to play along
3
3.4
- phrasal verb
- /pleɪ əˈlɔŋ/
- Sometimes they "just listen" and play along with recordings for fun.
- play along with the recording
Examples
-
This openness extended to former students, who often attended, confident in their ability to play along with most of the songs.
Academic text (2011) -
Now play along with this.
-
And yeah, I mean, you could have your teacher play it for you and play along or sing along, whatever you want to do.
-
I just try to play along with them and, from time to time, focus on a particular tune.
Blog text (16) -
I'd play along on my guitar.
-
In fact, mostly when I'm producing now, I play along with the bands.
Blog text (25) -
The "E Street Shuffle" features Bruce and his band playing along with The Roots in Denmark.
Blog text (10) -
Have the class play along with the recording, allowing the clave pattern to enter first and then adding the steady stick or bell pattern.
Academic text (2011) -
Learn to play along and practice with an entire Bluegrass band with this premium tab from Layne Publications.
Blog text (17) -
He decided to play along with the band during their rehearsal on the weekend.
Synonyms
8
3.8
To play music to support a singer or musician
1
5.0
To play with another musician while matching their timing
1
8.3
To play chords and rhythms to support a solo musician
Antonyms
How Supportive
321
3.0
3
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to perform music as an accompaniment' is directly derivable from combining 'play' (perform music) with 'along' (together with/alongside). This verb + along construction commonly signals doing an action together and is cross-linguistically straightforward, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Play along in music comes from the clear picture of a musician playing an instrument together with someone else: to play (an instrument) and along (at the same time as another player). That's why it means 'to accompany' or 'play with' another performer.