The Top Two Strategies for Learning the Piano Accompaniment for Large Musical Works

As a pianist, I always have a blast accompanying large music productions. I especially love our church's Christmas musicals. They are fun, exciting, and an amazing way to celebrate Christ's birth. But the task of learning an entire musical can seem like a daunting one, especially in the middle of a busy holiday season. A hundred plus pages of music, singing, and celebrating can be a bit overwhelming without a plan to learn it. Overtime, I've come up with two methods for learning large works of music that work for me.

Follow the rehearsal schedule. One easy way to learn a musical is follow the choir's rehearsal schedule. Typically, a choir will focus on two or three songs at each rehearsal. It usually breaks down to a new song per week, plus a review of a few older ones. So if you can learn one piece per week, you're in pretty good position to learn your music and stay just ahead of the choir. I've done this many times, and it does work. However, it can get a little complicated if the schedule needs to be adjusted. Also, if there are some difficult passages in the music you may need more than a week's time to learn it. On the other hand, the choir usually learns the most difficult pieces first, so you'll get the hard stuff out of the way quickly and have time to 'touch it up' as the weeks go by.

Learn the music as a cohesive whole. I really like to play through the entire musical as frequently as possible. It gives me the confidence and the stamina that I need for the performances, especially if there are several in a row. While the overall progress seems slower this way, it creates a cohesiveness among the individual songs. Here's how it works.

First, I listen to the music, while looking at the sheet music, if possible. Listening ahead of time really helps save a lot of work, especially when there are tricky syncopations, hidden melodies, or any surprises in dynamics. It can save a lot of hashing out later on when you're already familiar with how things go. Then, I do a play-through to get a feel for how the music is under my fingers. Then, I'll play it again, this time marking down any sections that need extra woodshedding. The next day, I'll practice only the trouble spots. I'll work out any tough rhythms; write in any needed fingerings, and just get down to business. The next day, I'll do another play through, stopping to work on the trouble spots again. On day three, I'll just do the hard stuff again. After all, I don't need to work on things that are easily sight readable. I just need to be familiar with them so there are no surprises at rehearsal. On the fourth day, I'll do a complete play through start to finish, then go back to work on problem areas. Sometimes, I'll start with the last song and work my way back towards the beginning. Other times, I'll start in the middle, work to the end, and go back to the beginning again. This way, I make sure that all the songs get equal practice. On the fifth day, I'm back to woodshedding all that tricky stuff. Day six I re-evaluate. What trouble spots are now as good as the easy spots? What new problems have come up? What do I need to keep working on? Where can I spend some extra time refining? On day seven I take a break. No practicing at all. This way, my hands get a rest and my muscles get a chance to recuperate before I start the process again.

It may seem like a waste of time to play through the musical so frequently, but I like to have the music nearly memorized by the time the performances come around. This way, I can be prepared for any last minute changes, I can be ready to cover any mistakes, and I can keep a closer eye on the director. When my music is learned well, I can relax and enjoy what I'm playing. It doesn't get any better than that.