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Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 00:05
Hello again, folks, and a very warm welcome to the Supplier Spotlight podcast. My name is Liam Ball. I am your magical wedding host, also known as the Gentleman Magician. As I’ve always said, this podcast exists to shine a light on some of the very best people in the wedding industry. The can of suppliers who can help you to create The atmosphere and the emotion that you’re looking for, so that you end up with an unforgettable, memorable wedding day. As always, if you’re enjoying these conversations, please do like, subscribe, follow, and share them with people. who are planning their own wedding. It really will help them to make better decisions in the planning of their wedding day. Now, today’s guest is a professional violinist, my absolute Favorite instrument of all. Somebody who uses live music to shape moments, elevate emotion, and transform the look and feel of any room. whether it’s a ceremony entrance, a drinks reception, or bringing energy later in the day. The remarkable way of cutting through noise and going straight to feeling is something that violinists have a real ability to achieve. She’s known for beautiful performances, versatility, and helping couples to create truly memorable moments. Through music. So it’s a huge pleasure to welcome to the Supplier Spotlight podcast Laura Seymour. Hello, Laura. How are you?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 01:33
Yeah, I’m good. Thank you. How are you?
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 01:35
I’m absolutely fabulous. The sun has started shining. And uh the yeah, the the the there’s no chill in my bones anymore, which is uh which is quite nice.
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 01:48
Good. Yeah, the weather’s been great here, too.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 01:51
Yeah, summer is definitely coming in. So let’s start right at the very beginning. How did the violin first become a part of your life? Because it’s not an easy instrument to master, is it?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 02:01
No. So as a child, I was very keen to move on to the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. My mum was head of music at a primary school. In Bar and at age three, I saw a violin being formed on T V. and really wanted to give it a go and really wanted to give it a go. So mum and dad, um, yeah, they got hold of a school violin and I started there and probably screeched for a long time. Yeah. But yeah, no, absolutely loved it. So I did, yeah, age three, very young.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 02:43
I mean, very tiny violin, too. You’re going to say, yeah, the violins are tiny, aren’t they? I mean, a lot of people think of a violin, and it’s just like, well, the violin is a violin, of course.
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 02:51
But you know, different sizes, so yes, no. Violin has been in my life for about 30 years, so yeah, long time.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 02:59
Okay. And at what point in your life would you say that you became reasonably good at at at at playing the violin?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 03:08
So, I practiced a lot, and I think that there’s a lot of emphasis on everything being great straight away. But I think especially as a musician, you have to do that practice, you build that discipline and over time it builds. So I did all the grades whilst I was at school. And yeah, I I got a music scholarship for secondary school, which was fantastic. Wonderful. And yeah, uh just Yeah. Violin’s always been my instrument. I’m a musician, so I can play other things too. Like I can, you know, tinker around with any sort of like tune for cushion and things. Not a drum kit, although I’d love that. But any other sort of instruments like that. But yeah, violin is my favorite by far.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 03:53
Yeah, by far. And that’s probably one of the things as well that I mean, certainly as I’ve become more knowledgeable about music and music ratings and the skill of musicians People, I think there’s a lot of people out there that know that you can take different music grades, right? And of course, it goes from one to eight. And I think I think there’s a huge misconception that people go, well, yeah, but like when you get to grade eight, like that’s it, you’re done, you’re an expert. And and of course, you know, when you when you then move on to go into things like, you know, conservatoire or a proper music college, you get there and they say, You’ve done grade eight, good, now we can really get started. And it’s kind of like what?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 04:32
