"Think of the SONG, not the blighted instrument!"
Could not possibly agree more EG
Peggy Seeger is the finest accompanist I ever heard on both English and American songs - I recorded a wonderful (if uncompromising) talk she gave on the subject the year I moved to London in 1969 - I still have that recording, treasure it and listen to it for sheer entertainment, if nothing else.
The statement she made right at the beginning still resonates with me - "The first thing to ask yourself about accompaniment is "Does the song need it - if it doesn't, don't do it".
The other was "The problem with much accompaniment is, it doesn't - it leads, the voice follows.
I hope this thread runs for a thousand years.
Jim