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Understanding the Violin

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I have recently returned to playing the violin after a long hiatus (in which, among other things, I have focused on opera singing and did an MFA). It is something as vital and fundamental to me as breathing, as I began when I was 4 ½. To those who don’t play, the violin can be a mysterious, seemingly inaccessible phenomenon, bizarre with its strings and bow and movements that look unnatural. There are those who may be off put by the sound of beginners, comparing it to a screeching cat or any other pejorative. And there are others who simply do not care for the sound, even when played by an Itzhak Perlman or Sarah Chang. Many parents hope to instill a love of music in their children through enrolling them in violin lessons and are often met with great resistance. But to those of us who played, the violin is neither mysterious nor resistible. Here are some points to help dispel any myths.

-The violin is indeed a difficult instrument to play. Let’s be honest. It involves setting the pitches oneself with the left hand on the strings, developing a keen sense of intonation. There are no buttons or valves or frets or keys. Everybody knows when a violin is played out of tune, and perhaps that is why people often express a dislike of the instrument. To get a sound out of the violin, the bow must be drawn in line across the strings, which is easier said than done. It takes a great deal of time to learn how to do this in the beginning, with just the right amount of pressure so that it doesn’t sound airy or–even worse–scratchy (this is probably another reason why people dislike the violin.)

-However, once this is accomplished, once there is a basic level of technique and the ability to play produce a decent sound, one can play nice songs. The violin is the instrument most frequently compared to the voice because there is a fluidity of sound much like in singing. Add vibrato, which is a vibrating movement of the left hand on the strings, and this becomes even more beautiful. Vibrato is not an easy thing to do for a violinist, because it requires the right amount of movement–it can’t be too fast, or else it sounds frenetic, but it can’t be too slow because that sounds more like wobbling between two pitches.

–The violin is very versatile once a certain level of mastery is attained. One can play in an orchestra, in a quartet or chamber music ensemble, in a string/chamber orchestra, as a soloist with an orchestra, and if one wants to branch out into other genres of music, there are jazz, tango, Romani music, rock, bluegrass, folk, etc. etc. (not to mention in South Indian classical violin and other non-western music.) 

-Each genre of violin playing requires different skills. In an orchestra, one must subsume one’s ego to the conductor’s musical vision. In a quartet or chamber music ensemble, each musician holds equal weight and can help lead the ensemble. As a soloist–like the artists who are highlighted on a symphony’s performance calendar–a violinist must have a clear vision of the concerto or piece, be able to perform the “pyrotechnics” written by the composer and indicate to- and communicate with the conductor nonverbally, so that the conductor can guide the orchestra appropriately.

-The violin demands practice. There are two hands that must work together, and yet will often be worked separately, or focused on one at a time during practice. There might be certain exercises that are meant for the left hand, and others for the bow hand. This is not unlike the piano. However, unlike the piano, one hand cannot play alone (except in the rare occasions of passages with left-hand pizzicato where the left hand plays the strings).

-The violin really is fun! There is nothing quite like drawing the rosin-coated bow hairs across the strings, hearing the sound right next to your head, seeing the motion and feeling it in your hands, moving your fingers percussively, doing various “tricks” with the bow to produce different sounds. It is an instrument that demands patience, but the results are worth it. Playing the violin ranks among the highest of cognitive tasks, so it will keep your brain active and engaged for a lifetime. It’s never too late to start. Though you may not end up a professional, you can enjoy the challenges of this unique, demanding, and ultimately stunning instrument.

The Traits of a Good Conductor

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I recently had a chance (but was not able) to go see Edo de Waart conduct John Adams’s “The Chairman Dances,” which is one of my desert island pieces. De Waart conducted the original recording that Adams himself uploaded to YouTube. However, I did get to see a live performance of the piece last weekend, as luck would have it, along with my beloved Sibelius No. 2 in D which I played in All-State Orchestra. It got me thinking about a childhood spent playing in orchestras, something I absolutely adored and was thrilled to get out of school for. What makes for a good conductor? What were some of the memorable experiences I remember? As an adult, I have sung in a few choruses and ensembles. I have also studied and done a bit of conducting, so this contributes to my understanding of the field.