I think it’s really interesting too, because as a string performer, there are so many fantastic violinists. Viola performers and cellists, double bassists too, and a string department at music college. I went from being um but but like the best violinist at my school, one of the best musicians at my school, today and going to Cardiff University for a year where I was doing really, really well and I thought, okay, I’ll switch across to music conservatoire, so I went to Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. And I kind of went from being a fairly big fish in into like in a small pond to just one of, you know, loads and loads of performers who, you know, their their skill and talent was you know, it was incredible. And so there were so many people that I wanted to learn from. And and everyone has like a different path. And, you know, for me, I I finished music college, but then went on to do special needs teaching for years. So you used sort of my interest in music therapy, sensory music, all that kind of sensory play aspects, and did a lot of that for a long time. And it was only really after the pandemic that I started going back to performing regularly. And it was the best decision I ever made. I’m really, really happy performing on a regular basis and proud to say that, yeah, I still have to put in a lot of practice. And when there’s new pieces, I, you know, I do spend a lot of time looking over it and making sure that everything works really well. So. Yeah, it’s an ongoing thing. I actually this is a total like tangent, but um I went to see uh Nigel Kennedy, who is a very famous violinist. He’s nearly seventy now, um and he’s known as kind of almost like The kind of like rock star of violinist because he performs everything how he feels it in that moment. So he might play something classical by Bach or Vivaldi, which he’s known for because he was the child prodigy stuff like that. And it was so inspiring because I’d never seen him perform live before. It was just one of the best things I’ve seen. Someone who’s so confident, has got the skill and yet just kind of emotes. Through his performance all the time. And yeah, I’m always going to aim to be better and keep practicing and keep learning. And I you know, I’m really proud to say as well that I work with some fantastic performers and, you know, dap in and out sometimes if they’re off poorly off or if I’m off sick, you know, we we work together and it’s really collaborative in that sense of You know, trying to share the work because there’s plenty of work. And yeah, it’s a space that, you know, in the wedding industry, I’m really proud to be exploring and you know, meeting new people and other musicians too. It just, yeah, something about live music that just, yeah, there’s there’s nothing like it it I mean, I I remembered so wh when I was sixteen, I joined the army.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 07:34
And one of the guys that I joined the army with turned up with a guitar and he could play a guitar. And probably much like yourself, he’s one of those really annoying people where you’d hum a tune and he’d go, Oh, yeah, no, I can play that. And then he’d just People are like, what’s not going to tactic you know on a reel? Or, you know, there was one of the guys that came and he, you know, he could sing. He could just sing. And he could sing all sorts of everything. And we were sat around one night and he was just singing this song. This guy could have pulled his car and he listened, and he just suddenly started playing a backing track. To this song that he’d never heard before. And that was probably for me one of the times when I saw what a musician really is, because I’d never been introduced to music prior to that. And he said to me, you know you go to any live music event ever, anywhere in the world, and it’s going to be brilliant because live music is always fascinating. And I think it probably took me a long time to figure that out and and what that means because you can hear a musician play a track on a on a On a recording and be like, Yeah, that’s really lovely. You know, it really gets me. But when you’re there in the room and the air is reverberating around you, and you can you feel the music. It’s a whole different thing. And I mean, and I and I said it, you know, earlier on, like violin is one of my favorite musicians, uh, the musical instruments to listen to, just because of the whole range and tone of both music and feeling that you can get out of it.
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 09:07
Yeah.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 09:07
And I think a lot of people don’t realize the amount of work that consistently has to go into that.
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 09:13
Oh, yes.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 09:14
Which yeah, it’s absolutely nonstop, isn’t it? It’s absolutely non-stop. So, so what was it then? I mean, there’s quite a story there, and of course, a lot of study and continual study because, I mean, yeah, you’re right. I mean, again, I’ve experienced this where you’ll kind of look at it to be, well, I could play it this way, or I could play it that way, or I could do this with it, or that with it. And of course, me as a very much a music, a music layman, I look and I’m like Really? It’s it surely you’ve got to play all the notes in the same order, right? Um and of course it’s it’s much more than that. So at what point did did you go from from doing all of that to get to a stage where you thought, you know what, I’m I’m going to do weddings, weddings would be a great thing for me to do, and um and what brought weddings to be the focus of where you sort of display your musical wares, if you will?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 10:03
