What is the difference between the duo, the trio, and the quartet?
A soloist is one person and can be any of our instruments. A solo string player always plays the melody and has a stark, simple sound. You may have heard a solo if you’ve ever been to a sporting event and heard the “Star Spangled Banner” sung. A soloist can be very effective but does not sound “big”. If you hire a larger group, solos can be nice to insert for a special song such as the lighting of the unity candle, where you want to create a more intimate, unique sound. A duet is always a higher instrument, such as the violin, playing the melody, and a lower instrument playing a bass line, such as the cello or piano. A bass line provides structure and foundation in music. Duets are still more simple and quaint sounding, and can be very lovely for small spaces. Trios and Quartets add “inner voices” which fill in the music, giving it a feeling of thickness and fullness; these groups are also louder and more appropriate for bigger spaces. The second violin often plays what is called the “
