Yamaha Education Projects

Electric Strings Projects

Pictured here: musicians from the Hallé Orchestra performing a specially written electric string quintet piece on Yamaha Silent Strings, during a concert with pupils from Bolton Music Service, February 2011

Pianists, brass players, percussionists, singers - in fact almost anyone except string players - have enjoyed a growing range of musical activities while they are at school. The growth of rock bands, jazz orchestras and other ensembles has rekindled the enthusiasm of many a teenaged sax, piano or trumpet player. String players however have often remained on the sidelines, watching with envy as their peers play in exciting bands.

Yamaha's Silent Strings - electric violin, viola, cello and double bass - were originally designed for silent practice but, through steady development work between Yamaha designers and leading artists, they have become exciting performance instruments in their own right. So we're now working with young string players, through a range of activities, to help motivate them by extending the kind of activities they can now take part in. Amplified music is a central theme of contemporary music and these instruments allow young performers to fit right in and enjoy all the benefits.

Video introduction to using Silent Strings

We have produced two videovideo guides as an introduction to electric strings, presented by Yamaha Silent Strings musicians Hazel Ross and Caroline Subedi of the Elektra violin duo, along with Harrison Wood, a multi-genre double bassist who plays Yamaha Silent bass for much of his non-classical professional work.

When string players work with electric instruments there are all kinds of potential problems relating to the fact that the sound comes from a speaker, rather than from the instrument itself. So, to give musicians a set-up which they'll find the most controllable but which also provides exciting new creative posibilities, we've combined each instrument with a StagePas 250M speaker, which has it's own mixer and amp and built-in reverb. We also recommend the use of guitar-type multi-effects pedals, available from most guitar retailers, which can provide a range of transformational effects, including chorus, delay, echo and distortion, and which can really extend the instruments' sonic capabilities

Video 1 gives a general introduction. It explores amplifying acoustic strings with mics and bugs, and examines the benefits of Silent Strings for amplified string playing. Video 2 delves into the use of digital effects pedals, focussing on three of the most common digital effects: digital delay, chorus and distortion.

The Hallé and Silent Strings

We are currently working in partnership with musicians from the Hallé Orchestra in a project which takes a workshop, followed by a performance, to music service string students in the north-west of England. String players from the Hallé formed an electric string quintet consisting of two Silent violins, viola, cello and double bass. For this project, also supported by the Duchess of Kent's Future Talent charity, new music has been written for the electric quintet by Yamaha's Bill C Martin and the Hallé's Steve Pickett, featuring new music both for standalone string quintet and accompanied by the young string players on their own acoustic string instruments.

The first project, with Bolton Music Service, culminated with an exciting performance at Bolton's Victoria Hall in early February 2011. A further project, this time with the music service in Oldham, presented its work in a performance there on June 20, 2011. Additional projects will be announced in due course.

Electric Strings Composing Competition

in partnership with the Bournemouth Orchestras

Yamaha and the Bournemouth Orchestras have announced a national composing competition for electric string quartet. Billed as 'the R & D for tomorrow's classical music' the competition provides an opportunity for composers to write new music for the medium, making good use of guitar-type digital effects - delay, chorus, distortion, etc - and the amplified medium.

Composers are encouraged to be adventurous and break new ground. They should feel they are taking risks, being creative and pushing the boundaries of new music. They, and their audience, should feel something in response to the music. Entries are to include a score and an audio demo, which can be performed with real strings or 'mocked up' using synths or other music technology. All entries must include a score, which should be playable with the minimum of practice, by members of the Bournemouth Orchestras' contemporary ensemble, Kokoro.

Six finalists will have their pieces performed by Kokoro and two winners will each receive a Yamaha prize and a much-coveted second performance. The competion details will be announced soon.

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(updated: July 2011)