A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz, blues, and popular music, including rock and roll. Most pianists can, to an extent, easily play other keyboard instruments such as the synthesizer, harpsichord, celesta, and the organ.
Sergei Rachmaninoff at the piano
Tord Gustavsen playing piano during a concert at the 2016 Oslo Jazz Festival in Norway
An amateur pianist playing outdoors at Pike Place market in Seattle.
Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of music. In homophonic music, the main accompaniment approach used in popular music, a clear vocal melody is supported by subordinate chords. In popular music and traditional music, the accompaniment parts typically provide the "beat" for the music and outline the chord progression of the song or instrumental piece.
A guitarist playing the basso continuo accompaniment part for Baroque music composer Antonio Vivaldi's Cello concerto in 2008.
