The Time I Taught Myself Violin to Get A Solo in My School’s Musical
When I was a Sophomore in high school, it was announced that my school would be putting on a production of Legally Blonde the Musical. Being an avid fan of both musicals and Reese Witherspoon, I knew I wanted to be involved in the production in some way. After considering my 5 years of experience playing Viola and my subpar singing/acting skills, I decided I would join the pit orchestra.
Upon attending the informational meeting, I was informed that due to contemporary nature of the musical, the string section in the score only called for 2 Violins, but the conductor would transpose the Violin part to alto clef for any Violists who wanted to play in the pit. Entirely satisfied by the compromise, I promptly joined pit. The string section was comprised of my best friend and myself on Viola, and another Violinist who began learning Violin earlier that year. Our first rehearsal, we sight-read the score and reached the second song, “Serious”. During the song, Elle and Warner go on a date to a fancy restaurant and while Elle believes she is going to get engaged, she gets broken up with for not being “serious” enough. I noticed a Violin solo denoted in the score and asked the conductor how the solo would work. He explained that whoever played the solo would be on stage, playing for Elle and Warner during that scene. The prospect of getting to be on stage was thrilling, but upon a closer look at the music, I realized the solo was too high to play comfortably on Viola.
So naturally, I decided I would simply teach myself Violin.
I mean I already knew how to play Viola so how hard could it be? Violin and Viola are extremely similar. All I would have to do is play like normal except on an instrument significantly smaller than the one I was used to, and learn how to read treble clef. Piece of cake.
Ok, it wasn't easy for 15 year old me to retrain my fingers to the scale of a Violin’s fingerboard and to retrain my eyes to sight-read an unfamiliar clef, but I was lucky I was learning a very similar instrument. I had grown complacent in my Viola skills and now I was being pushed to actually practice everyday instead of lying to my teacher that I did. Eventually I could start sight-reading in treble clef, and my intonation started getting less and less shaky. By the time the audition came, I knew the solo like the back of my hand. The entire string section auditioned, the conductor scribbled something down on a notepad, then congratulated me on my solo. I nearly jumped for joy at those words.
After 3 more weeks of rehearsals, opening night came. I anxiously waited for my cue in the wings, then I finally walked to my spot and made eye contact with the conductor. The harsh lights beat down on my face. I resisted the urge to search for my family in the audience. Elle and Warner sat down, I took a deep breath and cued.
The feeling of being on stage, looking into the audience, and letting muscle memory take over as I played my solo, is a feeling I will never forget. It was absolutely exhilarating. The feeling of pure contentment came not from being the center of attention (which I wasn’t), it came from the culmination of months of practice, painstakingly teaching myself a new instrument, finally being realized. In that moment, I finally comprehended that I now knew how to play 2 instruments. Me getting that solo was a result of my own hard work and motivations. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t just playing, I was performing.
Looking back, the performance wasn’t perfect. I was wearing an unflattering ill-fitted suit, didn’t play out as much as I should have, and was on stage for a total of 2 minutes. But when I remember that experience, I only remember feeling like I was on top of the world for those 2 fleeting minutes. If I could teach myself Violin and play a solo on stage (no matter how small) in front of a sold out auditorium, I could do anything.
Eventually I had to return the Violin I borrowed, but I still play Violin when I can. After that experience, I decided to throw myself back into Viola, practicing twice as hard. My experience with Violin gave me an edge against the other Violas because I knew how to read treble clef and was more aware of my intonation. When I feel unmotivated to practice, I remind myself of that moment on stage, and how it would not have been possible without the months of hard work and practice that went into that performance. It was such a minor role in production of the musical that many probably immediately forgot about, but for me, it symbolizes that anything is possible with just a little bit of practice.
