Is Playing the Violin an Art or a Craft?

I’ve already alluded to this in the 3 Layers of a Musician. But I think it’s worth revisiting.

What is the difference between an art and a craft? Let’s look at home building as an example. The architect is an artist. They look at an empty plot of land, and they dream up something new. Something both functional and beautiful. And then they take that idea, and they draw up a blueprint.

Once that’s done, they hand it off to a construction crew. The construction crew are not artists. They’re craftsmen. Their job is to faithfully execute on the architect’s idea. 

And so when they’re pouring a foundation or framing a house, there are certain techniques. There are right and wrong ways to do these things. Anybody can learn to do them if they have the time, energy, and a teacher to show them how.

To put it another way, art is about creativity and imagination. Craftsmanship is about following certain techniques with care and attention to detail.

Back to the Violin

Let’s bring this analogy back to violin playing. When we’re deciding on the phrasing or the kind of sound that we want, that’s an art. We look at a lifeless page of notes, and we dream up something beautiful and meaningful.

But notice how all that happens without the violin in hand. That’s because playing the violin is not an art. Making music is an art. But playing the violin is a craft. Our job on the violin is to faithfully execute on our artistic vision. In this case the artist and the craftsman happen to be the same person. But the roles are still distinct.

Why is this Important?

There’s a lot of baggage wrapped up in the idea of art and talent. Some people seem to think that artistic ability is predetermined at birth. Kind of a lucky roll of the genetic dice that occasionally creates a Mozart. And it’s true that it’s much harder to teach artistic sensitivity. But I still say that it’s learned. You surround yourself with good music and develop your art over time.

Thankfully, nobody seems to think that craftsmanship is a born ability. Nobody is born knowing how to frame a house. And nobody is born knowing how to pull a good tone out of the violin. Or to drop the fingers down in tune. Techniques are teachable and learnable. Thinking of violin playing as a craft helps it feel more achievable.

Also if we differentiate between art and craft, it gives us a more complete checklist to evaluate our self-recordings. Often our focus in the practice room is on the craft of playing the violin. It takes so much effort to get things in tune, in time, with a good sound. Sometimes we get blindsided by this quest for perfection. We don’t stop to ask ourselves if we’re saying anything worth hearing.

Ready, Aim, Fire!

There’s another reason I like the architect analogy. Notice how the architect came in before the construction crew. Imagine if the architect came in after most of the work was done. What a job they’d have, redoing all that work!

Yet that’s how many violinists practice. “First I’ll learn the notes, and then later I’ll make them musical,” they think. What a waste of time and effort! Instead, try to work in this approximate order:

1. Listen to as many good recordings as you can. I aim for 10-20. From these, I pick a favorite.
2. Make sure you have decent fingerings and bowings (stolen from videos of great violinists, if you can).
3. Find the target tempo that sounds the best, based on your listening.
4. Get a general sense of the character you’d like the music to portray. Is it singing or dancing? Flirting or brooding? Does it tell a story? Does it belong in a certain setting?
5. Now, finally, you can learn the notes.

If you work this way, you’ll save a lot of time by learning things right the first time. It sharpens your view of the target, which raises your chances of hitting the bullseye.

Summary

Hey look! I can sum up this whole article in a short list. And yet I first made you read all that prose. What a waste of time, right? Here’s the short version:

• Playing the violin is a craft, not an art. It’s done in service to the art of making music.
• Art is about creativity and imagination. Craftsmanship is about following certain techniques with care and attention to detail.
• Thinking of violin playing as a craft helps it feel more achievable. Techniques are easy to learn with practice and a good teacher.
• Separating art from craft gives us a better checklist while listening to our self-recordings.
• Work on your artistic vision before you start learning the notes. Aim before you fire.

Do you agree that playing the violin is a craft? Have anything to add? Leave a comment below!