Blog - The Music Studio of Lisa C. Leake

The Music Studio of Lisa C. Leake

Not Your Grandma’s Violin

9/22/2018

As much as I love classical music now, as and adult and after playing the violin for over 20 years, I have to admit that as a young player, I was...less than enthusiastic. While I was practicing Mozart and Bach over and over, I was envious of my guitar and piano playing friends. It seemed like there was more variety to the music that they were presented, and, more recognizable music. Popular music, even. While the school band played “The Peanuts” suite for an excited audience, the orchestra concerts were always labeled “boring.”

What I didn’t know then was that the violin was much more versatile than I realized. Modeled after the human voice, and meant to fill the part of the soprano, the violin can pretty much do anything that the voice can do. More than that, really, because the violin doesn’t have to breathe. Knowing this opens up a world of additional musical choices. Significantly, playing the violin in a genre other than classical will still require mastery of the same techniques.

Like broadway music but can’t find a solo violin transcription? Use the vocal part. Most vocal/piano books are printed with the vocal line in the treble clef- perfect for the violinist. Further, the vocal line tends to be the melody. These arrangements also work really well for a small recital with a friend at the piano (you won’t need to search the accompaniment part!).

In the age of the internet, pop music isn’t out of reach either. Arrangements are readily available online to watch on YouTube by artists like Lindsey Stirling, Taylor Davis, and Daniel D. They also have arrangements of video game soundtracks. Many of these artists make their versions available to the public with downloadable sheet music on their websites.

Other places to get a variety of music: Hal Leonard publishers puts together books of popular music (pop hits, Disney, artist-specific) with a downloadable background track; websites like Music Notes also provide violin versions of such songs through their app (a note about this- not all songs are available in violin version; I recommend piano/vocal versions or lead sheets in this situation).

The world of music for the violin is vast and diverse. While classical music is certainly enjoyable, it’s nice to branch out every now and again. It’s also a lot of fun to play familiar songs.

Happy practice!

Going Baroque

9/9/2018

My violin, strung with Pirastro Oliv gut strings and Baroque Bow.

As players of stringed instruments, we are always made aware of our origins- of Cremona and the Golden Age, of Bach. Much of the first music we learn is Bach, with our lessons culminating in the great achievement of playing his solo works. In taking the initial steps of preparation for learning Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin, and having always been a fan of his violin concertos, I began to wonder, much like others before me, what the music sounded like “as Bach would have heard it.”

Although the violin is a marvel, having retained much of it’s design from the time of Stradivari, there have been slight changes that do affect the sound. Lengthening the neck, the composition of the strings used, the dimensions of the body, and the structure of the bow have all changed. The end result is a higher tone with more projection and resonance. The opportunity to “go baroque” presented itself when I began learning Bach’s First Violin Concerto, or the A Minor Violin Concerto. Step one: get the right equipment. While you can spend a lot for either an antique violin from the era, or purchase a new violin made in the period-authentic style, I opted to replace the strings on my violin and get a baroque bow. I picked a middle-line bow— the baroque bow from Shar—not the cheap ones on Amazon or a really expensive specialty one. I wanted reliability without a major investment for my experiment. I also changed my strings from my go-to Evah Pirrazzi Golds Pirastro Oliv gut strings.

The results: I am glad I had the experience and got a taste of the baroque era. But it’s nice to return to modern times. I had a hard time getting a quality sound from my violin, as the gut strings never really set well on my violin. The slightest change in weather caused them to go out of tune, even mid-practice. I had heard that gut strings were high-maintenance, but this was more than I expected. I also didn’t really like the sound on my violin. While choosing violin strings is already a very personal process based on individual taste and music style, as well as the individual instrument, my violin was just…bland. The deep tones that I loved when I selected my violin were not as deep. The upper register didn’t ring. While I had expected a decrease in projection, the sound of my violin had warped completely. The baroque bow was a little difficult to get used to at first- shorter, stiffer than I generally prefer a bow to be. Just heavy heavy heavy. The combination of gut strings and baroque bow worked well for the period music….and nothing else.

Overall, I am glad I gave a baroque set-up a try. I did have fun experimenting with the music and playing my favorite Bach as it would have been heard then. It did give me a greater appreciation for the modern setup and the versatility of the violin.

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