The short answer
First decide who plays the tune. If it is the pianist, keep the melody in the right hand and add a simple left-hand part. If a singer carries the tune, the piano can use both hands for the accompaniment. Choose the chords, start with long bass notes or held chords, and listen to one short phrase before adding more notes.
Should the piano play the melody too?
For a piano solo, yes: the listener needs to hear the tune in the piano part. For a singer, you can leave it out, double it to help them, or play it only at an entrance. Choose the version you need before asking for an arrangement.
“Add piano” leaves this open. “Make a piano accompaniment for a singer, without doubling the melody” gives the arranger a much clearer job.
Which chords should I use?
If the melody has chord symbols, use them for the first version. If it has none, try a simple set of chords under a short phrase. Listen to the whole phrase, not just the first note of each bar. More than one set of chords may fit.
You do not need a busy pattern to test the harmony. Oak National Academy’s beginner lesson starts with long left-hand notes under a melody. Start that simply, then add movement when the chords sound right.
What can the left hand play?
Try one bass note when the chord changes. Then add held chords, chord pulses or broken chords. Keep the hand in a comfortable area of the keyboard and avoid a large jump just to make every bar look full.
Nathaniel School of Music demonstrates several left-hand patterns. Pick one that supports your tune. When the melody is busy, the accompaniment can do less; between sung phrases, it may have room for a short answer.
What is different in the two piano versions?
Melody
Piano reduction
Piano accompaniment
Both use the chords D, A, G, D, A, D. The solo version keeps all 18 melody notes. The accompaniment plays chords and bass, leaving that line to another performer. Listen to the melody and accompaniment, and download the complete examples there.
What should I ask Starling to do?
Open Piano accompaniment from a melody and choose your score. In the workspace, open Starling beside it. Starling is ScoreStarling’s all-in-one AI sheet music assistant. Say who carries the tune, which chords must stay, and what the pianist can manage.
Add a new piano accompaniment for a singer. Keep the vocal melody on its own staff, but leave it out of the piano part. Keep the existing chords, key and rhythm. Use comfortable chords and avoid big bass jumps. Start with bars 1 to 4, and keep the original unchanged.
For a piano solo, change that to “keep the melody unchanged in the right hand.” For jazz or a ballad, say whether the chords may change too. Check a short phrase before asking for the same approach throughout.
How do I know whether it works?
Sing or play the melody with the piano part. Then try the piano part by itself. Check the chord changes, the singer’s entrances, awkward stretches and jumps. Something that plays smoothly on a computer may still be difficult for your hands.
If the tune has changed, ask to put it back. If only the left hand is hard, ask to simplify that hand and leave the rest alone. For a four-part choir score, start with SATB to piano.
The examples here are written studies. AI can choose the wrong chords or keep repeating a pattern you do not like. Listen to the saved score before continuing, especially on a long piece.
Sources
- Oak National Academy, Adding an accompaniment to a melody, introductory teaching points, checked November 2, 2026.
- Nathaniel School of Music, five left-hand accompaniment patterns, a practitioner lesson by Jason Zac, checked November 2, 2026.
- ScoreStarling, Starling Air melody, solo piano version and accompaniment. These authored studies were imported and exported with the workspace’s notation tools, checked November 2, 2026; sample credits.
Questions and answers
Do I need chord symbols before adding accompaniment?
No, but they make your intended harmony clearer. Without them, choose a harmonic outline and check it against the melody before adding a busy pattern.
Should the piano play the singer’s melody too?
Decide first. A piano solo needs to carry the tune. An accompaniment for a singer can leave that tune out and use both hands for supporting chords, bass and fills.
Will a jazz request preserve my melody?
Name the melody as something to preserve, along with its rhythm and any fixed chords. Check the saved score and playback. A style description alone does not specify which notes must stay.
