What Does an Accompanist Do?
Whether working with a voice student, a choir or a ballet class, accompanists need to be able to follow another performer closely, such as a singer who stretches a phrase or a dancer who needs a slower count. Colleges, churches and dance schools are the usual employers. In the case of a university voice studio, the job might be something as routine as playing one aria through a whole afternoon of lessons.
Also known as: Senior Accompanist
Accompanist Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of an accompanist include:
- Accompany voice lessons, studio classes and juries (end-of-term performance exams), following each singer's tempo and breathing.
- Rehearse with soloists before recitals; mark cuts, repeats and tempo changes in the score.
- Sight-read new repertoire for choir rehearsals and play individual voice parts when sections struggle.
- Play for ballet and modern dance classes, improvising music that fits each exercise and count.
- Transpose songs into a singer's key and adapt piano versions of orchestral scores.
- Coach students on diction, phrasing and ensemble when the voice teacher asks.
- Perform in faculty and student recitals, opera scenes, musicals and graduation ceremonies.
- Keep a weekly schedule of lessons, rehearsals and performances across several studios.
- Learn assigned repertoire ahead of rehearsals, often on short notice.
- Check piano tuning and report instrument problems to the department before performances.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as an accompanist, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Advanced piano technique and fluent sight-reading
- Art song, opera, musical theater and choral repertoire
- Transposing at the keyboard
- Italian, German and French lyric diction
- Improvising for dance classes
- Listening closely and adjusting in the moment
- Reliability across a packed weekly schedule
- Patience and tact with nervous students
Education and Training
Although BLS lists no formal credential for musicians and singers, university accompanist posts usually go to pianists with a degree in piano performance or collaborative piano. Most accompanists build their skills through years of lessons and ensemble playing, and some start out by accompanying church services or school choirs. Most schools require applicants to be auditioned.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $27.57 to $75.33 an hour, with a median of $47.80 an hour. BLS reports only hourly pay for this group, because much of the work is part time or paid per engagement.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Musicians and Singers.
BLS projects employment of musicians and singers to grow less than 1 percent from 2025 to 2035, though about 17,400 openings a year should come up as people leave the field. Pay figures for this group come as hourly rates only, because many musicians do not work a standard full-time year. In a small music department, steady hours may be harder to find.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Musicians and singers.