Although not my favorite genre of music, musical theater piano can be quite interesting to play. Musical theater songs tend to repeat often and serve as intricate background music that supports the singer. I do not have extensive experience with playing different types of musical theater pieces, however; I have played a few and they can be fun to learn. 

In my early years in high school, I was involved with our musical productions and I took voice lessons. Sometimes my teacher would want me to learn a song, but she did not have any of the accompaniment to sing along with. I had trouble singing a cappella, so I decided to learn the pieces on the piano that did not have accompaniment so that I could sing along better.  

The tricky part of playing musical theater music is that it is usually very fast. Audiences like to hear upbeat music especially when it pertains to a light hearted storyline. For example, if you have ever heard music from The Sound of Music or Hamilton, you probably know that it is very fast. Pianists who are playing along with these types of musical need to be quick and precise to give a good performance. Different theater companies and places that are putting on musicals usually hire their own pianist to play the piano accompaniment. My high school would have someone come into play at the tryouts for the musicals. I remember that it was amazing to hand this woman a complicated piece she could have very well never seen before and she would just play it perfectly at the right tempo. I guess it takes years of practice and natural skill.

However, for a novice such as myself, it takes me several weeks to play a musical theater piece well. In the pieces I have played, I have found it common to have a lot of accidentals. Accidentals always add a layer of complication for me when I try to learn a piece as I frequently hit the wrong key. The rhythms these pieces are written in can also be wonky at times. There could be a series of eighth notes and then suddenly the rhythm will change to quarter notes and so forth. As people are singing along with this music and telling a story, the tempo often changes as well. Just like when you talk to a person, you might say something relatively slowly and then the conversation will pick up and you will talk really fast. It is the same way with singing and playing along with the piano. Music will be written in a certain time signature, but then halfway through the piece it may slow down or pick up depending on the mood.  

Overall musical theater piano is not my favorite to listen to or play but it is a great example of how music can tell a story. Musical theater pieces can also contain many different techniques in just one piece making it a great genre for musicians who are trying to show off their technical talent.