The piano is often used to provide harmonic accompaniment to a voice or other instrument. However, solo parts for the piano are common in many musical styles. These can take the form of a section in which the piano is heard more prominently than other instruments, or in which the piano may be played entirely unaccompanied. In the context of rock music, keyboard solos are "often forgotten-about" compared to guitar solos.^[1] In a 2023 list by American Songwriter of the best piano solos in rock music, “Jump” by Van Halen was given the first position.^[1]

The term piano solo is also often used to mean a musical composition written solely for piano.