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Accompanist

An accompanist is a musician who plays an accompaniment part. Accompanists often play keyboard instruments (e.g., piano, pipe organ, synthesizer or, in folk music and traditional styles, a guitar. A number of classical pianists have found success as accompanists rather than soloists; arguably the best known example is Gerald Moore, well known as a Lieder accompanist. In some American schools, the title "collaborative pianist" (or collaborative artist) is replacing the title accompanist, because in many art songs and contemporary classical music songs, the piano part is complex and demands an advanced level of musicianship and technique. The term accompanist also refers to a musician typically a pianist who plays for singers, dancers, and other performers at an audition or rehearsal, but who does not necessarily participate in the ensemble that plays for the final performance which could be an orchestra or a big band.