Unconventional Instrumentation

       Often times, people make the assumption that a specific genre of music must be confined to a specific range of instruments. We see jazz as a couple of saxophones and rock as some guitars and a drum. Why do we feel like we need to put everything in a box like this? Why are there so many preconceived notions about what music can and can’t be? Why do we make assumptions? Music is quite possibly the most expressive and innovative art form, and I’ll assure you, it can’t be confined by any single definition.

       Recently, I’ve joined a club at school that’s putting on a variety show of sorts, that’s goal is to weave together a hodge podge of musicians, actors, and writers. It consists of performances of the spoken word, like poetry and monologues layered with music. Since joining, I’ve teamed up with a drummer to work on a contemporary/ alternative piece called "Radioactive". Unlike peanut butter and chocolate, drummers and violists are not the classic combination, but after years of playing in groups of string players, it feels good to do something different.

       Other artists have ventured down that same path over the years. There is a group called "Crooked Still" that combines instruments like the bass and cello with a banjo and a vocalist. The jazz group "Resonance" includes a string trio. Here, another blogger has a list of six great songs that have gone beyond ordinary and included French horn, steel drum, and mandolin in rock music! You really can’t put a label on stuff like this.

       Unconventional instrumentation has emerged as means of uniting musicians across “genres” and making new and exciting sound. I think that too often, musicians believe they are “confined” somehow in a particular type of music. Or worse, musicians only explore the realm of the genre they like most. We become like cats in that sense, always putting ourselves into convenient little boxes, keeping ourselves separate. But is it really all that convenient? 

Cat Photo

       If you play violin, try joining forces with a jazz group rather than a quartet. If you play trumpet, try playing in a rock band. As a musician, you never know where you’ll fit in best. It’s easy to assume that you’re conventional. It’s easy to stay within the bounds of your genre. But what if you’re just the cellist that mundane garage band needs?