Three Musical Worlds for Violinists

This is my assessment of music industry opportunities for violinists versus capabilities.

There seems to be three musical worlds that violinists can thrive in. For most violinists these seem to be mutually exclusive musically spheres of involvement. There are many violinists who are very expert in their music knowledge and performance experience, however, there are traditions and preferences that influence and limit the development of a career performer. My assessment does reinforce stereotypes, but since perception can shape reality, this is that best I can do without survey data.

The first world, is the world of the classical music trained and classical music performing violinist. These are generally orchestral performers, with a rare soloist who can master the demands of the repertoire that requires a brilliant memory and a stand-out tonality along with impeccable technique. What a lot of pressure there is for a solo classical performer, and with limited audience. The performance and rehearsal expectations dictate the lifestyle -- busy and competitive, but with a price. The price is not having much time to explore other forms of music, or "programming" that limits the ability to play "by ear" and/or blend-in with other "non-classical" musicians.

The second world, is the world of acoustic folk music with traditional, bluegrass, country, Celtic, Irish, etc. influences. This world provides interesting performance opportunities, but there are limited recording opportunities, and if you are lucky enough to "break-out" of the first world, then you may be a good performer, but limited in ability to "compose" the parts that are required. In this world, the violinists may be asked to perform very limited amount of time with "fills, runs, and harmony-parts". This may be boring for a classical performing musician that can sit down and play an hour-plus piece of music. There may be some income opportunities, but probably not enough to raise a family. buy a house, or create a retirement package - yeah, right.

The third world, is the world carved out by a few very good musicians who have had enough talent and luck to find a career as a solo artist with a record contract. How many violinists are in this category, as compared with other solo instrument artists? Not many in my assessment. Why not? This is where I offer my opinion. The fact is, the violin is a very difficult instrument to record and perform in the current popular genre driven commercial music. This requires a re-assessment by recording engineers and digital signal processing experts to work with violinists to develop a better way to make the violin relevant again in commercial music. Just as the electric guitar has changed the definition of a rhythm section, the electric violin needs to be re-defined. Simply plugging a violin into a guitar amplifier will not work. The reasons are based on the physics of the wave form of the violin as compared to the guitar. This will be the topic of my next post to give my theories about what may change the game and give the violin a chance to compete in a new generation of music. Are the violinists ready to perform in the third world?
There is, no doubt, a number of dedicated violinists who could rise above an amateur status if given a greater opportunity to perform and have enough free time to practice the instrument.

It may be too late for me to create a place in the third musical world (especially in terms of a recording contract), but with home recording techniques and tools, I may be able to leave a legacy of experimentation into many styles of music that are not usually considered available to a violinist. My current genre to experiment with is "electronic-heavy-metal-instrumental", with violin lead solo.