I played second violin in every orchestra I was in: junior high orchestra, senior high orchestra, youth orchestra, all-state orchestra, college orchestra, and professional orchestra. Oh-and string quartet and college string orchestra. One time, I made it well into the firsts but was shot back down…to the back of the seconds. I think I learned to be philosophical about it at that moment-I was meant to play second and I could be an unhappy victim or I could just do it.

If you have ever watched an orchestra, you’ll find the first violinists on the left hand side, close to the audience. Deeper in the heart of the orchestra, behind the firsts, are the second violins.

Different composers have used second violins for different things. John Phillips Sousa gave the seconds chord changes on the off beats: rest chunk rest chunk rest chunk for five minutes. I don’t much like his music.

Bach gave the seconds (and the thirds in the Third Brandenburg Concerto-I played third violin when it existed) interesting parts-even little lead parts. That was music worth practicing!

Frequently the seconds play the same melody as the firsts, only an octave lower. Composers will stick the firsts in the violin stratosphere-way up in the screechy part of the E string where you have to read lots of ledger lines. Seconds get the same thing, only in a much more comfortable place to play on the instrument. Or we get a harmony or counter melody, which are also nice to play.

Since I sat in the seconds so much, I have had ample opportunity to consider what it means to play second violin.

There’s no glamour playing second violin, particularly in orchestras for young people where only the “good” players are in the first violin section. And yet every orchestra has to have that section. Why? Partly because second violin players are a foundation for the firsts: when they are playing up in the stratosphere, it’s nice to have the seconds playing along with the correct intonation, providing sonic support. Partly because second violinists fill out the sound of an orchestra. Violas have a different tone quality, so the viola section can’t do sonically what seconds do, despite its reputation for being composed of unhappy second violinists!

So, I learned to play for the sake of the music and not for the sake of glory. That’s kind of an ego-deflating lesson, but I haven’t seen too many work situations where having a large ego was an advantage. I did really like playing the violin (I still do) and I stuck with it because of liking it. I like the job I do, and I don’t find myself trying real hard to climb the old ladder of success-I am successful where I am and also happy.

I also learned that the support role is just as important as the leadership role. In fact, leaders can’t lead without followers to follow. First violins sound empty and alone without seconds. Melody sounds thin without harmonic support. There are leadership jobs and follower jobs and both are necessary for most human enterprises.

I learned to do a good job where I was. I remember one time a conductor decided to humiliate people into practicing, so he had each stand of two people play a passage in front of the whole orchestra. The first stand played it okay, but it got successively worse-until it got to my stand and I played it with my stand partner. The conductor was pleasantly surprised and I was pleased at having thrived in what could have been an embarrassing situation.

I learned that a seemingly unglorious position could have its advantages. There is nothing richer than the thick, chocolate sound of an orchestra from the second violin section. You are in front of the percussion, between the winds and the firsts, and across from the lower strings. Audience noise doesn’t even register from that position. In fact, when I listen to classical music, I like to turn up the volume to where it sounds like music used to sound to me when I was in orchestra.

I eventually learned that every form of music has the equivalent of a second violin part and every human situation does, too. I learned to be nice to second violin players, real or metaphorical.