Thoughts on Music

This set of notes gives some thoughts on playing the violin. They are mostly aimed at people who have had some musical training in their youth but haven't considered what they can do with this skill as an adult. 

Thoughts on classical music

Summarized in three points:

• Is classical music better than other kinds of music? Not necessarily!

• Is there a lot of good classical music? Definitely!

• Is learning to play classical music a good foundation for playing all kinds of other music? Definitely!

Reasons to invest in music

Summarized in a few points:

• It's a great way to meet people in your local community, of all ages and from all walks of life. In our social-media addicted era, anything that gets you off your phone, out into the real world, and interacting with real people is a win, in my books!

• It's really good for your corpus callosum, the part of your brain which connects its left and right hemispheres

• Classical music offers a unique historical connection to composers, musicians, and audiences who lived in different centuries, cultures, and conditions. 

• Music is fun. I have flown planes and played in an orchestra; in my opinion they are both as fun, because both require detailed preparation and intense concentration.

How to find musicians in your area

You may be surprised to find out how much musical activity is going on in your local area, even if you live in a small town. A lot of music is being made under the radar, amongst friends, in private spaces without audiences. 

One way of getting into this hidden network is to go to your nearest music school or community orchestra. Try to find players who are around your level, introduce yourself and ask if they're looking for players for trios or quartets. You can try attending an adult recital, or asking the music instructors if they can connect you to players. Once you make one or two connections, many more will come. 

The violin vs. other instruments

Versatility

There is so much music written for violin that you will have no problem finding music to play in a wide range of scenarios, for example:

• unaccompanied solo

• in small ensembles of 2 - 5 players

• in an orchestra

The violin isn't limited to classical music. If you listen closely you can hear strings in many different types of music, including pop music, folk music, rock music (especially symphonic rock), musicals, video games, film scores, and more. 

Portability

The small size of a violin makes it easier to travel with than, say, a tuba, a harp or a piano. This makes it easy to get together with friends for an evening of music, instead of doomscrolling on your phone. Its portability also makes it a good choice for young adults who expect they may have to move a few times before finding a city and job they can settle into. 

Orchestra Seats

The first and second violin sections in an orchestra can hold around a quarter to one third of all the seats in an orchestra, so if you want to play in an orchestra, you may have a better chance of finding a seat if this is your instrument.  

Playing chamber music

Chamber music is a term that refers to classical music written for small ensembles. Here are some common combinations that feature violins:

• string quartet: two violins, one viola and one cello

• string trio: usually means one violin, one viola and one cello 

• piano quartet: piano, violin, viola and cello 

• piano trio: piano, violin and cello 

• piano duet: piano and violin

I think 3-4 is the magic number for chamber music. For groups of 5 or more, it starts getting hard to pick a time that works for everybody.

You can find chamber music written by all the usual suspects: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert just to name a few. Some are terribly difficult, but many are accessible for intermediate players.

Due to their age, a huge volume of chamber music works are in the public domain, so as long as you have an iPad or a printer, you can access this music at no or low cost. A common place to go is IMSLP, the International Music Score Library Project, which is an Internet database of music scores stored in .PDF format.

Playing in an orchestra

Orchestras are harder to organize than chamber music. This is understandable: you need a big indoor space, and you'd typically want to perform at some point for an audience, so you need some funding for marketing and administration. 

Orchestras come in a variety of forms. In a big city you are likely to find a professional orchestra, a community orchestra, and possibly some smaller orchestras or ensembles that sit in between those two. I don't have an official definition for "professional"; in my mind I think of a professional musician as somebody who went through a Conservatory or university music program, and gets paid to play. 

Orchestra funding comes from a few places:

• ticket sales

• government funding (federal, provincial and local)

• individual patrons

• business sponsors

If you are not a pro, it's still possible to play in an orchestra. Community orchestras are generally open to players of all levels, although you may have to sit on a waitlist for a while before you get a seat, and you will probably have to pay dues to contribute to the orchestra budget. Semi-pro orchestras are a bit more restrictive; you may need to pass an audition and commit to a stricter rehearsal schedule. 

