What are musical images, accompaniment refrain. The meaning of the word accompaniment in the dictionary of musical terms. Accompaniment as a sounding texture

Orff. accompaniment, -a Lopatin's spelling dictionary

Orff. accompaniment, -a Lopatin's spelling dictionary

Any song will be sung if the performer is offered support in the form of accompanying instrumental accompaniment. What is accompaniment? Accompaniment is the harmonic accompaniment of a song or instrumental melody. In the article we will talk about how to choose accompaniment for a song.

In order to choose an accompaniment, you must be guided by two basic rules and principles that are used when writing music. First: absolutely any work is subject to certain musical laws. And second: these patterns can easily be violated.

Essential Basics for Choosing Accompaniment

What do we need if we decide to choose an accompaniment for a song? Firstly, the vocal melody of the song itself - it must be written down in notes, or at least you need to learn how to play it well on an instrument. This very melody will have to be analyzed and, first of all, to figure out in what key it was written. , as a rule, is most accurately determined by the last chord or note that concludes the song, and almost always the tonality of a song can be established by the very first sounds of its melody.

How to choose accompaniment for a song?

Immediately before choosing an accompaniment for a song, you need to listen to it in its entirety several times and break it into parts, that is, for example, into a verse, a chorus and, perhaps, a bridge. These parts are well separated from each other, because they form certain harmonic cycles.

The harmonic basis of modern songs is in most cases the same type and simple. Its structure is usually based on a chain of repeating sections called “squares” (that is, rows of repeating chords).

The next step in the selection is to identify these same repeating chord chains, first in the verse, then in the chorus. Determine the key of the song based on the fundamental tone, that is, the note from which the chord is built. Then you should find it on the instrument in low sounds (bass) so that it merges with the chord in the selected song. The entire consonance should be built from the found note. This stage should not cause difficulties, for example, if the main tone was determined to be the note “C”, then the chord will be either minor or major.

So, everything is decided with the tonality, now knowledge about these very tonalities will come in handy. You should write down all its notes, and build chords based on them. Listening to the song further, we determine the moment of change of the first consonance and, changing our key one by one, we select the appropriate one. Following this tactic, we select further. At some point, you will notice that the chords begin to repeat themselves, so the selection will go much faster.

In some cases, music authors change the key in one of the verses, don’t be alarmed, it’s usually a lower tone or semitone. So you should also determine the bass note and build a consonance from it. And subsequent chords should be transposed into the desired key. Having reached the chorus, guided by the same selection scheme, we solve the problem. The second and subsequent verses will most likely be played with the same chords as the first.

How to check the selected accompaniment?

After completing the selection of chords, you should play the piece from beginning to end simultaneously with the recording. If you hear an erroneous chord somewhere, mark the place without stopping the game, and return to this place after completing the piece. Having found the desired consonance, play the piece again until the game sounds identical to the original.

The question of how to choose an accompaniment for a song will not cause complications if you improve your musical literacy from time to time: learn not only to read notes, but also figure out what chords, keys, etc. exist. You should constantly try to train your auditory memory through games. famous works and selection of new ones, ranging from simple ones to the selection of complex compositions. All this will at some point allow you to achieve serious results.

Many long-familiar objects do not have a clear definition of their meaning in our minds. The word “accompaniment” also applies to such concepts.

Translated from French, it means “to accompany, to echo, to play along.” Even simply beating a rhythm with your foot or clapping your hands has long been considered a kind of “accompaniment.” However, in the twentieth century a clear formulation of this term arose.

What is the specificity of the accompaniment?

Today, accompaniment is the addition of musical accompaniment to the melody in the form of harmonic and rhythmic support for the soloist. The role of a soloist can be a singer or an instrumentalist performing the leading part.

Almost all music is based on melody as the main means of expression. She is the queen, running like a red thread through the entire musical texture and dictating to the rest of the voices how to express them.

This type musical texture is called “homophonic-harmonic”. Because it has one main voice and its accompaniment in the form of harmony.

Most instruments are not capable of reproducing harmony; they can be played, even very expressively, by just one voice. At the same time, soloing to the accompaniment of an orchestra is quite expensive.

That is why an instrument such as the piano most often plays this role. It successfully imitates the sound of an orchestra with its rich harmonic capabilities and colorful timbres.

