Three violins

This post is part of a series of articles about how to use different numbers of violins in a church orchestra or worship team.

To avoid chaos with three or more violins, it becomes important to have some kind of sheet music. The music can come from orchestrations or band charts, or it can simply be a keyboard or vocal score.

All three violins can be placed on one part, especially if there are other instruments to fill out the harmony. Another combination that works well is to have one violin play Violin I/soprano, the second violin play Violin II/alto, and use the third violin to selectively reinforce the other parts (usually up or down an octave, to avoid the duet dissonance I've discussed).

Is there a role for improvisation in a group this size? Yes! One violinist can improvise while the others play fixed parts. One rare occasions, with lots of practice, a group can develop a sense of ensemble which enables them to improvise together. If the violins are a relatively minor part of a much larger (and louder) group, there might also be some freedom to experiment without making noticable gaffes. I experienced all of these with the Radiant Church (Colorado Springs) orchestra in the late 1990's.