Mixing Singer / Keyboard

Hey Robby -
 
    I've never recorded live piano either, but one of the techniques I read which sounded neat was:  stereo mic the piano and pan it that way in the mix, then throw your lead vocals up the middle.
 
    On a related note, I was listening to "Someone Like You", (Adele) while driving to work.  I thought to myself that the piano sounded pretty mono and plain.  Maybe it was my car stereo....

I would certainly try the slight panning of the 2 parts.
 
However, a well played and well sung part will make your job the easiest in the world.   On the other hand, poor performances, or performances that are not in the groove with each other will make it an impossible task.
 
Assuming the piano player and singer know what they're doing..... experiment with a slight panning and use EQ and reverb to taste......and your job should be easy.  I would keep them both close to the center. A good singer will fit her part into what the piano player is doing to interpret the song, and a good piano player will not overplay and fill spaces that should be filled by the singer. THAT.... is the real secret to a piano/guitar, vocal tune.... if there is a secret. It's more in the players than in the mix.

Actually, I found a piano / voice cover of the song we are working on:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MnptKXTYi8
 
The piano is a little wider than vocals (not sure if it is stereo), both up the center...I guess that is a good guide.

The Band19
I would spread the piano and bring her down the pipe, and make some room for her w/EQ/MB Compression. 

Yup, my sentiments precisely after some hand's on; in fact I was working on the piano this afternoon...6/4 time...that's also a new one for me:)
 
Thanks!

Thanks Jeff for the further info, both points are new to me. We are tracking further keys this week so I have that to go on. I began mixing out the piano yesterday from my initial tracking session and I had not thought about the automation on the piano riffs, that is perfect for this song and I'm excited to bring up the tracks again this afternoon!
 
Thanks again!

Piano chording or arps or both?
 
Spatial domain pretty well discussed here, cept depth of field...maybe a little verb on the keys to slide them back away from the front edge of the stage?
 
Frequency domain...you might could triple track (clone twice) the keys, EQ the three for a nice blend, lows, mids and highs, but pick the center band cutoffs so it directly competes with the voice, then work dynamics or automate levels so it subtly slides behind her vocals and then back out front during her rests. The listener's ear will try to compensate for the missing mids, and you don't want a whole lot of focus on a meandering hole in the middle of the piano, so you might play around with precise timing, and points of emphasis in the vocals.
 
When she hits one hard, it will come in over the top of the full spectrum piano anyway, and if she then backs off on the second or third note in that line, you could pull the meat out of the keys then, once she's in the middle of the uncompleted thought and already has the listeners attention.
 
You might even get a bit...evil...with it....
 
Let the piano ring out while she's building toward a peak, make them lean forward some, work to get her nuances, and once you have them reaching for her, pull back a little harder on the piano, use the extra room to bring her even further forward and smack 'em right in the chops with the peak of her vocal. If there's one word in there she really hammers, you can even pull back on her verb till the very end of the articulation, (and EQ as well) ,dry the middle of that word up completely, then sweep the verb back in on vocal just in time to leave a tail so it doesn't sound like she blipped into another room.
 
You know how certain upper mids can harsh your ears, right? Its a Darwin thing, so you can hear the toddler crying from underneath the overturned bookcase over the bassist and drummer finding the groove. You can blip in just a bit of that too, without the fatigue of a longer listening interval if the mood and arrangement will allow it.
 
Gotta stay with the feel of the song, yada yada, just some things you might try and see if they get you home.

If you are liking the same mix day after day, you probably have it right!
 
Sounds like she's too young to run her thru the club circuit...but that would probably get her confidence up and disappear any nerve issues.
 
What's to fear from polite judges in a contest when you are used to dodging beer bottles and stray rounds?