So even when I was at school, there were just one or two weddings that my sister and I performed at. So my sister is called Katya. She’s a cellist. There’s two years between us. I’m older. She’s younger. And so growing up, we played at church quite a lot. We played at family weddings from time to time. We were always performing with mum on the piano, Katy on cello, myself on violin, at Christmas and Easter. And so yeah. So performing performing at church was something we did really regularly. So performing for concerts in school as well was just something that became part of the sort of annual routine. And so I think the time after the pandemic, my sister Catty said to me, look, I really want to spend some more time working together, doing more things together. And so we popped a duo together. Yep. It’s called Serenity String Duo. And I do about sort of Seventy, seventy-five percent of my performing work with her. And then the solo violin is In addition to that, because I enjoy it so much. And weddings are such a happy occasion. Most of the time, there’s only one or two every now and again. You’re like, oh, a little bit of stress here. But Yeah, weddings on the whole are such a joyful occasion, and it’s such a great atmosphere. The other suppliers that you get to meet and the venues you get to work in are really beautiful. being string performers, we’re often at country manor houses or vineyards. And I mean, to get to see the country in this way as well, through performing is such a privilege. And Um, yeah, I just, I love it. It makes me so happy. It brings me a lot of joy. And it seeing the joy that live music brings to other people, even when it’s just filling in those sort of awkward silences where guests are kind of arriving, they may not know many people there. And then you can go, Oh, I know I know this song. What is it? Uh oh yeah, it’s that. Oh yeah So it’s a conversation starter too. And so weddings have just become something I really enjoy being part of. Um yeah, it’s it’s just yeah, it’s just a really special special occasion.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 12:39
There is definitely a A really kind of warm, fuzzy feeling that you get, isn’t there, when you know you’re doing your thing and somebody comes up to you and goes, Hey, we’re getting married and we’d love for you to be there. You’re kind of like, What? Me? You want me at your wedding? Okay, sure, but absolutely. And it’s a real fun thing. I mean. I’ve obviously I’ve been to you know lots of weddings where they’ve got lots of different things but I think certainly for me is that moment when you you know you kind of walk in into somewhere you can hear the string music in the background and you kind of go I really hope There’s an actual person in there playing the music. I really hope it’s an awesome and not a recorded track because, of course, anything can happen, you know, anything in the realm of wonderfulness then can happen when you’ve got somebody who’s actually playing a a live string instrument and it’s fantastic. What do you think it is about b because I mean for me, strings and and weddings, they’re synonymous, right? They definitely go together. What do you think is it that makes it so powerful?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 13:48
It’s probably a mixture of visually seeing a violin or another string instrument. And going, oh, this is going to be really traditional. This is going to be th you know, it’s a musical instrument people know is quite hard to learn to play well, right? So there’s that almost Instant expectation that if this person’s going to play and it’s going to sound good, it’s going to sound good. So it’s almost a building up excitement before people have even necessarily heard a single note yet. There’s that traditional look, so they’re instruments that have been around for so many hundreds of years. And as an instrument themselves, they haven’t changed massively And so there’s that traditional element. And especially with what I do, specializing in modern pop and rock and sort of classics across the decades there’s then an extra layer of excitement added when they’re like, oh, this is like a fairly current song and it’s being performed on an instrument I wasn’t necessarily expecting to hear it on. Um and yeah, it’s just it’s great and it live just yeah.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 15:05
I think it’s one of those things that as well, I guess there’s so many people out there that don’t think that a violin is a current instrument. Why not actually?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 15:16
Because you’re expecting an electric guitar, a singer, a drum. All of those are fantastic. Don’t get me wrong. I love it. And I have an electric violin too. So electric, you know, amplified, it works beautifully. Um, and it’s yeah, just the quality of sound you can get from an acoustic violin or cello is just amazing because they’re so powerful considering how small they are. For example, just to kind of put it into context for anyone listening, I don’t need to amplify my violin or wedding ceremonies where the guests are sitting nearby. for up to about a hundred, maybe one hundred and twenty people. It’s only after that, where there are people further and further and further away, that I might even need to consider it. Now, if you pop a violinist in a room with high ceilings, oh, it’s great. It’s naturally amplified. If you’ve got any kind of Stone floors or wooden floors, actually, that the vibration just reverberates around the room. And so, there are so many of these gorgeous venues that have natural amplification. And if you pop us in a, I say us, violin cello piola, if you pop us in a church, even more reverberation because the ceilings are even higher and there’s more stone. And yeah, so.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 16:38
