Two violins

Two violins playing in unison always sound terrible.

When two violins play the same note at the same time, the overtones and vibratos combine to create beats which make them sound out of tune, even if they are perfectly in tune. If you have two violins in your church band, do whatever it takes to keep this from happening. If the two violins are playing completely different parts, there shouldn't be any problem.

Violin duets usually sound best when there's lots of movement in both parts. Good examples include the revered Bach double concerto, or the hymn arrangements played by Ben and Alex Russell.

Some options for dividing the parts include:

• For orchestral arrangements, one violin plays the Violin I part, and the other plays the Violin II part.
  
• For hymns, one violin plays the melody (sometimes up an octave), and the other plays the alto line.
• For pop songs, one violin plays variations on the melody, and the other plays along with the bass.
• One violin plays the melody, the other improvises a high ostinato.
• One violin plays drone notes, the other plays a rhythmic fiddle patterns.

Differences in style or ability level will be very obvious to the congregation. Purposely choosing to play very different parts will help smooth over such differences.

For congregational singing, the violinists might want to ask themselves a few questions: Is the part I'm playing helping the congregation stay oriented (through fills and introductions which clearly indicate when to start singing)? Is the part I'm playing helping the congregation find the right note to sing (by playing melody or harmony parts in a register which will be audible)? Or is the part I'm playing a distraction (yanking attention from the overall mix and making people wonder what you're going to do next)?

Sound reinforcement for a duet usually consists of well-matched pickups or a shared mic. If the two violins are playing parts which are very different from one another, it is possible to use pickups which are less matched.