Well a guitar solo is completely different to a violin. A solo is composed with the intention of it being the main focus. Obviously you wouldn't have vocals going at the same time, otherwise the guitar part wouldn't be a solo. The same goes for a violin solo, or a solo of any other instrument. If you're talking about an instrumental solo, then the other instruments should be harmonising with that instrument. It's like in a concerto—you don't ask the rest of the orchestra to stop playing so that they don't compete with the solo instrument. The other parts accompany the solo part, harmonising with it (or not, in some cases). A violin and a human voice is no different in that regard.
This illustrates one thing very well. If you are going to play violin and sing at the same time...for the love of all that is good, strum it ONLY! But in that case, you're probably better off with a guitar anyway.
There's nothing about having a violin in its normal position that would prevent you from singing and projecting. Voice comes from inside your larynx and is driven by breath from below, inside your body. Yeah you need to open your mouth, but a violin under your chin won't prevent you from doing that. If you're playing a violin and the position is such that it impairs the movement of your larynx and/or you can't open your mouth, then you're holding the violin wrong.
Get some much lighter gauge strings, and perhaps some longer arms if you want to hold it 'properly'. Though a Bass is usually heavier than a guitar and has longer neck (bit wider too), but it would give you a lot more range tonally and you might find lighter strings to get that higher pitch you are looking for. And you may opt for a full scale neck (24 Frets) to maximize the overall range of the instrument.
Actually, there are rules, and lots of them. For a band who wants to get signed to a major label in the US*, just like in the literary world, there are fairly tight parameters of what managers and labels are looking for in each genre. Even breakout artists have aspects that fit some of the "requirements"...It's just that the "breakout" feature stands out enough to blur them. Nirvana was a good example. Their music was different from everything else that came over the decision-makers' desks, but "Smells Like Teen Spirit" still had a hook when rock music was all about the hook, and Kurt Cobain had star quality and was extremely photogenic at a time when every band who got signed had a good-looking lead singer to pull in the female demographic. So, musically Nirvana was groundbreakingly different, but it was catchy, and they looked good on MTV, and the label knew all those factors combined would put the video into heavy rotation, making them a "breakout" artist who seemed drastically different. So, yes, your character can play violin, but to get famous he'll need other things that are traditional rock star elements...charisma, songs that people want to hear, be nice to fans so he gets more of them, be a good interview, etc. And he can absolutely sing lead and play violin, but his playing will probably be blistering solos,..but there's nothing wrong with that. There's a choreography to doing it live: Here's a live clip of Lorenza Ponce, a classically-trained violinist who's worked as a side player and backup singer with Bon Jovi, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, and Dixie Chicks and has released some of her own music. I've seen Lorenza play live many times. She sings her part, holding her violin or viola at her side, takes out her in-ear monitors, plays a solo, then puts her in-ears back in, then sings again. If you watch this video (which begins after she's picked up her instrument) and keep watching Lorenza past the end of her solo, into the next song, you'll see her put her in-ears back in, pick up her tambourine, and go back to backup vox. You could easily translate that to a lead singer. (Fan-shot video, so they lose the shot at one point but get it back.) *Bands on minor indie labels can do more of what they want, but they're highly unlikely to get that famous. edited to slay a "than / from" error.
Rockstar violinist? Makes perfect sense to me. It adds a bit to a character that makes her more unique.
