In either case, it’s a fun sing-along tune. You may find yourself honoring a fellow orchestra member’s or your conductor’s birthday, or For S/he’s a Jolly Good Fellow, can serve as surprise “thank you” to your music teacher(s) at the end of the spring concert series. This fun and rousing homage is sung to celebrate birthdays, retirements, personal/professional advancements, and promotions alike. We have several resources to support that effort, including, 10 Top Holiday Songs for the Violin, and, 20+ Violin Songs to Entertain Children During the Holidays. Speaking of songs that are relevant for the holidays, we highly recommend playing at least one or two (or all) of your holiday music program as a sing-along option. In either case, you can provide lyrics to the original Greensleeves, or to the holiday version, What Child is This, and allow audience members join in as you play. This is because, as Wikipedia states, “…the piece is based on an Italian style of composition that did not reach England until after Henry's death, making it more likely to be Elizabethan in origin.” This makes more sense to music historians than the Henry VIII attribution. Often and erroneously attributed to King Henry VIII, the music and lyrics to Greensleeves ("A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves") was registered in London back in 1580 by a man named Richard Jones. Most online violin sheet music sources offer multiple options, so you have the luxury of finding versions for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. Here are seven different styles/songs – all of which are available in arrangements suitable for violin. Songs That Encourage Audiences to Sing as You Play
Plus, violinists who inspire listeners to sing will innately connect more enthusiastically with the music as a synergistic effect of their audience’s appreciation. Playing songs that are easy to dance to, or that audience members can sing along to, is a wonderful way to get the audience more involved with your performance. T he most successful concerts or performances typically balance two things from the audience: their listening and their active engagement.