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Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, "Accompaniment." 1: an instrumental or vocal part designed to support or complement a melody.

Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus, "Accompaniment." 1: something added to a principal thing usually to increase its impact or effectiveness . Synonyms augmentation, complement, enhancement, enrichment. Related Word accessory, addition, supplement; aid, assistance, help.

Britannica Concise, "Song." Short and usually simple piece of music for voice, with or without instrumental accompaniment.


It IS a joint effort, but not an EQUAL effort. There is an expectation that the parts will fit together, but they must fit around the soloist.

The expectation would be the same orchestrally, in a concerto, where one instrument is featured and the orchestra accompanies.

When it comes to songs, the reason the singer most needs to be heard is this. When a piece is sung, it's the SONG that needs to come through. It isn't about ego-- it's about the reality that the piece is a sung piece, and the reality that what isn't helpful is focusing on something other than the song, which is coming from the one singing it.

If the singer is interpreting and phrasing the song, which is the job of the singer, the instruments need to support that and not interfere with it. This is simply the reality of accompanying a sung piece. NO one's ego should override the SONG. The song is the whole point.

Also, in practical terms, if those accompanying are listening mostly to one another instead of the soloist or instead of watching the director, they're behind the beat, not supporting it. It's just not good musicianship to lean on one's section, so to speak, or you end up with people lagging behind the beat in a series of who's following whom one seat away. That level of musicianship is what happens in the early stages of rehearsal on new work, but it simply doesn't work when it's time to present the piece.

Then there is songLEADing, where the accompaniment needs to follow the songleader even more closely. The songleader is singing just a tad ahead of the beat, so the people can follow till they get how the piece goes, and the instruments need to be ahead of the beat a tad, too, or it's a mess. Once the people have the tune, and you can hear this in our servcie tapes when we present a piece to them for the first time, then everyone is singing along and playing along and it hits a groove of its own that transcends who is following whom.

But even then, it's the songleader's job to hear what is happening and to go for extra repeats of the chorus, or to shorten the piece if it isn't working, or to repeat taglines or other material at the end..... the people follow that cue, so why can't the players? With good musicianship and a cooperative spirit, they do.

That's what works.

~Susan