Welcome to today’s “5 Questions with…” I’m not sure how I first found out about Brigit O’Regan; maybe it was this collab she did with harpist Chantal Dubé?
Neither here nor there, enjoy the interview! I’m particularly fond of the part about the animal video. 🙂
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Would you explain what you do?
I am a professional violinist/fiddler that specializes in spontaneous and interactive performances. I am most comfortable and happy performing when I get to have the freedom to roam around and get off the stage, breaking the barrier between musician and audience member. I often start off alone or separated from the crowd/audience in some form, but quickly pick out the people who are enjoying the music or even dancing a little. That’s when I jump off the stage or break away and start encouraging them to have more fun, dancing with them, getting down on one knee for a serenade, then seeing who else around has joined in the fun. I do this style most notably at comic conventions around Toronto for cosplayers. [example below]
I love playing with other musicians who can improvise around a scenario so that we can get the most excitement out of a crowd, or with DJs who have an almost endless roster of tunes for any situation. I have been absolutely blessed to now be able not only play violin for a living, but to be able to play it in a style that I most enjoy.
How did you get started?
I got started playing violin when I was 5 after my mom (a professional violin teacher) got me started on lessons. For the first few years I followed the techniques and made it through alright, but soon became discouraged when I found that all of my performances were met with the same bored looks from audience members who didn’t really care for classical music, or stern glares from those a bit too into the classical performance of a 10 year old.
I really got started when I was around 12 and my parents took me and some of my violin friends out to go busking (aka street performance). We played together, earned some money, and started to get weddings. I soon started to do this on my own, experimenting with fiddle music and taking requests from passer-bys. That’s where I really started to perform and play violin as a part of an interactive, changing experience instead of a more rigid one.
What’s your favorite part of being a musician/YouTuber?
My favourite part of being a musician AND a YouTuber is getting to learn every single day. When I was in the job market working for other people with no outlet for my energy or input of tactile knowledge/work, I found myself so stressed out that I had developed severe stomach problems. Once I moved to Toronto and started gaining some traction as a freelance musician, my stomach issues vanished almost overnight. I had more motivation than I ever had before just because everyday was a new day, new lesson and new experience.
When you are a musician and/or YouTuber, you are constantly meeting new people, learning from them, problem solving and creating, then moving on to something new. That rapid influx of knowledge every day really motivates me in all areas of life and I have been able to grow more and more as a musician and YouTuber. Every day I learn a new editing trick, get better at a certain style of music, meet someone new who I want to work or collaborate with, etc. It’s a constant evolution of yourself as a person and performer.
My other favourite part is receiving audience feedback. Whenever I get finished a show and someone takes the time to come up to me and tell me that they liked my performance, it absolutely makes my day and encourages me to be even better for next time. Every smile while I’m playing, people clapping along and even people feeling comfortable enough to dance is just the greatest. I have also amassed a large community of young girls who share my interests in music, cartoons and all things nerdy. I have gotten so many messages from them saying how they were taking music lessons again after hearing my playing, that they had found real life friends from interacting with people on my YouTube and Instagram, and that watching me play has made them more happy, confident or excited about trying new things. Getting these messages from them or their parents makes my entire day when I receive them and further motivates me to do more.
Do you have any tips for aspiring musicians & YouTubers?
It’s the exact same advice for both musicians and YouTubers:
- Do what you love doing. If you are not into it or trying to do what is most popular for views or a audience, people will quickly sense it. And if they somehow don’t and LOVE it, you will be stuck doing something you don’t like doing.
- Support other creators/musicians. When you start to support the hard work of others instead of letting jealousy get the best of you, you will see just how amazing they are and it will encourage you to do better yourself. Supporting others because you like their work makes you a better creator and person, one who is humbled and challenged by others.
