Growing Use of Violin in Rock and Alternative Styles of Music

April 12, 2011 at 04:01 AM ·

 Hm, well I'm not sure I totally agree with some of the details of your premise here.  First of all, (and I guess this depends on the time scale you're talking about and your definition of "recent years") I don't think the expansion of violin into alternative styles is a recent or new development.  

Violin playing in Jazz music during the swing era was actually fairly popular; Stuff Smith, Joe Venutti, Jimmy Palao... those guys were all seriously accomplished jazz violinists as early as the 1920's.  Stephane Grappelli, Jean-Luc Ponty, Svend Asmussen and the like came a bit later but they were all quite popular as well.  It seems like the jazz violin movement faded a bit during the Bebop era, but Grappelli and Ponty at least were still evolving their alt styles for decades.  

As far as rock goes, I think it's a bit of a generalization to say that it only used guitar, bass, drums.  There have always been other combinations of instruments in bands.  But apart from that, I think if anything rock/alt/fusion violin has gone significantly down in popularity in the last couple decades, at least as a solo instrument/solid part of a band.  

The Dixie Dregs, Kansas, ELO, Mahavishnu Orchestra, King Crimson, U.K., Jethro Tull, Frank Zappa, all used solo violin stuff quite heavily (though I guess several of those bands traded around Eddie Jobson... that guy's a beast!), and they were all big name acts.  Today the most popular bands with violin featured (in my opinion) are YellowCard and Dave Matthews Band.  (there are others, but i think those are arguably the most famous).  Even those, violin is less of a lead instrument than it was in some of the older bands.  

So yeah, I'd argue that Violin as a rock/jazz/alt instrument has gone down in popularity for the last couple decades.  Granted, many rock bands still use string sections as texture in their recordings (Dream Theater, Avenged Sevenfold, etc etc) but it's rarely a designated member of the band.  As for why... I wish I knew!  It might have something to do with the simple fact that the violin is a highly melodic instrument with a very complex sound.  Sure you can chop and use other techniques to get rhythmic sounds on violin, but with only 4 strings (and really only the ability to hit 3 at a time max), you can't get the sort of rhythmic distorted sound that so many emerging/current bands use so heavily.  It's also quite hard to get a decent distorted sound on violin (even electric) because it's simply a different acoustic phenomenon than guitar sound.  Also, what with modern synths, it's really easy to have one member in a band on a keyboard that can play like a violin, brass section, orchestra, or any other sound you might want.

As far as electric violins, I see a "growing turn" in that they have become more readily available and cheaper... however it's still a far far cry the popularity of electric guitars.  Think about your high school or college class (assuming it was somewhat recent).  How many people in that group (regardless of musical ability or experience) bought/owned an electric guitar at some point, even if just to mess around on?  I could easily name at least 5 to 10 people in every 30 person class who had one.  By comparison, of the 100 or so violin majors, already highly proficient violinists, in my college class, I'm only one of 2 people that I know of who owns an electric.  I'm sure there are probably a couple more that I don't know, but that's still not a lot, and I'm not entirely sure why.  

Granted, there does seem to be growth in the whole "crossover" movement (Vanessa Mae, Mark Wood, David Garrett, etc etc) but even that is set aside from the rock/alt movement as a whole.  You most likely won't find Mae, Wood, or Garrett on mainstage at Bonnaroo... it's still less accessible than modern rock music. 

I don't think music schools are adequately addressing the general turn away from classical music toward rock/alt styles.  American music schools still give a solid classical education, but the sad fact is that fewer people are listening to classical and attending classical concerts every year.  So we have highly gifted teachers training us how to compete for orchestra spots despite the fact that there will be hundreds of musicians competing for each chair, yet we get very little training on how to market ourselves and adapt to other styles and genres. For example, at my school we have the usual 5 semester Theory requirement, chamber and orchestra requirements, and 8 semesters of performance credit.  Yet really the only chance we have to fit any non-classical courses into our basic pre-reqs is that we can substitute 2 semesters of normal Theory for jazz improv theory.  And that's optional.  Not to say that one can't seek out other opportunities if they like, but the music school does little to promote that and actively prepare students for a career that might involve the use of non-classical technique.  

Even more important though is the fact that we have no business or econ requirements... if we do end up in a situation where we don't have a orchestra spot (not to say that those are easy by any means) a basic knowledge of how to use our musical abilities as a business/market ourselves in some way would be immensely helpful (in my opinion).  It's so performance-centric that we don't get training in how to take care of all the needs that surround a musical lifestyle.

Wow... so that got really lengthy haha. didn't plan on writing all that!  But this is a topic that I also consider quite carefully and find to be very important.

April 12, 2011 at 11:55 AM ·

I agree that your basic premise is pretty simplistic for "past" and "present."  

April 12, 2011 at 12:10 PM ·

Rachel!

http://www.youtube.com/user/earthengrave

April 12, 2011 at 06:44 PM ·

My take on violin for rock genre...

First of all, the biggest difference between violin and guitar, apart from range/tone character, is the fact that guitar is a plucked instrument, hence percussive sound, like piano, while violin is a bowed instrument. Effect processor and guitar amp just don't react the same way when you input a bowed instrument's sound.

However, it's not that it's impossible. Listen to this.

http://www.iancooper.com/music/ian_cooper_no_strings_attached.html

He actually took the link down but it's still there. It's amazing that he can actually get that kind of sound out of electric violin. For show, it's definitely awesome. But musically, what's the point of having just the same sound as electric guitar? Either it sound like a guitar, or doens't sound good (piezo quacky muddy sound through guitar amp, or funny sustain through high gain setting). But I do hope somebody can actually some out with a unique tone that sound pleasant, and able to blend into a rock band.

I do actually think that a very conventional violin sound can do wonder in a rock band, that need to mic'ed up, not that piezo pickup sound. But another problem arise - mic'ing up an acoustic violin in a rock band setting can often a PITA due to the high volume overall. I do hope more rock band actually try to use a conventional mic'ed up acoustic violin in a rock tune, not just string ensembles, but a solo violin go together with a rock tune.

Anyway have a listen to this, though it's not exactly a rock tune, but a fusion tune with distortion sound guitar

May 26, 2016 at 04:33 PM · As the previous comments mentioned, that definition of "past" is a bit blurry. Rock'n'roll has incorporated violin (as well as many other 'traditional' instruments, such as the flute) frequently. During the 60's, bands experimented with many different sounds and instruments (and drugs, hehe). In the 70's, prog-rock incorporated classical elements and instruments into rock music. And the list goes on.

In my own experience, a few years ago I started a rock band with drums; electric violin and cello. It's experimental at its core; however, the cellist and I both play classical music in orchestras, operas, etc.

To me, there's nothing like plugging in my distortion pedals and creating something unique :)