How to Play Soulja Boy on Violin
- 1). Purchase the sheet music for the Soulja Boy songs you wish to learn to play. You can find the sheet music for many of Soulja Boy's songs at SheetMusicPlus.com, EncoreMusic.com and MusicNotes.com.
- 2). Print out the music so that you can easily read the melody line.
- 3). Practice playing the melody line. Focus on a hit song such as "Crank That." Listen to the recording of the song to hear how Soulja Boy phrases the music and for the music's tempo, or speed. When you play the chorus (starting with "now watch me you"), play louder than the verses, the way Soulja Boy does in the recording.
When you are playing the verses, emphasize the downbeats and the notes that fall on words he emphasizes when he raps, like "crank dat" and "Superman."
Play the music for the verses with short staccato bowing that sounds like the rhythm and punctuated words of rap and hip hop. The chorus can be played with longer bow strokes to capture the sweep of the section. Listen to where Soulja Boy stops to breathe on the recording and phrase your playing in the same way, taking re-bows and rests where he does. - 4). Add in supporting notes from the piano accompaniment for the music if you know how to play double-stops (two notes at once). Practice playing so that the melody is clearly heard while the double stops help support the melodic line. Practice playing long notes in the bottom note of the double stop with short, rhythmic additions from the melody like so that it sounds like Soulja Boy's rap. You can do this by playing a drone on one string and making quick attacks on an upper string where the melody is carried.
