How to play for a sing-along

I was halfway through a second glass of wine at my then-husband’s work Christmas party when I heard his boss say, “T’s wife plays the piano!” Heads turned. I put down my wine. T looked at me and raised his eyebrows. A moment later I found myself on the piano bench, leading booze-happy school district employees in a Christmas sing-along. Thankfully, Christmas songs are easy. Thankfully, I had decades of experience leading group singing.

I’d like to say this was an isolated event, but it seems that whether it be popular music, old hymns, holiday classics, or just a rendition of “Happy Birthday,” people like to sing and as pianists, we’re frequently asked to play along. But song-leading isn’t something most of us are trained to do. It’s more common to be thrown into the experience with no knowledge of how different it is from playing solos or duets. Given that sink-or-swim situations like these can be unsettling and embarrassing for the uninitiated, here are some ideas of how to play while others are singing.

Be the leader

Want to know why instruments were first brought into churches? To control the singers! The most important thing any pianist can do when playing for a group of conductor-less singers it to be the leader. If you hesitate or try to follow them, things fall apart. As the pianist, you must herd them through the music—no matter how many times a singer (or two) tries to stray from the rest of the group.

Play an introduction

Sometimes music comes with a written introduction. If there isn’t one, plan to play the last 4 bars of the piece as a way to get people into the proper key and tempo. Give a slight breath at the end of the introduction and then launch into the tune with confidence. The singers will follow.

Play loudly

Many people want to sing but are shy about their voices. Loud accompaniment allows them to join in without fear of standing out.

Keep steady time

Regardless of how many wrong notes you may play, keep the tempo steady and maintain the time value of the notes. Messing with either one makes the music unrecognizable and will derail the singers. They can keep singing through some bad notes, but unorthodox timing and an uneven tempo will throw them off.

Don’t stop!

Don’t stop. No matter how much you’re messing up, don’t stop. Fake whatever you need to fake and keep going.

Impromptu sing-alongs are, by definition, messy and imprecise. It can be tempting to worry about wrong notes, but because most people focus more on the singing than the playing, you’re likely to be the only one who notices your mistakes. So, my final bit of advice? Pretend you played everything perfectly, relax, and join in the fun. It isn’t a performance, it’s a group celebration. And we’re just lucky enough to be able to add our notes to the joy.

Photo by One Zone Studio, courtesy of UpSplash