Other things

Violin and viola: I know some musicians who have both instruments and regularly play both of them depending on the setting. For example, they may play violin in orchestra and viola in chamber music. Playing viola gives you more options. 

Sight reading: Being able to read music you've never seen before is an important skill for chamber and orchestral music. This isn't an innate skill; it gets developed through practice, just like learning a language. One way to practice on your own is to put your instrument down and just read music scores like you would read a novel. 

Are violins expensive? I think that for intermediate players, a violin under $2000 USD is fine. Unlike other expensive items like cars, good violins will hold their value indefinitely, as long as they are taken care of. 

Protecting your ears: I wear earplugs when I practice, and a single earplug in my left ear when I play chamber music. In the orchestral setting I cannot do this, because it muffles the left side of the stage too much. If you are really concerned about your hearing, you can try special musician earplugs which target certain frequencies better than regular old earplugs. 

Climbing: Here's a random connection: I think that indoor rock climbing is very good for string players. It won't help with dexterity but it will strengthen your forearms (which produce finger strength), shoulders and back, in addition to improving your overall flexibility. The strength and flexibility will help prevent injuries you can incur from practicing music for long hours. I think the best approach is to aim for a level that balanes the risk of injury from climbing, and the risk of injury from playing music. For me this works out to sticking with Top Rope (as opposed to Bouldering or Lead Climbing), and climbing at the 5.10 grade.

Chamber music suggestions

Here are some music recommendations for intermediate string players looking to get started in chamber music. I made this short list because I noticed that the graded violin syllabus from the RCM (Royal Conservatory of Music) doesn't list any trios or quartets, so it can be difficult to pick a piece that matches your skill level. 

Notes:

• I don't have a definition for the word intermediate, so let's just say RCM (Royal Conservatory of Music) Grade 8 and up. 

• For the quartets, the 2nd violin part is usually easier than the 1st violin part

• I have no idea how difficult the piano parts are; I just know they have four times as many notes to play as the violin

• Music for these pieces can be found on IMSLP. To make life easier, try to pick editions which have bar numbers, or at least rehearsal letters.

String and Piano Trios

• Haydn: London Trios No.1 and No.2. Note: they are written for two flutes but one or both can be replaced with violins. 

• Mozart: Trio in E-flat major, K.498 "Kegelstatt". Note: this is originally written for clarinet, viola and piano, but you can find arrangements for violin, viola and piano. 

• Beethoven: Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor (Op. 1, No. 3) 

• Beethoven: Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 97 "Archduke". Note: the piano part is difficult; the cello and violin parts are easier in comparison. 

• Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49

• Clara Schumann: Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 17 

• Borodin: String Trio in G minor

String and Piano Quartets

• Haydn: String Quartet No. 62, Op. 76 No. 3 "Emperor"

• Mozart: String Quartet No. 17, (K. 458) "The Hunt" 

• Mozart: Piano Quartet No. 1 (K. 478)

• Beethoven: String Quartet No. 1 in F major (Op. 18, No. 1) 

• Beethoven: String Quartet No. 4 in C minor (Op. 18, No. 4) 

• Beethoven: String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major (Op. 18, No. 6) 

• Borodin: String Quartet No.2

• Dvořák: String Quartet No.12, "American"

Thoughts on the future of music

I have two theories about the future of music:

Theory 1: The proliferation of AI slop and oversaturation of social media will encourage people to quit the digital world in favor of making and listening to live music, back in the real world. 

Theory 2: Major orchestras will adopt video game music as part of their regular programming. Video games are the operas of our age. As an example I have seen recently: there's an orchestra in Montreal called L'Orchestre de Jeux Vidéo, founded in 2008, which has nearly 3 million views on their YouTube video of a Final Fantasy VII piece.

Time will tell...