I've been always curious about non-classical music for violin; not so much listening to it but actually trying to play it. This included jazz, folkloric music, Irish, gypsy, Middle-Eastern music, Klezmer, tango, etc. I've decided at some point to put Bach and his solo partitas on the side and got a book of folk music.
Going Gypsy
I started with a Gypsy music book with a CD by Mary Ann Harbar. It's actually a great book with a very generous recording of various gypsy tunes. To my surprise, the written music was actually more a reference to the player than a sheet music to follow. My eyes couldn't follow the speedy notes I was hearing in my ears and the infernal tempo these pieces are played with. Even the slower pieces had a color I couldn't get close to with my bow... This took me hours and hours of listening before I could sense the exaggerated vibrato, the sharp notes almost all over the place, the changes of tempo, the trills effects, the slides and above all the deep expression these pieces (mainly in the minor key) produce, decorated with a great number of ornamentations. I believe I've heard that Mary Ann Harbar spend a great deal of time with gypsies learning these tunes.
Going Irish
I didn't know where to start so I bought the first book I came across at the bookstore. I thought since it has a CD too, I'll be able to catch-up fiddling pretty fast with a bit of classical background; I've been in Bach partitas so it couldn't be worse. What a mistake! First, the tunes looked short and simple but again here the speed became an issue and when I found out that the CD is a recording by the fiddler Seán Keane, the challenge became even bigger. Even if I could reach a decent tempo, my playing sounded round and baroque to the limit. I was asking myself, how could these people play "out of tune", hold the violin in an awkward way, dance and bounce the bow at the same time and I'm not able to get the color needed out of the wooden box.
I took a different direction and started Irish music lessons at the Siamsa School of Irish Music in Montreal. The classes were actually nice, relaxed and I had to realize that players with a classical background had more issues than some people who were just starting fiddling. Looking at the other classical players was a bit like looking in the mirror: the stiff stature, the perfect aligned bow, the seriousness in the movement... While everyone else looked actually pretty laid back and could swing easily out of tune and have fun. Then came my worst nightmare: "memorizing the pieces". The teacher was standing in the middle chunking a tune and we had to repeat after him and I was telling myself "where is my sheet music damn it?" This memory exercise required a lot of efforts. I enjoyed pretty much the classes and I developed an interest in Irish music playing hornpipes and reels.
Going Baladi
My Middle-Eastern background doesn't only catch-up with me at every airport checkpoint but also in music. The suspicious eyes didn't fall on me on country borders but I've also had family members looking and asking why don't I play a couple of middle-eastern tunes. I did some research and found an interesting site where the subject is actually the Maqam (scales in the middle-eastern world). And they don't have a few, but a great number of scales. I said to myself: Fair enough, I have the music in my head, it shouldn't be a great deal I can make people happy with a couple of tunes. The first discovery was the tuning... I actually needed to tune the violin in fourths and fifths G D G D instead of western range of strings on the violin G D A E. The sound got closer to the East than the West with a nasal tone to it... (at least on the tiny strings)! Then came the Maqam and its multiple combinations and sets (ajnas). Here our western scale of tone and semi-tone is chunked into quarter-tones. In other words, leave Bach really behind and think and play in close tones like you've never done before. One of the characteristic of middle-eastern music is also the close intervals; you will never see for instance an octave difference between two close notes. Ornamentations are constant and improvisation is major!
Going Jazzy
Jazz was never my favourite music even though I still appreciate some of it and enjoy pretty much the fiddle sound in jazz rhythms. I've also got a book that focuses on improvisation and this is what jazz is really all about I think. This music has to be deep in the mind; you need to feel it, to express it and to know it so well. I doubt my interest will go further with jazz unfortunately.
Going Klezmer
Klezmer music to me is East and West meeting on a sheet music. The minor keys, the close intervals, the unpredictable improvisation, the color, etc. I think it's the "non-classical" music that I could understand, play and enjoy fully. Books and accompaniment CDs are very helpful and you really need to like this music to feel it and enjoy it, laugh and cry with every tune.
Going Tango and other dances
Here too tango music for violin is really nice and I think the most accessible for classical and non-classical players. We all can hum a tango tune or two.
Experimentation, Back to Bach and Conclusion
I believe experimenting with other music styles than classical is essential for players. However, the biggest challenge I faced in "going elsewhere" with my violin was intonation. If you play too much Irish or Gypsy, your intonation suffers when you go back to Bach unless you really have a great mastery of a great number of positions and an ultimate ear mastery. As my teacher always said: Work on intonation like a surgeon with a scalpel in the operation room. The anatomical dissection has to be clear-cut, straightforward, unambiguous and unmistakable. Accuracy becomes almost the only truth!