Accompaniment as a sounding texture

Accompaniment is not only what we hear in real sound. This word also refers to notes written for instruments performing the accompaniment part. The third meaning of the word lies in the action itself. This is the name given to the process of execution of support.

The main task of the accompanist, or, in other words, the accompanist, is to complement the soloist, helping him in creating artistic image. This assistance is provided mainly in the following areas:

• adding various registers and timbres that the soloist does not have in his arsenal, that is, a colorful enrichment of the sound;
• addition of a single-voice chord melody harmonic texture, creating a three-dimensional effect and conveying a certain emotional subtext;
• metro-rhythmic support, maintaining stability of tempo and musical form.

Moreover, the accompaniment is always a secondary part of the texture, so it should sound quieter than the solo part.

The work of an accompanist

If you see an instrumental soloist on stage playing with a piano, this does not mean that the pianist is accompanying him.

There are a number of works written for a similar duet with an expanded equal part of the piano, where both instruments are soloists and act as a duet. This form of music playing is called a chamber ensemble.

Only when the piano part has a clearly accompanying character, supporting the main instrument, can we claim that it is an accompaniment.

Notes for the accompanist, however, can contain many complex and virtuoso episodes in the introduction, conclusion and passages, as if “finding out” what the soloist did not say, logically developing his line.

Outstanding masters of accompaniment

Truly masterful accompaniment is a great art, which has its own notable figures. Among the outstanding accompanists who went down in history are:

• Vazha Chachava - professor, head of the accompanist department of the leading Russian conservatory, performed with E. Obraztsova, Z. Sotkilava, I. Arkhipova (D. Matsuev is one of his students);
• an outstanding accompanist, D. worked with S. Lemeshev, E. Shumskaya, who appeared on stage before last days life and gave at the age of 102 50-60 hour and a half free concerts per year;
• Professor M. N. Ber, who worked as an accompanist in a vocal class for 50 years Russian Academy music, has trained more than 20 laureates and 30 soloists of opera houses;
• S. T. Richter proved himself to be a brilliant accompanist in his work on songs by F. Schubert with D. F. Dieskau and many others.

When attending a concert of an outstanding soloist, one should not underestimate the work of the accompanist. His contribution to the successful joint performance can hardly be overestimated.

Have you thought about accompanying a singer (soloist) on the piano and would like to learn how to do it, mostly while at home. Accompanying piano skill includes regular piano skill, but there are things that are very different from solo playing. You'll soon realize that accompanying a singer on the piano is easier than playing solo - using some basic principles.

Steps

Accompaniment with chords

Accompanying a singer on the piano is done in much the same way as playing the guitar. So you follow behind the singer, not:

• You play the notes from the “melody” at the same time as the singer voices them,
• Or you set the “tempo” in those places where the soloist emphasizes slow and fast parts, etc.
• Or adjust the "rhythm" as the singer interprets the slow and fast parts,
  • So you don't decide what the "style" will be... Don't do the singer's job. Discuss this with your lead singer! Most soloists want you to follow along, but some may need you to keep a steady rhythm (a bit like drums do) so they stay on track. Everyone is different, so all you need to do is just ask. A qualified soloist will be able to tell you what will work best for him or her. Typically, you play "accompagnato" - follow everything the soloist does (tempo and overall style) while performing the song.

1. As a basic technique, play in a non-provocative manner (not too loud). Imagine accompanying a band where the guitarist lightly strums chords while the drummer uses brushes or chooses a soft playing style etc., but of course some singers may alternatively stick to a style in which the instruments can be heard quite loud...

   Break up the chords (arpeggio like strumming, strumming) so that it's " Not like "bam, bam..." and as an accompanist, lighten or simply use one hand to play - we'll explain in more detail below. When accompanying on the piano, it's common to use both hands to turn around parts, left or right hand combine options, ideas on how to read the music and adapt to what the soloist is doing, understanding his style and responding to tempo, rhythm and style by ear. You will probably (but not necessarily) need to play the introduction and ending with both hands.

   To accompany the piano, use one hand. Of course, there is much more to learn about being a good accompanist. Check out the chords in "Tips" below.

   • It's not just playing chords lightly with one hand - basically using 3 tones called triad of chords(see chords, and draw chord shapes on your fingers and hands– in the "Tips" section below)

2. Learn to break a chord into arpeggios, which means sounding the notes of a chord in sequence rather than simultaneously .

   • Don't play the whole chord at once.

