Piano accompaniment Trad

Lazairus

Hello

When talking to piper at the weekend , i did mention piano accompaniment to him.

He was not a fan of so called piano backup(or guitar) to trad. I suppose hes a bit of purest but i suppose he has a point. He says a good player needs to add to the sound and weave through the tune. That there not there to provide rhythm to a tune.

Yesterday, I met another fiddle player who says that piano accompaniment to trad when done right really works well.

So is there different styles of piano accompaniment and if so , how do you learn it.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks


Ciaran.

ceatharloch

Yes - definitely different styles of piano accompaniment are possible (just as much as there are different styles of guitar accompaniment). To take two "extreme" examples: Listen to any Ceili Band that has "keyboards" and you will hear the "vamping" style (a bit like the oomp-PA-PA you might here at Oktoberfest!!). Then, listen to Micheal O Suilleabhain (RIP), for the other end of the scale (no pun intended).

roots2branches

Piano/keyboard accompaniment has the potential to be wonderful in terms of the harmonic possibilities. The problem is at worst it can sound Humpty dumpty and at best it lacks any driving rhythm when compared to the guitar which is naturally percussive. Personally, I'm not a fan, but a good guitarist can really lift things up a level.

Purists are old farts who kill music. Music is organic and continually evolving and every generation adds to the rich tapestry. If purests had their way the music would have died out hundreds of years ago. Moaning old buggers.

Not in Kansas

If you want to hear left of centre piano accompaniment listen to The Gloaming.

If you want to hear the traditional style pushed to its outer limits by a person with an unnatural gift for advanced harmony, listen to Ryan Molloy, particularly with Fergal Scahill on fiddle.