A conductor is not supposed to be “nice.” Granted, s/he must not be abusive or inappropriate, and thank goodness for the changes that are being made to create safer musical environments. We do not need Levine’s behavior again or a fictitious Lydia Tár. But some musicians complain about conductors who are tough and not friendly while conducting, to which my answer is, they are not there to be your friend. A conductor should be demanding. His/her number one priority is to get the best sound possible out of the orchestra or chorus. Did the second violins not get that passage right? Well then, let’s do it again with that section until we get it right. Are the altos coming in too early? Then let’s try the entrance with all four voices. The conductor’s priority is the sound, and the various instruments/voices are the components that comprise that sound.

The popular opinion is that a conductor is simply beating time, but there is so much more to the art. How well does a conductor cue the instruments’ entrances? Indicate dynamics? How does the conductor beat time–with a baton or with hands, slightly ahead of- or right on the beat? Not even top-tier orchestra conductors do this well– there is one who comes to mind whom I dare not mention, but his conducting style was with his hands cupped and rather odd. Does the conductor emote in an over-the-top way, like a Bernstein, or is s/he more subdued, indicating only the minimum, trusting that the musicians are reading the score and having an internal sense of how to express the composer’s intentions? And on that last point, the style of conducting will vary based on the composer. A concerto grosso or Handel opera will require different demands than a Mahler symphony or a 20th century work by William Grant Still.

A good conductor knows what to highlight in the music. If conducting Dvořák, the strings are especially lyrical. Sibelius often features majestic, powerful brass, but it must not overpower the lighter instruments. The aforementioned “The Chairman Dances” requires razor-sharp, precision timing with absolutely no room for error. The conductor knows how to get the best tone color from each instrument, and what the musicians in each section are able to do. The woodwinds might be very strong in an orchestra, but the basses weak, for example, or there might be the proverbial problem of not enough tenors in a chorus, so the repertoire chosen must be suited to that issue.

Certain exercises can be very helpful even if the ensemble members find them unorthodox. When I was a senior in high school, during All-State Orchestra the conductor had each pair of stand partners sit in a different place in an orchestra, i.e., a pair of tubas might sit next to a pair of violins, etc. This was a wonderful and challenging exercise because it forced each instrument to be very aware of their part, their entrances, and to be able to maintain their own musical line while sitting next to a completely different instrument that was doing something else. When in junior high, I had a great privilege of attending a string orchestra camp where the gifted Robert Spano was conducting us (even at my young age, I knew he would be going places.) He made us play a line of Corelli over and over, looking to see that we were within 2 inches of the other violinists’ bows to maintain a consistency of sound. While some might call this exigent, fussy, or demanding, to me, it was a sign of a brilliant conductor who respected the music. The exercise has stuck with me all these years, and I suppose subconsciously I still observe how closely the violinists’ bow strokes are to each other in an orchestra.

Opera is a whole different beast which merits its own blog post, but an opera conductor must lead the orchestra as well as the singers on stage (who are at a whole different eye level). What makes this especially challenging is that the conductor must lead the orchestra according to the singers. Granted, singers must not take excessive liberties with the music, but the orchestra is there to serve the singer, not the other way around. If the singer is taking rubato, for example, the conductor must be aware of this and make sure that the orchestra is observing exactly what the singer is doing, even if they think the piece needs to resume a tempo. This sounds like an obvious thing to do, and yet I have observed countless professional performances where this does not happen.

Finally, there is the point of women conductors. Women make for excellent conductors, as we are often multitaskers. Often, we have to juggle many things at once–career, children, spouse–and these skills are a big asset to conducting. One could argue that women by nature are expressive and have a biology that allows us to be very much in touch with our emotions. We have strongly developed right and left brains. I was fortunate to be conducted by a Bowling Green State University named Emily Freeman Brown professor as a child, and a couple others along the way. However, it is quite disheartening to see the dearth of women conductors in the top tiers, though that is slowly changing, thanks to Marin Alsop and those who have come before and after her. And it is disheartening to think that there are fewer minority professional women conductors–I can’t think of one. This is something that must change, and women have to be encouraged and give us the opportunities to rise in the field of major professional conducting. There is no good reason why a woman isn’t as good of a conductor as a man, and precedent is no excuse.