Vocal accompaniment requires its own approach to accompany better. There are specific things that significantly help vocalists, and it is necessary to use them while accompanying.

First, a pianist should sing internally. This helps natural phrasing, pulling & pushing the tempo, and memorizing the tempo. Regardless of whether a piano part has a melody or not, a pianist always needs to keep the vocal lines in mind.

Second, interpreting the piece based on lyrics is essential. Poem provides lots of information, so dealing with them is important. However, it should still sound musical, even though the interpretation is about something outside of music.

Moreover, a pianist should know diction – mainly Italian, German, French, and transatlantic English. Reading and writing in IPA are required.