it avoids constant root-position chords, which is an easy albeit definitely generic route to take!
Else, remember to use dynamics, same as with the vocal parts! If you're writing popular music it's also a good idea to include the chord symbols if you're okay with the accompanist improvising, since this gives them license to spice up the accompaniment themselves! I have some moving score videos on my channel where you can see my solutions to accompaniment; one where I use basically all the tricks above is the one for "Takeda Lullaby": czcams.com/video/Tli2Esicdfk/video.html I hope that's a little helpful! 🙂
@@KnutsMusic thank you so very much!!! I’ve been a huge fan of your videos for a long time, thanks so much for the feedback! 🙏🙏🙏
Good advice in there. I also (reluctantly) agree with the advice of putting the bass (function) in the piano, and not the bass (voice). It's hard to argue that the presence and resonance of the piano makes it necessary to put the foundation there.
I think it's a shame to describe it as "freeing up the basses to do fun stuff", though. As a bass singer, part of what I enjoy about singing bass (voice) is when I get to provide the bass (function). I realize that it might not work in an accompagnied setup, but I wouldn't think of the bass being given to the piano as as "being freed up to do the fun stuff". I'd swap the melody for a good bass line anytime.
Thankfully, I don't see you doing this in your arrangements, but the notion that the bass function is something you need to be "freed up from", seems to lead some arrangers to treat bass singers as "tenors who can't handle high notes". I sometimes sing arrangements where it feels like the basses were treated like a liability that the arranger had to live with, rather than a musical tool in itself (sort of like some arrangers treat the altos as a garbage bin for whatever note they couldn't fit elsewhere).
Hey! Yes, you're right; it probably wasn't the best choice of words! I think I put it that way because I've seen a lot of arrangers not be very creative with their choice of bass lines, and in consequence giving the bass singers nothing but long, low notes that get lost in the texture when they could've made things a lot more interesting by not having the same line over and over. I've even seen situations where an arranger will switch the bass and tenor parts in an effort to change things up, leading to both parts being in an awkward range! Any arranger that treats the basses, altos, or any of the other parts as a dumping ground for extra notes is not doing their job properly, which is why I always recommend distributing the melody before doing anything else, as it helps to avoid this mentality.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with having the bass singers sing the bass line; in fact, it's an important part of their job! But I do think that, when you have piano accompaniment, the bass singers can get a bit lost if they're singing the bass line due to the piano usually projecting much more than they will in the bottom range. It's ridiculous how much a piano will cut through in a concert space, even when playing quietly and with the soft pedal engaged! So I'd personally give them a strong harmony note or a bit of melody or countermelody, so it's guaranteed that they'll contribute to the sound as much as possible. It's just a practical consideration, and not a strike against bass singers! Keep in mind that my tips are usually geared towards community choirs too, where true basses with strong projection are few and far between, and I'm not taking artificial amplification like microphones into account, which of course changes things significantly.
So I apologize for the choice of words; I'm of course not advocating treating the basses as tenors who can't handle high notes! ;-P (In fact, a lot of people in the tenor section can't even handle the high notes!)
@@KnutsMusic No need to apologize. I agree that bass lines can get boring if all you do is repeat the same background vocals. I just thought I'd warn that the opposite approach can also create problems.
I do sing at the community choir level myself, so I see the issue with projection. That doesn't mean I won't appreciate the odd low note just for the fun of it :)