You could sing a verse and play a violin solo, but, at the same time? IDK. I wouldn't say it's impossible, but I do picture a band looking like But truthfully, I think that's a great idea except you want them to sing, so, I say, forget about them being the lead singer, and then keep everything else about it, love it. -- The 'Jimi Hendrix of the Violin World', one Paganini How Jimi Hendrix is adored by fans of guitar, Paganini (I believe) is the 'Jimi Hendrix of violin', as it were. Paganini's birthday is actually today too. Paganini 1782 - 1840 was an Italian violinist who used to, like Hendrix, have stunts in his show. Where Jimi would light a guitar on fire, Paganini would purposely set the violin up in such a manner and tightly tune one string too tight in order for it to break during his performance, and then finish the piece on the remaining strings, that was Paganini's thing. Paganini's talent was so good, that he once had to produce his own birth certificate to prove that he wasn't the spawn of Satan. - That's probably where the whole playing the fiddle with the devil originated duels with the devil and deals with the devil that lead to one guy selling his soul to the devil at some cross rail years later in exchange for guitar abilities. How coveted guitars for a guitarist are original and old Gibson, Fender, Martin, Guild etc.. I only can think of one holy grail in the violin world, and that's an original Stradivarius. If your character's to be believable, they're going to have to appreciate things like wood, and what woods wooden violins are made out of and their tones and their feel, example - some woods feel lighter, and can sound amazing, some cheaper instruments can feel heavy and sound horrible and feel like Hell to play.. Stradivarius violins are arguably considered best, but, the tree used to make them went extinct and they made like 650 of them, and, everyone wants them, and IDK out of that 650, how many are still around, because this was couple of centuries ago. That's most probably going to feel great and sound great, so, have your young aspiring violinist appreciate a good violin, and sharing their most inner thoughts of them wanting it and guessing how it must feel, and maybe getting to try out a brand they realistically want because that Stradivarius is more holy grail than commercial (IDK violins, I'm a guitar geek).. but the violin that's like a high end Gibson Les Paul of the guitar world... Have your character try one, somewhere, and fall in love with it and them being really happy playing on it for however brief they get to, and make them want to aspire to get good/coveted instruments, you'd have to almost make the violin a loved one of the character, but then, IDK, dial it back half a degree to put loved ones first, and have violin as a close second, and this person's passion for violins, be them viewing violins with personalities, so, have them build a collection, going from beginner violin, and them advancing, and make it a story about their journey, which will be shaped by the people and around them and this character's own tastes. If I was a violinist, I could so easily regard Paganini like 'my Jimi Hendrix', I could see that. Also... Filmscore, rap music, Bond... I'd be firstly learning the violin part from wherever I heard violin in popular music too. I only speak as a guitarist giving you my two cents for free here because, I know what it's like to grow up with a love of music, and, I read a story by Del James yesterday and in that the song November Rain by Guns N' Roses or the music video or both came from that, and, I liked the story, but, one detail about a guitar sort of made me wish the guitar was another colour or another year lol, because, IDK, maybe I'm wrong, but, that one detail didn't look right to me, so, I, as a musician, know what we like and don't like, and fact of the matter is, we like whatever instruments we play, we collect, we appreciate, we enjoy, and we know why we appreciate them and why we enjoy playing on them, so, that will make any fictional musician more believable if they could really appreciate a good instrument, and have a them have a collection of violins, a couple of violins but make them view each one as unique (unique like people) in its own special way due to the sounds and tones produced by the wood the instrument is made out of, and how no two instruments made from the same type of wood sound exactly the same on a tonal/deep level and how these things are loved almost as much as people.
Bond Have them lock onto violin everywhere, their ears should lock onto the sound of the violin, and they should be able to tune out other noises and pick out the violin part from WHEREVER they hear it, and any violinist should be hearing violin everywhere in places us non violinists don't even know, it's more common to hear a violin than we think. Where ever it is heard and this 5th one's for me. but yeah, a violinist will try to work out if this is a real violin of a synth... it's all synth, but that said, violinists might still like this song and play all the parts, even the guitar solo parts, on their violins, and, yeah, that's what being a musician is, the love of playing.
Have them think of their self as the reincarnation of Paganini. Having an ego comes with being the front man or woman sometimes, so, have them look up to the greats, and have them trying to follow someone else's footsteps; so if they get famous, are a success in your story, have them pushing for venues that Paganini rocked back in the day with their record label for this rock band with a rock star violinist, but instead, have them playing stadiums and music festivals on tours instead - idk, just an idea. Like the artist wanting one thing, but having to do another.