3. Practice playing notes by shaking or moving your hand and fingers: As you go through each chord, play the notes separately.

   • Don't make it out of chords sticky sounds .

4. Visualize in your mind a picture of your fingers forming a "shape"

   • each three-note chord, like a 3-prong fork or tripod and
   • a four-note chord (7th), like a fork with four teeth.

5. Try playing "next to" middle C, an octave lower (or maybe higher) to harmonize with the singer(s).

   Learn to make a chord from key marks. You will see a pattern in the key signs as they progress on every fifth key/note in the "circle of fifths".

   • Thus, each key in a musical interval (distance) is called fifth from an adjacent key (only countdown, not shares).
   • In key signs that contain a flat, the key is called "the flat to the left of the last flat." Key signs with four flats, B, E, A, D, for example, is the key of A flat.

6. Write the chords above the words on a written or printed page, as you would for a guitar. There is a studio-professional way to do this using notation Nashville chords. This is for the rhythm section (usually consisting of piano, guitar, drums and bass). Musicians train to be able to improvise by imagining a chord in combination with other instruments. This numbered recording method allows musicians who are familiar with keys and chords play the same song in any key, without knowledge of written music.

   Use various styles playing the piano by ear, and this way you will change the tempo and chord, just like changing the key up or down as needed. This is not an amateur trick - this is free software created by the Harvey Mudd College Computer Programming Department for this type of notation work used by orchestras, etc. .

   Leave a melody to the singer, and thus your chord will sound deftly and rhythmically during the vocal (kind of like strumming while playing the rhythm). This way you press the individual notes of a chord, as discussed, using a form of arpeggio (also called broken chords). In short, this technique is like the essence of the idea.

   • Please note that the diagram " circle of fifths"based on counting every fifth note. In any part of "A" to "G" - then the notes can be considered as the beginning of the formation of a circle. After Salt, count la, si, do, Re, and so look at the circle and G" and "D" will be fifth, because there are 3 notes between them (counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), back or forward.
   • This way you can count five in the musical alphabet: ignoring the three notes between the first and fifth. Then look at the circle and you will see "D and A will be fifth : Re , mi, fa, salt, La . This is how the key sign model works, and it shows how the circle got its name.

Help singers learn to harmonize

1. Show two or more players the harmony of the three most basic chords:"1,3,5" chords (which are simply C major or F major or G major), having no sharps, flats, etc. 1 represents the "root" (fundamental) note. 3 represents the "third", or the note 2 places higher. 5 represents the "fifth" which is 4th up from the root and 2nd up from 3. Each missing note is called interval(creating a nice separation between those that were spoken).

   Demonstrate chords to singers and help them hear how different combinations of notes (chords) sound together. It is easier to learn the basics of consonance by listening to notes played on the piano. Then someone can start singing along with the piano notes. Then they can move on to singing together with another singer.

   • A good way to differentiate between 2 or 3 singers is when each sings a melody an octave higher or lower than the other, simply singing in unison but not in concert.
   • For example: a man sings a melody an octave lower against a female soprano in unison (not in sync). Singing in unison is "layering", and can enhance the sound, as in a choir (but a duo, trio or quartet usually do not sing in unison, except for some special effects).

2. Harmonize by singing "on tune" but slightly higher or lower to create a chord with the voices.

   • But, if the soloist sings a consonant note instead of a melody, this is a form of singing out of key...

3. Learn the basic 1,3,5,7 main notes of a chord (C7, F7, G7 - see Tips section below) as a group, and then you can help singers harmonize by going through each note of the chord in sequence; then they learn to hear them in a chord (and thus they hear harmony) among the voices. Bad harmony is inconsistent, and thus move from one person's note to someone else's note (off key).

   • If you have more than 3 people, there may be 2 or more who sing from the notes, like in a choral group. If you feel the basic harmonization of "1, 3, 5 and 1, 3, 5, 7" you can experiment with other kinds of notes in other chords that have sharp sharps or flats.

Combination

1. Chords usually consist of at least "three" notes/steps/tones (let's call them notes) sounded together. If you are talking about just two notes that were meant to be played, then they are known as interval(as distance).

   The C chord, played from the notes "C-Sol-D" indicates figures and planes, forming various chords. Double click on the photo to enlarge it.

Illustration of "chord figures" using your fingers and hands

Two basic fingerings will work for all major, minor 7th chords...