Vocalists - why does so much sheet music have the piano stepping on our part?

Cafe Society
1

I struggle finding good arrangements of music.
The Hank Williams song, I Saw the Light is an example.

Check this out. The piano is playing the vocalist’s part. Note for Note. What’s up with that?
https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0107274

Hey, I’m not needed if the piano is playing my part. I’ll go get a Coke and listen. :wink:

Compare with this arrangement I found at another site. Click Look Inside to see the first two pages.

That’s so much better. The keyboard has its part and the vocalist has space to sing. That’s the arrangement I’m using for a Easter special.

I run into this problem so much. I often can’t find a good arrangement. A good keyboard player will make changes so they aren’t stepping on the vocals. It takes extra time and rehearsals to get a song ready.

We shouldn’t have this hassle. Why is this a problem with arrangements?

2

I have some experience singing with an accompanying pianist. A good one will judge what is needed, how much support the singer needs, and play accordingly. If the singer knows the song and knows what they’re doing, the accompanist can just use the chord notations to play harmonies and fill-ins as needed.

I don’t know much about marketing sheet music, but I suspect that it is written to the lowest common denominator, expecting the musician(s) to take what they need out of it, not to slavishly play every note.

3

Sometimes the requirement for the arranger is to always include the melody in the piano part right hand. It’s often considered (sometimes, by non-musicians) to be the standard way to arrange a song.

I lost a job once when I arranged a song to accompany, not repeat, the singer’s line. I thought the arrangement was better that way for this particular song, but the person who hired me did not agree. He paid me (he had to, by contract), then he hired someone else who gave him what he wanted, and that was what was published.

4

I agree a good keyboardist is a treasure.

The lady at our church does ok playing what’s on the paper. She doesn’t like improvising. I can’t complain. She’s led the music service for over 20 years. I just sing a special once in awhile.

5

I checked out your two examples of “I saw the light”, and I agree the second one is far better.

But a good piano player will ignore what’s on paper – except perhaps the chord changes. No good pianist plays verbatim what’s on a piano-vocal chart. Those are meant for Grandma Potts in Backbum, Kansas. You know – the ones who need a chart at all for a simple tune like this, and who wouldn’t know a I - IV - V change if it fell in their lap.

6

It is easier to sing if the piano is playing the melody. It’s easy to use as a crutch. Vocalist’s need to sing their own part without relying on the keyboard. I don’t like being locked into the rhythm that the piano is playing.

I do want an intro. I don’t like having to jump in on the first bar completely cold. I need to hear the intro to find the key.

Musicat described the lady at our church to a T. :wink:

She does the best she can. I don’t think she puts any effort into to improving her musicianship.

7

Could it be that the arrangements with the vocal melody in the piano part are written with amateur piano players in mind who just want to play the songs on their own, without needing a vocalist? Sure, that may not be the most musically satisfying way to arrange a piece, but there’s got to be a fair amount of demand for it.

When I was a kid I used to buy anthologies of pop music arranged for piano. If memory serves, there was a separate vocal line written out on its own staff, but the music was “complete” without a singer. I was never a great musician, but such arrangements gave me many hours of enjoyment. (I can still half see some of the books in my mind’s eye. I wonder what happened to all them?)

8

They’re on eBay looking for a new home. :wink:

I’ve bought a lot of vintage sheet music and songbooks. They’re a good start for learning a song. But it’s usually better to change it up and put your own spin on a song.

MusicNotes com has some nice piano solo arrangements. I enjoy listening to a talented pianist.

9

Musicat thank you for your insight on arranging music.

I’m still new to singing and constantly learning. That’s the great thing about music. There’s always something new to learn. It’s a life long journey.

10

aceplace57, I would like to recommend a piano teacher who will give you what you want. And you are in luck, he’s online! Go to the YouTube search box and enter “piano guy houston” (without the quotes). Scott Houston has a series of half-hour shows that he created for Public Television. I suggest you watch his “intro” first to get the idea:

After that, using the search function I mentioned, pick any show you like, and watch it through. You might also find it on a local PBS or public access TV channel. In my neighborhood, Scott gave us permission to air his material, so I put a different show on every weekday.

Scott Houston, you may be surprised to learn, is a professional drummer, but an amateur pianist. His technique in each show is in three parts. He usually sits down with a lead sheet of a song that you know, and works through the changes in a simple manner. Next, he invites a professional piano player to work on some other tune together, using only your memory, progressing from a single-finger exercise to a harmonically complete performance. The guest shows some different ways he might play the song, and at the end, plays a complete rendition. If they have time, the guest will “show off” with a tune of his choice.

At no time do they play the store-bought piano-vocal sheet music!

Scott often shows a short segment he calls Tips and Tricks, how to enhance your playing without spending years at lessons (not everyone can afford to repeat GroundHog Day)!

Sample show – David Tolley is the guest, and they work on* Yesterday*:

Here’s Bobby Floyd, Georgia on My Mind:

ETA: Maybe you don’t want to watch the “intro” segment after all; it gets kinda tiring. Just dive into one of Scott’s regular shows and see what you think.

11

The piano steps on everyones’ parts. That’s what a piano does. It’s the natural result of having an instrument whose range encompasses everything else, and where you can play as many notes at once as you have fingers.

12

I subscribed to Scott Houston channel. I had never seen his piano lessons before.

There’s a lot of valuable information there. Very practical suggestions that anyone can learn.

Thank you for the advice Musicat. :wink:

13

We might have to define what “steps on” means. I think aceplace57 is referring to the piano line duplicating the vocal line, not accompanying it. An accompanying part can be played without overshadowing (stepping on) the vocals.

Repeating the vocal line in the piano part is a standard feature of most published P/V arrangements. Remember, those are intended for a common denominator of players, so considerable compromises are made. Any sheet music that looks too complicated at first glance won’t sell as many copies as a simpler one. Duplicating the melody in the piano makes it easier for both to learn the song, as one can lead the other.

An anecdote…I wrote out a lead sheet for some tune when I was working in Hollywood years ago. The tune was a triplet-feel, 4/4 basic beat. This means it fits perfectly in either 12/8 or 6/8 time, so I used that.

The publisher went ballistic, and told me that a 6/8 time sig would mean death to printed music sales because his intended audience wouldn’t know how to play it. I told him the alternative would be in 4/4, with a triplet bracket over every single beat, a forest of extra lines and numbers. That was exactly what he wanted, so I re-wrote the lead sheet (at his expense) and presumably that’s what was published.

14

I’m not sure if he is still producing new shows, so the subscription function might not be that useful. Scott stopped supplying shows to the backchannel pipeline that feeds local public access TV channels about 5 years ago. But his older ones (about 150?) are timeless. You might have to dig them out from YouTube. I think he also sells DVDs.