It’s very like some of those places were built with that kind of instrument in mind, isn’t it? Which, yeah, it’s I mean Yeah, the r I I’ve I’ve definitely, you know, sort of heard the phrase invented, Oh, I I’m gonna play this one a little bit louder, or I’m not gonna play this one so loud. I remember the first time I heard it, and I was like, What what what there’s there’s a There’s a volume button on that thing? Is that how does that work? And of course it’s it’s it’s none of those things. It’s just, you know, some of the the wonderful things that you can do with an instrument of that nature, which you probably can’t do with more modern instruments without a lot of Of extra work, right?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 17:13
Yeah, there’s always a lot of scope on an acoustic instrument. So On my violin, for example, I can press into the string physically more if I want a richer, bigger, harsher sound. and I can just press the bow much more lightly against the string if I want it to be much quieter, calmer in feel. And then it’s all to do with how fast or slow you’re moving the bow as well, which creates this variation in dynamics, right, in how loud or quiet it is. And then, if there are, just because there are occasionally, if there is a venue that amplifies naturally so well I can pop a mute on as well. So it doesn’t completely t take the sound away, but it does dampen the sound a lot. And there have there has been an occasion where I did have to do that because my violin was just Too loud in the space, but again, as a live professional musician, those are the decisions that I make during the sound check. I know that if I am going to be too loud and it’s not going to be appropriate in that setting, for example, it’s like an intimate meal or something like that. then I can make that choice. It then sound wise that the guests are gonna enjoy it without it being too noisy for them. But but there always is that Yeah, element of, yeah, there’s a lot you can get out of such a small body of instrument, which is which is, you know, it’s crazy.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 18:39
I mean, and as well, it’s probably not one to go into, but I remember somebody saying to me. How much do you think my violin is worth? And I’ve been kind of looking at, I don’t know, what? Two, three hundred quid? And of course. It’s like you wouldn’t expect the true value of an instrument like that, especially. I mean, some of the stories behind violins are phenomenal. So you’re every wedding. I mean, any wedding that you go to, where do you think the the music from the violin can have the biggest impact in any part of the day?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 19:13
I mean, there are lots of opportunities, right, for music across the day, but the most Impactful moments that are going to stay with the guests and the couple for longest is probably the entrance down the aisle. And the exit. Now, for the entrance down the aisle, what I do is I will be Obviously, I’ve had these conversations with a couple beforehand, so I know how many people are going to be processing down the aisle. I know who to look out for, whether they’re coming down in pairs or individually. And being live music, even sometimes when it’s with a backing track, but being live, what I can do is I can move with the speed at which this procession down the aisle is going. So for example, say um a couple really want A modern pop song for their bridal entrance or groom’s entrance, depending on which couple it is. And they want only the big chorus for when that member of the couple are walking down the aisle. So what I can do as a live instrumentalist is I can make sure I’m repeating the birds over and over again so that it’s really impactful and really powerful when that person is ready to walk down. And so, yeah, it it’s it’s such a special moment. And I think couples sometimes overthink The the entrance, right, the bridal party entrance down the aisle. I I talk to a lot of my couples about how you can plan everything to the second, you can choose what point Of the backing track, you want to enter into, you can choose what points the song you want, but on the day, 99 times out of 100, it won’t go how you think. Thought it was going to go because either the flower girl or page boy is going to take a lot longer or run down the aisle, you know, the opposite way around. So You may have bridesmaids that think they’re walking really slowly, or groomsmaids, or you know, there’s all sorts of people that are taking part walking down the processions. It it varies so much. And I always let my couples feel reassured that whatever happens I will move with the moment. So that they don’t have to worry about it. They don’t have to even think about it. It will happen. And it will be beautiful.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 21:50
Yeah, that’s right. I mean, obviously, as as a as a as a human being who’s there, a professional musician with years of experience, you’ve also got that ability, haven’t you, to think, right, so this is the piece of music I’m playing today. But I can flow from this section to this section to this section and make it sound like it was absolutely on purpose in the way it’s written on the page. Oh, yeah. I mean, I’ve been the guy at some weddings where they say, right, we’re walking into this track and it’s a piece of pre-recorded music. And we’ve worked on it, and this person must enter at this second, and this person at this second, and this person at this and I mean, I’ve had times where I’ve kind of been there with a stopwatch. I’ve been like, ready, play, go. Two, three, four and go. Two, three. And go. And it’s like but you’re right, you then kind of look down the aisle and it’s mayhem ’cause there’s people all over the place because, you know, it’s a it can be a high pressured situation sometimes.