Also!.. If they are a success, talk about royalties. Have royalties be the base of trust and any double crossing. Have your violinist protective of their lyrics and music. There could be a lot of money missing from a merchandising deal where they only paid half up front and the violinist is missing $1, 000, 000.00 looking for it seeing which agent might be robbing them getting paranoid and secluded and jaded and thinking about quiting the band. AND... Please, make it so, it's not glamorous, please, I beg of you. Please make it all a lie, make it, dreams that when lived, aren't what they thought they'd be. And... For good measure, make the days before this musician gets their own dressing room, having to settle for the broom closet or something that's really not glamorous. Even if it's just the one show, or one chapter of it, please make this violinist happy for any green rooms at any shows. Before they get big/before they get a rider. ... A rider is a list of things an artist needs to perform. Some riders for some artists are legendary and precise - again, that's down to ego / budget / worth / what the people who are paying for it are willing to put up with. THEN think of vices.... What is your artist's vice? Love, drugs, etc... What does music transcend, and, who are the people your artist is writing songs about? What is your artist writing songs about? Like so many questions you as a writer get to come up with or know the answer of.
It's an industry dominated numbers be they record sales, plays and streaming and fan base to get more downloads and air play which is to get more record sales. It used to be about the record sales, but now its; About social media stats and figures being high The talent show way which is probably a scam that might make The Next Beatles if we're ever lucky and have to thank for Ed Sheeran. and the only way to become a rich artist is to became a famous one and sell becoming a successful artist. So, it's all a gamble, so treat it like a game.
Believe in royalty rights. These are important to artists. They effect what you do, like... Who's song you want to play out of respect to giving that composer's song some royalties; and even are a way for artists to let people know who's the important people in their life by who they want royalties to go to for whatever song or after they die etc... Royalties are the line of trust, gratitude, and personal view, like, you can rip someone off of their royalties for profit, or you can deny a musician their royalties on the recording by labeling them a session musician meaning they only get paid for the day of recording. It's not the only source of income with endorsement deals and interviews and public appearances and whatnot, but... (and some of them might wish to do these things for free or for a good cause and donate their fee to a local charity)... but Royalties are the way musicians actually respect each other. Compose, record, sell, pay homage and cover songs, we choose our songs based on whatever loyalties and reasons, but when we do, we pay our dues to the composer. In theory. GN'R covered a Charles Manson song but Charles Manson didn't get paid since all Manson's royalties go to the son of the people killed in Manson's name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Look_at_Your_Game,_Girl Don't mess with royalties, that's like messing with fire, they're more than just money; and they're also all about the money. They're bigger than money.
If you're setting this in UK, make them join PRS for Music, if this is set in USA, make them join ASCAP because BMI wouldn't apply to this violinist in America. PRS for Music, ASCAP, BMI however, because of their British and American have, since the early 1900's, have cross representation where a British artist is paid by ASCAP or BMI and an American artist in the UK is paid by PRS for Music, but everywhere else in the world, British artists are paid their royalties from PRS for Music and American artists are paid their royalties by ASCAP or BMI. These are basically how artists get paid their dues; most every country has one unless it's Communist who have none.
One believable way for a violinist rock star's start would be to record a viral YouTube video and suddenly make a lot of money through advertising that attracted record deals? IDK. I know it was once £5.00 for every 10, 000 plays of a song from PRS for Music, and based on that, I used to calculate how much money some choice songs have earned through YouTube plays alone based on that rate paid by PRS for Music in the UK if it's a British artist. Rates change, but YouTube money comes from ad space sold by YouTube. Mechanical rights is the record, so even a cover song, no mater who wrote it, you still get paid for being on that record through mechanical rights; unless you're a session musician who only gets paid for their work recording it and no mechanical rights from record sales. Royalty rights are the owners of the music. You could have both if you record your own song.
