Many students try out different instruments during their middle school years, but have you ever heard of students learning two completely different styles of playing on the same instrument? I was curious to learn more about how a student goes back and forth from two different genres of music. Luckily, my friend Aditi, who I played with in school orchestra had a few thoughts to share about her experience playing both Indian Classical violin and Western violin.
What are the differences between playing Indian Classical violin and Western violin?
First of all, the positions are different. For Indian Classical violin, you're sitting down, and the violin's position is different. Lots of things are encouraged in one genre that are no-no's in the other. For Western, you hold the violin to the side, but for Indian violin, you hold the violin between the thumb and pointer finger. It took time to adjust, but the Western style helped me learn Indian classical violin. The style is different because there are no written notes or sheet music. You also slide around to the notes. There's a note, and you make it more detailed by sliding.
How is the teaching different for Indian Classical violin than what we learned in middle school orchestra?
Well, you're expected to have a faster learning pace. In Indian Classical violin, the teachers say, "You got it wrong, why did you get it wrong?" This makes you more determined to get it right and not make mistakes, because you don't want to be that person. In orchestra, it's easy to make mistakes and no one will never know. In lessons, the teacher will pick up every mistake, and you have to be more cautious about what you're playing.
What do you like about it?
Well, I really like playing violin, and learning Indian Classical violin is a way for me to connect to my culture. A lot of people in my family in the Indian community here play an instrument. There's a sense of belonging, and you can relate. It's also really fun when it sounds good or you played it correctly, because it's like, "Wow, I finally did something."
What are the challenges?
I started learning Western violin in 3rd grade, but started Indian Classical in 7th grade. I had a lot of experience in Western violin, but there are lots of differences in posture. So, even though I knew the basics, I had to make new habits that I could do for both Indian violin and for Western, and create some specific habits for each style. It was hard to transition so I could do both.
Who are some of the prominent Indian violinists?
In Indian Classical violin, you have the teacher, who teaches other teachers who teach students. There's different ways to play violin within Indian classical violin. Somewhere around the teacher's teacher's teacher, there's one who is the prominent one. If you ask a lot of people, the most prominent Indian Classical violinist would be Lalgudi Jayaraman. Although he's no longer living, he has two children that play violin.