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 22:47
Yeah, and it’s really important. Sorry.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 22:49
Yeah, I was going to say, where you’ve got that moment with a professional like you, where you’re like, listen, you know, kind of when you’re going to go, you go, and I’m just going to make it work.
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 23:00
Yeah. Yeah. I think it’s a it’s such an important part of a wedding day. And there’s so much excitement or nerves or giddiness, however you want to put it. that the last thing I want any of my couples to be thinking about is, oh my goodness, was that the right second to start grieving? That’s just an extra layer of stress that doesn’t need to be there. Doesn’t it?
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 23:27
Yeah, not at all. Yeah, you’re dead right. I love that. What what’s what’s some of your most favorite music when people say, Right, we want you to play this, what’s your favorite?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 23:39
Oh, that’s a really tough one actually, because I like variety. But some pieces that work really beautifully from Walking Down the Aisle are pieces like A Thousand Years by Christina Perry. It is a very popular one. It does get performed a lot. Likewise, Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley performed a lot. You’ve got classical pieces like Pacbos Canon in D, again. But the reason why those pieces work is because the underlying baseline so the music that’s happening lower down sort of struct structuring with the with the shifts in the chords and things, it repeats regularly. So as a musician performing the melody of the top, there are lots of points at which I can either fade out and finish, or I can jump to, because it will still work. So that’s why those pieces are picked over and over and over again. But favourites. So I actually really I’m not a big Barbie fan, as in like the dolls and things, but I did play with them. As a kid, but Dua Lipa’s Dance the Nine that is a song, and that’s really uplifting, and that’s not something you’d necessarily expect. I’m sorry. Enron’s um dance the night, they use it in the bathroom. Yeah, and it’s not something you necessarily think specifically for an entrance, but it is really fun and it’s uplifting. Often gets For exits or later on in the day, but I have performed it once for an entrance, and that she was just she was loving life. Yeah, yeah, so that was really fun. Um, and then generally for for performing with with pieces, not necessarily just for the ceremony, but I really enjoy the slightly more rocky Pieces. And so every now and again, I’ll get asked to do a cover of like Thunderstruck by ACDC. So hard, by the way. So hard. Just because it can be performed on a guitar doesn’t necessarily mean it translates across instantly to a violin. But that was really fun to perform. Yeah, was heavy, but it was really really good fun.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 25:52
Do do you think there’s people that aren’t asking for things like that because they don’t think it’s possible on a violin?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 26:00
Initially, yeah, sure, yeah, of course. But yeah, with the couples that I chat to, it’s opening their eyes to go look. It doesn’t have to be classical. It doesn’t just have to be pop. If you’re not into pop, you don’t have to pick that. And I think Because I’m someone that loves music anyway, and I get a lot of enjoyment from variety. And you know, to like, you know, match, match my mood, I’ll listen to something that I’m feeling. So With couples, I always say to them, Look, I’ve got a really extensive repertoire list. It covers a whole load of genres. We’re talking anything from film and T V music to the kind of Bridgeton soundtracks with modern pop and rock. through to a bit of jazz. Classical, of course, is in there because I am classically trained, but there is also some rock, there is some indie, there is some sort of like game music. My husband’s a big gamer. And so for our wedding, my now brother-in-law, he performed on piano to Zanarkand, which is from Final Fantasy X. That was a surprise for my husband. But yes, so as a violinist, I want to incorporate all these different kinds of genres. And then I say to couples, look, the list is extensive. You can have a look through it. But if there’s music that is special to you as a couple, I believe you should have it.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 27:25
Yeah.
