Underneath it all...

Sometimes underneath the Opening Prayer, or during the Prayers of the Faithful, or when the priest or deacon is leading a prayer, I may play the piano softly. The purpose is not to distract from the spoken word, but to enhance it–much like the scoring of a film. Some people find this to be a wonderful addition to the liturgy, while others might not care for it so much. (This is why I started out by saying “sometimes.”)

Done well, this can serve to draw attention to what is being said, or prayed. Done poorly, it can draw attention away from the spoken word and instead, to the music.

Most of this depends on the player, both in style and technique. Here are a few things I’ve learned in my experience doing this:

1. Stay out of the way of the speaker’s voice. If a man is speaking the voice will most likely be in a lower register. Stay out of those areas of the keyboard (or guitar) and play in the upper. If a woman is speaking, focus your playing in the lower registers and avoid the upper registers. It’s like arranging a piece of music where the speaker has the melody. All of the accompaniment needs to stay out the way so it can be heard.

2. Avoid banging out a melody that could be distracting. If a familiar tune is being played too loudly people will begin to focus on that rather than what is being said. Instead, try to focus more on the chord changes of a song that was used earlier in the liturgy (or will be used later) with maybe a hint or a phrase of the melody.

3. If you play a melody, try changing up the rhythms ever so slightly by augmenting them (making notes longer) or shortening them. Create subtle variations that won’t encourage people to hum along with you.

People may glance over at you when you start to play, but they shouldn’t remain focused on you, especially if you, too, have your attention focused on the speaker (or, at least have your eyes closed or looking down.) They will hopefully realize what you are doing and turn their attention to the speaker.

There is really an art to this, and it may take some practice. Hearing and watching someone else do it well is the best way to learn. Just keep in mind that you are underscoring something else that is more important at the moment!