As a singer, I can tell you it has been hard for me to find accompanists who can understand that the WORDS of a song are important, the emotion, the telling of the story, the dynamics needed to get the whole package across - change in tempo sometimes, holding a note for emphasis... it seems if an accompanist is a singer himself/herself, this is more understood. One accompanist, who is technically a good musician, actually told me she never listended to lyrics before she started working with me, and has mentioned lately that she thinks she prefers music that is without lyrics, because she can make it mean anything she wants - so much for my song accompanist. It was hard to get her to stop playing everything as if it was a dance tune.