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 27:26
Because the wedding, especially the ceremony, it’s all about the two of you. So let’s pick music that accurately represents you as a couple individually, but also more importantly, as a couple together. And it does make it unique. And it does mean that each wedding does have something slightly different. And, you know, the guests Will go, oh yeah, this is so much the groom’s choice, or this is so much the bride’s choice. Or actually, no, this is clearly for some of the older guests. You know, it’s great in. you know, other parts of the wedding day, drinks, receptions, wedding breakfasts, to have music that does span the decades because you might have lots of little kids running around or crawling around. But if you’ve got older relatives there too, then I do believe it’s quite important that there is something in a wedding which is about family, which is about friends, which is about the couple at the core. that represents them and also has like a nod to these other other decades. Of course, yeah. So yeah, it’s really exciting picking music with the couples I work with.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 28:42
I mean I guess as well as a musician, especially a violinist, there has to be music out there where people go, oh no, we’d quite like this and we’d quite like that. And I mean, some of those tracks probably kind of make you immediately go, oh, that again. Yeah, absolutely fine. Are there any tracks that people ask for that you kind of think, Oh, I really don’t want to play this?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 29:05
Um, interesting question. So I’m I’m kind of in the school of thought of if it’s important to the couple, even if I don’t like it, I’ll I’ll still play it because it’s important to them. Um of course there are some pieces where it’s like, oh, Playing it again. Here we go. But but it’s but it’s not that I’m not going to enjoy performing it. It’s just that, yeah, you become really familiar with those pieces. But it just means I have more freedom, right? So I often bring the music on my iPad. It’s great. I’ve got a pedal. I can literally click through, so I don’t have to, you know, move my hands away from a violin. And the pages turn, and I’ve got it there. But there are lots of pieces that are memorized. So I’ve still got the music there just in case, or you know. For example, if it is walking down the aisle, so I can jump kind of backwards and forwards easily. And you know, with when couples pick backing tracks For the background, right? So it’s got more of like a full setup behind the live violin. Yeah, I can then. I can then learn it even more easily because there’s a whole structure around it rather than just being purely solo. But no, I don’t think there are any pieces where I’m like, oh my goodness.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 30:21
Yeah. Don’t want to do this one, but okay, yeah. No, that’s good. I mean, I love that as well because, of course, I mean, it’s evident that you get so much joy out of just playing the violin, but then doing it for people who are going to appreciate it as well. It’s that extra layer on top. What’s been the hardest track you’ve had to learn?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 30:43
Oh, um. Thunderstruck by UCDC was very hard. Slick Knots Duality, equally very hard. I think again, it’s because to be honest, the hardest pieces are either going to be classical, where they are naturally written, right, to be virtuosic, to like really explore the range of the violin and move very, very quickly or Um, they’ve got um more interesting, I try not to be too technical, but uh, more interesting intervals between the notes, right? So there may be like a bigger jump or you know Um, and so my fingers are having to move very quickly in different shape patterns, right? So classical pieces can be more challenging i in in the preparation of it, but equally rock music can be very challenging in the same way. And especially when it’s trying to translate a guitar riff across to a violin. Again, they’ve got more strings than I do. So I think a lot of I think a lot of rock music actually has so much orchestral backing underneath it. And just in the way that it’s not these same four chords like in a lot of pop music, whereas one, four, five and six chords. Anyway. So so it kind of repeats the pattern over and over and over again. Whereas, yeah, in sort of rock music and some more sort of cinematic pieces too, yeah, it it can be more challenging just because the Yeah, the if you like, the educational bits behind the music, yeah, are harder to grasp. And so it takes longer. But that makes it more exciting too. What’s if there was a few technical?
