Choosing Your Genre

Lots of people come to the violin, viola or cello operating under the misapprehension that they’ll have to play classical music when they’re learning. I love classical music, but I can completely understand that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. That’s ok! Stringed instruments turn up in practically every other genre of music and there are teachers who specialise in many of them. You don’t have to choose a classical teacher if you don’t like classical music. In fact, if you really don’t like classical music, I would strongly recommend that you find a teacher in a genre that you do like – if you’re not playing music you like you are unlikely to practice. So even though you might have to put a bit more effort into finding a teacher working within the genre you choose, it will be worth it in the long run.

If you’re struggling to figure out what option to go for, I’ve found that in the following categories you’ll find a large amount of violin repertoire and correspondingly, many teachers for these styles:

Classical Music

This is the most common genre associated with the violin, viola and cello. Think Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven. But also, there’s modern classical music like Einaudi, Philip Glass and Arvo Part to explore. With learning music in this context there’s likely to be a focus on reading proper music notation, music theory and classical technique (which just means the types of technique you need in order to reproduce those classical sounds). Vibrato is an example of something classical musicians use a lot of, which affects how you need to hold the instrument.

Jazz Music

Listen to our Jazz Violin playlist here

Jazz Music is a huge genre with so much history resulting in many different styles and sounds that it’s hard to generalise. It originated in the 19th and early 20th centuries from the African-American communities of New Orleans but has roots in blues and ragtime. Playing Jazz involves swing notes, complex chords and improvisation. Because of this learning will focus on a really thorough knowledge of scales so that you can improvise or play around a theme. Although it’s useful to be able to read sheet music, some Jazz musicians play primarily by ear – which is something that needs just as much learning and practice as reading.

Pop Music

I’m sure you all know what I mean when I say pop music. The violin appears in everything from Britney Spears to Coldplay. Pop music is often played on electric instruments in order to control the reverb or get a different quality of tone. Although this is a huge genre, people usually get to playing it via classical training. But you may be able to find a teacher that just focuses on pop if you look.

Folk Music

Folk Music is another massive genre spanning different time periods and countries. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways, such as music transmitted orally, music with unknown composers, or music performed by custom over a long period of time. However, like classical music, there’s also a modern genre that deviates from this.  People often think that fiddles are different to the violin – they’re actually the same instrument, but sometimes set up slightly differently to accommodate the different playing styles. Folk players often play more double stops so their bridge on the instrument might be a bit flatter, and there’s less vibrato involved so many play without a shoulder rest.

Although you can technically switch between any of these styles if you want to, it’s probably best to pick your favourite and the one you’ll most likely want to play lots of. A quick thing to note is that the main UK exam boards: ABRSM and Trinity, only offer Jazz or Classical exams (although the classical pathway does include a few pieces of different genres and styles so that you get to try them).