viðspil

Viðspil is a term used in Icelandic musicology to denote the role and practice of accompaniment in performance, typically the act of playing alongside a lead melody or vocal line. The word combines við, meaning with or beside, and spil, play.

In traditional and contemporary Icelandic music, viðspil involves instruments or voices providing harmonic, rhythmic, or textural support to the main line. It may be a fixed part of a composition or an improvised response, and it can occur in solo, small ensemble, or vocal settings. The character of viðspil ranges from subtle harmonic shading to more active, interlocking textures, depending on the musical style, tempo, and performer tradition.

Scholars distinguish between different approaches within viðspil, including steady accompaniment that underpins the melody, call-and-response patterns between lead and accompaniment, and drone- or rhythm-forward implementations. The practice is often informed by regional folk traditions as well as modern art-music contexts, and it is documented in ethnographic field recordings and music-ological writings from Iceland.

Today, viðspil survives as a term mainly within academic discussions of Icelandic performance practice, while in everyday usage speakers may simply refer to accompaniment or playing along. It shares affinities with general concepts of musical accompaniment and ensemble texture but is noted for its particular manifestations in Icelandic musical culture.