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 32:25
Yeah, no, no, that makes good sense. What’s been, I mean, of course, you know, live musician at a wedding, you’re going to get people go, oh. Would you mind just playing what’s been the most requested track you had at weddings where people are see you and they go, could you play this for me?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 32:42
Um so it’s often pieces like um Can’t Help Funny By Elvis, like I’ve mentioned already. It tends to be pieces that are slightly older. At Last by Etta James. L-O-V-E, Matt King Cole, I think that one is. And then at remote. Oh, and they’re timeless. You know, they work. They’re so good. And at the moment, it’s all Bridgeton. People like see a violin and they’re like, Oh, Bridgeton. I’m very grateful, but they use so much streak music. Season four music is in the process of being added to my list as a solo violinist and also for our cuo. So yeah, lots of bridges. Wild in the street I wouldn’t say it was in season one, so yeah. And it’s Taylor Swift, so a lot of Swifties out there.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 33:45
Lots of Swifties, yeah, fantastic. So let’s come back to weddings for a second. So people are out there now. Somebody’s proposed, somebody said yes. They’re planning a wedding. At what point should people really be thinking about live music at a wedding day?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 34:02
Whenever they need a break from the maybe more stressful elements of planning a wedding. So as a musician, I’ll be honest, we don’t get booked first You do need a venue first because we need to know what the music license is going to be at that venue, what that policy is. Can you perform inside or outside? Can you be amplified or not? I’ll just mention this quickly. Again, because as a violinist, I perform at lots of manor houses, etc. Some buildings that are listed do have much tighter on the sound levels that can be used in different rooms depending on their license. So I always say to couples, do check music policy at your venue before we decide on anything. But yes, o often it’s maybe further down the the line for couples picking music. So, um but music’s such a fun part to pick because you’re setting the background, you’re you’re setting um your your guests up. This is what represents the atmosphere together. Styling is so important. Your venue choice represents you as a couple. There’s so many beautiful elements to a wedding day, and music kind of like ties them together quite nicely. Yeah, so I don’t know. Obviously, I’m happy to talk to people at any stage of planning, whether it as soon as they’ve got engaged, whether it’s just after they’ve booked their venue, we can have conversations at any point. But I try and take the pressure off any decisions being really final until the couples are ready. What I like to have is the set list finalized by one month Before their wedding date. This is just so then I can make sure if there were any last-minute additions, that I have time to learn them really well. So it is going to sound fab. And then if I do need to look at purchasing any different sheet music or backing tracks, then I’ve got time to do so, especially when it’s sort of like spring, summer and it gets very busy. As long as things are finalized by one month beforehand, that’s great. Having said that, I have done one wedding where they booked me with just three weeks to go. So again, it’s possible. But yeah, I’d just say when you’re ready and when you want a bit of a break from maybe the sort of more admin side of things, let’s think about music because it’s fun.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 36:34
I get you. What would you say are some of the biggest misconceptions that people have made?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 36:39
Oh, well, one of the big ones is that I’m only going to play classical. And. And another one probably is that um I can you know, I can just uh play everything off by heart. I I can’t. I I can I can learn to. But just because someone comes up to me and says, Oh, can you play this song? I’ll probably be able to figure it out. And it may take me a while and I won’t necessarily want to perform it just off the cuff, right? I want to make sure I’m performing well. and you know a professional standard. I want I want to make sure that everything is going to be in keeping with the couple’s day. And you know Again, that it represents them. Yeah.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 37:29
Yeah. Fantastic. And last question, and a really big important one.
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 37:34
Okay.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 37:35
Where can we find you on the internet?
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 37:38
Ah, right. So, um, my website is www. Lauracemoreviolin dot com. Nice and straightforward. On Instagram and TikTok and YouTube, I’m Laura Seymour Violin. Or one word, nice and simple. And yeah, there’s a couple of things I touch on to Pinterest. I’m on LinkedIn as well. But basically, if you type into Google Laura Seymour violin or even Southwest violin, I’m I’m likely to pop up Yeah, definitely. We type my name in.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 38:19
Brilliant stuff. Well, people should definitely go and check that out. But, Laura, this has been a fantastic conversation and a real reminder of how powerful live music can be. So, I hope that lots of people hear this and get in touch. So, thanks ever so much.
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 38:31
You’re very welcome.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 38:32
Take care. Bye-bye.
Laura Seymour – Laura Seymour Violin – Luxury Music for Wedding and Events • 38:34
Bye.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician • 38:37
And there you go, folks. If you are planning a wedding and you want music that feels emotional. and elegant and something that’s going to help to elevate and make your wedding genuinely more memorable. I wholeheartedly recommend you get in touch With Laura. As she said, you can find her online. It’s lauraseymoreviolin.com and also laura seymore violin on Instagram and Facebook and all the social medias. Have a good look. It really is worth considering if you are looking to have a fun-filled but wonderfully memorable celebration. Again, thank you all so much for being here, for watching and listening. And remember to like, subscribe, share, and tell people about this podcast if they are planning a wedding. It really will help them to discover some wonderful suppliers. in our industry. Until next time, folks, thank you so much. And I’ll see you on the next episode of the Supplier Spotlight Podcast. Take care.