Plays Well With Others: how to be a great duet player

When I’m asked what music I most enjoy playing, my answer is easy: piano duets. Over the course of my career, I’ve collaborated with many fine instrumentalists and vocalists, but none of these pairings came close to the intimacy and immediacy of sharing the keyboard with another pianist. Hands intertwine, arms cross, breath synchronizes, and (in the best circumstances), two individuals transcend their individual understanding of the music to create a hybrid, 4-handed pianist. It’s not surprising that much of the wonderful 19th century duet music—written to be played in parlors and drawing rooms—featured prominently in courtship rituals.

In today’s world where we worship soloists, duet players rarely get the same respect or attention. When I was working on my undergraduate degree, it was understood that the better players became soloists and those with lesser ability settled for playing duets (or other collaborative opportunities). I carried this prejudice for a decade after graduation as I gamely tried to make myself enjoy being a soloist. It was only when I started working with my long-time duet partner, Molly Wheeler, that I realized how erroneous that belief was.

Concert level duets are hard. At times they can be damn hard. Not only do you have the usual fistfuls of notes that come with advanced repertoire, you only get access to half the keyboard! Collisions of hands and arms, fingernail scratches, negotiations over ownership of a key—that’s part of the job too. When you’re performing a 4-hand piece, musical success or failure is a joint burden.

Due to the intimate nature of duets, it’s very difficult to play them well with people you don’t like. And it’s impossible to create beautiful duet music with a narcissist, because all the joy and fulfillment that comes from playing 4-hand music requires that individuality be sacrificed for the musical collective. Duet playing is a dance, a musical tango. This is why the biggest pieces of advice I can offer a pianist interested in playing duets is this: drop the ego. Get outside of yourself. Be generous. Glory isn’t found in individual accomplishment, but in the ensemble.

I was extremely lucky that Molly was patient with me as I learned how to be a good duet player. I made all the rookie mistakes—sitting in the wrong place on the bench while practicing, not listening to her part, not matching tone, and many more. Learning to play well with others involves much more than can be covered in one article, but these tips are ones that I found most helpful as I started my own journey to becoming a duet player.

Understand the job of each pianist

In most duet literature, the Primo part carries the melody and shapes most of the musical ideas and the Secondo part sets the rhythmic feel, provides harmonic support, and controls the pedals. Strong Primo players are prepared to lead, to conduct entrances and endings, and they trust their partner to follow them and provide support. Good Secondo players are intuitive players who are strong listeners. They balance their partner’s melodic lines, provide rhythmic grounding, and possess the ability to pedal for another’s notes.

An interesting thing I’ve learned is that players are naturally one or the other. Molly and I once tried to switch parts. We both practiced our music before rehearsal, but everything sounded flat when we played together. We swapped seats and discovered that even though we were sight-reading unfamiliar parts, everything sounded better when she played Primo and I played Secondo.

Embrace equality

Duet playing is collaborative, not dictatorial. The moment one pianist tries to teach or coach the other, the ensemble suffers. The goal isn’t to assert dominance but to create a musical team. Avoid assigning blame or coaching your partner; every problem is an team problem (even if you’re not the one who messed up).

Sit in the right place while practicing

If you’re playing Primo, practice while sitting to the right of middle C. If Secondo, sit to the left of middle C. If you practice your part while sitting in the middle of the piano, shifting one way or the other is disorienting.

Use two benches

No two pianists likes their bench at the same height or distance from the keyboard. Using two benches (rather than the marketed “duet bench”) allows both players to be comfortable at the piano.

Plan page turns

While most page turns are managed by the Primo player, there are times when the Secondo pianist must step into the job in order to avoid disrupting the melodic line. In addition, sometimes the music requires that the pages be turned early or (at times) late. Mark these things in the score for ease and fluidity.

Work out the choreography

One of the truisms about duet playing is that no one gets ownership of a note. Sometimes the parts are played almost on top of each other. Sometimes arms cross. Work out the choreography with your partner early in the rehearsal process so that you both practice whatever motions you’ll need to make every time you rehearse.

Match tone

Many times, the melodic lines are handed off between players, or are echoed. This needs to sound seamless, as if played by one player, not two. Whatever tone, volume, phrasing is introduced in a phrase needs to be duplicated by the other player.

Breathe together

This involves much more than physical breath, although that is important as well. This includes phrasing, arm movements, and the energy of the silences.

Listen!

Listen. Listen, listen, listen. Be knowledgeable enough of your part that you can stop listening to your own playing and listen instead to the ensemble. The more duet players listen in this way, the more the ensemble becomes better than the sum of its parts.