Music is Music is (Pop!) Music

So… you’re a violin or viola player. Or a cello or bass player. What genres of music do you see your instrument as playing? If you immediately concluded some type of classical or, maybe, fiddling… you’re correct. You’re also only seeing a few of the wide variety of choices you have as a musician. While you’re in school orchestra, these may comprise the majority of genres you explore, but it by no means defines the scope of your potential on your instrument. I was personally blessed to be a part of an orchestra whose conductor loved to arrange rock/ pop/ hip hop/ jazz pieces for string and full orchestra, and we’d regularly play them at the final concert of the year, the Festival of Strings. At first it seemed like an interesting idea, but let me tell you- it’s inspiring to hear your own instrument being used to rock out to Led Zeppelin or Queen. Have you watched some of those “talent” shows and seen some of the interesting acts who play different genres on stringed instruments? This is no outlying incident. You are not just a “violin player” or “viola player”- you are being trained to be a musician. What’s the difference? As a musician, YOU have control over how you express yourself through your instrument. You can hear the common ground between vastly different styles of music, and you don’t have to be limited to one or two “types” of playing. Here are just some examples of some non-typical orchestra and ensemble pieces to peak your interest…