- If you want something done, do it yourself or PAY for it. I have lost opportunities to get out a video idea because I wanted to collab with others who weren’t as into it, but kept saying “Sure sounds great! I’ll do it for free. Let’s get that going soon!” Then disappeared. If you have an idea that doesn’t need another person, do it yourself and it will be done. BUT if you really want to work with someone, the best way to respect their craft and get them in the project is to pay for their time and services. It may sound simple, but the second you tell them they will be getting paid, you are showing that you respect their time, value and worth. The work that I have paid out of pocket to hire professionals who I know will get the work done well and on time have been the most successful and productive concerts/videos.
- Build a community by helping other people. Helping other people is a boomerang effect and often comes back your way when you need it most. As soon as I had enough shows so that I was getting double booked and was able to search out for “subs” or replacement violinists for my clients, I found my community and career expand almost exponentially. Those who I was getting work for were now passing the work they couldn’t do along to me. Those who I had volunteered my time helping were suddenly the first ones to give their time to me when I was most in need. That being said, don’t help people with the expectation tat they will help back. Helping for your own self-interest completely defeats the point and will end up ruining the bridges you’ve built.
- Be bold and patient. Try new things and jump at the opportunities given to you. Be open to challenges and learning new things. However, you should also be careful to not rush into things. That might be seen as you trying to take command of a pre-existing structure or community. The YouTuber and music world is a LOT smaller than you think, especially once you get to those who do it professionally. Be brave, but conscious of others who have been there for longer. Work with them, not against them, and they will lift you up.
- Just be kind. You as a YouTuber or musician have your talents and reputation at the helm of your career. Being known for being the best but hard to work with or unkind will simply make it so that people hire someone with a bit less talent, but who is MUCH more agreeable to work with. If you go around trying to make trouble for other people or get a bad reputation for being hard to work with, you won’t get far.
What brought about your “Violin Girl Fiddles For Animals” video? Can you spill a little behind-the-scenes info?
I have always loved animals (every single animal ever) and wanted to do a little experiment where I played for different animals to see if they reacted to music. I have seen videos of musicians playing for cows, dogs and elephants with funny and surprising results, so I thought I would try it out for myself. Also, I pretty much just wanted any excuse to meet some cute animals.
It was my 3rd year as the fiddler for the The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and I had saved up enough money to hire a videographer friend of mine in to get some performance footage. I asked him if he would want to do this little experiment with me and get it on film and he was totally down for it. We figured out a budget and mood for a video like this and went off to go play. I had asked all of the farmers and animal handlers on previous days if they would have the time be in the video with their animals and every single one gave us full permission to film. One of the farmers even let me in the pen with her sheep and said “Watch out for the poop!’
It was a funny, crazy little experiment that was entirely for laughs, but we ended up getting some interesting reactions out of the animals, especially the birds who might have thought they were hearing a mouse or other tasty prey.
Definitely one of my favourite videos that I’ve ever filmed. haha
And there are “5 Questions with…Brigit O’Regan.” Be sure to check her out all over the interwebs: YouTube, IG, Twitter, FB, and brigitoregan.com! And let her know if you came over from the Fischarper blog.
-Barbara
Fischarper interviews may be edited for accuracy (spelling, punctuation, etc.), sentence flow, space, etc. Interviewee views are not necessarily endorsed or shared by Barbara Fischer or Fischarper, LLC.
Brigit O’Regan is a violinist/fiddler with 22 years of practice and 12 years of professional, freelance performance under her belt. After being strictly classical for many years, she rebelled at a young age and now is most known for her Top 40 Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, Fiddle and Bollywood. She is also known as “Violin Girl” by over 3.4 Million people due to the success of her FanExpo and ComicCon videos; filmed, edited and produced by professional videographer, Merissa Tse.
Barbara Fischer runs Fischarper, LLC and loves her job as a harpist and private music educator. She enjoys blogging about various aspects of the music field on fischarper.com/blog. For more music resources, check out the Fischarper store. Find out where you can find Barbara on the interwebs here. And you can sign up to receive Fischarper updates by joining the email list.