Instead of concertos by Beethoven or Bach, fleet-fingered young violinists are finding fame with a new repertoire – awesomely geeky performances of videogame themes and other nerd classics, uploaded to YouTube and viewed by millions.
"Violin and piano are generally associated with classical music," says the young Australian musician known on YouTube as lara6683, who has dressed up as the pink Power Ranger, Pokémon's Misty, Lara Croft and Sailor Moon in her video performances. "Some people consider this type of music, and these instruments, to be boring or snobby. I think using the violin to play game covers definitely makes it seem more 'hip.'"
Turning the four-stringed orchestral staple into a tool for self-expression, these nerdy fiddlers cover fan-favorite videogame and movie music, pairing their accomplished playing with internet smarts (and, sometimes, with appropriately geeky props or high-energy performance styles ripped from rock 'n' roll).
Self-described "hip-hop violinist" Lindsey Stirling, for example, debuted a strikingly professional video of herself this month, in which she prances through a New Zealand pasture in a white dress while emotively jamming out to a Lord of the Rings medley. It's not her first brush with internet fame: Stirling struck gold with gamers last November, when she channeled Link and fiddled in the forest to a collection of tunes from The Legend of Zelda series, reeling in more than a million views.
"The music of Zelda is catchy and fun, and so many from my generation grew up with it," 25-year-old Stirling told Wired. "I was able to get a whole new audience of fans. Not only violin players, but gamers."
With around 170,000 subscribers, the former America's Got Talent quarterfinalist is one of a coterie of popular violinists who've built a beefy following of gamers, music fans and lovers of general nerdery on the net. (See some of the most successful in the video gallery above.)
From Skyrim to Game of Thrones
The release of Skyrim was a videogame event late last year. But when Los Angeles-based musician Jason Yang uploaded his violin cover of the RPG's theme song, it became a YouTube event – his rendition has tallied just under 800,000 views, and is spotlighted on Skyrim developer Bethesda's official blog.
Yang's earlier take on the Game of Thrones theme attracted 1,700,000 views. That's a lot of eyes for any YouTuber, but for violinists, whose instrument has historically struggled to attain the same wow factor as the electric guitar, it's a mighty number.
>"Where's the love for violinists?" It's on YouTube.
"Think about vocalists," Yang told Wired. "Think about how many mainstream national outlets they have at their disposal: American Idol. The Voice. The Sing-Off. America's Got Talent. Where's the love for violinists?"
In the geekier circles of YouTube, apparently. Videogame music has gained serious traction as an object of artistic appreciation, with orchestral events like Video Games Live getting big in recent years.
Violin renditions of the Super Mario Bros. theme, Final Fantasy classics and Kingdom Hearts soundtracks really rack up the fans, but why aren't home movies of violinists tackling Mozart or Beethoven being retweeted and Tumblr'd 'til the cows come home? The much-watched YouTube fiddlers point to videogame music's inherent beauty, as well as that sweet spot of nostalgia.
"My generation of gamers is finally of an age where we can actively appreciate this music beyond our own rooms," says YouTuber Taylor (aka ViolinTay to her nearly 60,000 subscribers). "We are buying soundtracks, purchasing tickets to live performances, and supporting artists who we feel are bringing back an important and emotional piece of our childhood. I receive so many nice messages from people all around the world who tell me that they get such wonderful feelings of nostalgia listening to performances of their favorite pieces by gamer musicians."
In addition to covering videogame tunes, many of these fiddlers deliver other music from geek culture: tracks from anime like Bleach or internet memes like Nyan Cat. Many feature mainstream music on their channels as well: ViolinTay tears into Michael Jackson's "Thriller" on electric violin, Yang throws it down with a mashup of Usher's "OMG" and Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" (among others), while Stirling shuffles it out with LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem."
But the most popular videos for most of these versatile talents tend to be game-related. In the digitally driven 21st century, they've used the internet to tap into a vocal and enthusiastic niche.
"I have discovered that gamers are very devoted fans," says Stirling. "Let me just say that I couldn't be living my dream and playing the music I love without them."
