I'm Lindsey Stirling, dubstep violinist, artist and performer - AMA!

What kind of vacuum do you use?

hahaha, actually, i recently moved so I am borrowing my neighbors Hoover. :)

My fiancee and I fell in love because of our shared passion for your music. Would you play for us at our wedding? or would it be at all possible for us to have our ceremony at one of your concerts? We will plan our wedding around your tour schedule.

omg! thats amazing. Hmm... we dont have a tour schedule finalized yet, but please email me through my website once we announce our tour dates. We will see what we can do. Congrats to you both!

hey Guys! I just arrived and I'm excited to chat :)

I am sure i am speaking for everyone when i say this. When are you going to play Pirates of the Caribbean? :)

I LOVE that music so much. I am ashamed of myself that I havent done it yet. I am writing a new album full of original songs but after that I hope to do Pirates with the piano guys

How do you balance being a faithful Mormon with being a successful touring musician? What aspects of the business, if any, make it difficult to practice your faith?

my faith is an essential part of my life and yes it is difficult to keep up on the road and in the entertainment business BUT, my faith is what keeps me real, grounded, and happy. So I have learned that I have to make it a priority to go to church where ever I am at, read my scriptures every morning, and rely on God.

Do you consciously dance whenever you play? Or does it just come out naturally?

It is very unnatural to dance while playing the violin I had to practice so hard to learn how to do it but now it is part of my expression and it comes naturally. I have to know a song perfectly before I can even begin to move. Once I know a song really well I can then have fun dancing.

Big fan, one question. Squirtle, Charmander or Bulbasaur?

Charmander!

It's been over a year and a half since you first teased us with the picture of you dressed as Lightning, but we still haven't heard anything about your Final Fantasy medley. You've mentioned at your concerts it'll be released on Devin's channel, when can we expect more info? Sorry if I'm sounding pushy, but the wait is killing us FF/LS fans. =p

no, not pushy at all. Devin keeps pushing that project back. Ya know, he's a busy fellow. I think I might do my own on my channel in the spring. Sorry for the long wait

thanks my party people for joinin me today at my first AMA. I will hopefully see you soon somewhere in the world! Wahoo

Hey Lindsey! Your song 'Crystallize' made me fall in love with your music and style of playing. What gave you the idea to play the violin in such a unique fashion and combine it with the more 'modern' genres of music such as dubstep and game soundtracks? Were you inspired to do so from someone else, or was it your own original idea?

Stay awesome!

I had gotten burnt out on classical music. I thought to myself that I used to LOVE playing and I was so sad that I didnt enjoy it any more. So I decided to start playing the kind of music i liked to listen to. I loved dance music so I started with that and wrote transcendence, Electric daisy and spontaneous me. Then I got really into skrillex and decided to give Dubsep a try. It seemed like a fun challenge to try to make Dubstep melodic and fluid and I think it worked :)

Of all the video games that you made music for, which is your favorite to play? Favorite video game of all time?

Honestly... you guys will hate me for this but I love just dance. Haha... I just think it is such a great game cus it allows people to get up and make fools of themselves while having a great time. Plus I love to dance. Other than that I like Zelda because it takes me to my childhood

I just wanted to say that while your music is amazing, your choreography is something that really stands out to me during your performance! It's just so graceful and smooth. Have you had much training for dance?

Also, please come to Auburn University!

nope, I am completely self taught; but I just started taking dance lessons this week because I love to dance so much and I want to get better. On the next tour I will have so sweet new moves.

Lindsey, I got to pick you up at the airport in NC about a year ago and it still makes my buddies jealous that I got to meet you and talk with you. I kinda hope you remember me, but on the other hand, I was doing my best to keep calm and not be awkward.

How was it working with The Piano Guys? You all seem like really silly and lighthearted people, so I can only imagine that half of the time was spent goofing off and not actually filming.

That was a year ago? Crazy and yes I remember. The Piano Guys video was one of my favorites to shoot because they are so much fun. Just a bunch of goofy dads that absolutely love what they do. If you havent see their stuff guys, you gotta check it out

Hey Lindsey!

What are some of your favorite musicians to listen to? Where did your inspiration first come from?

Right now I am loving Zedd, Ellie Goulding, Paramore, and Avicii. I first was inspired by phoenix and Passion pit and Daft Punk because I just loved their unique take on electronic music. I though..."I can do that with a violin"

I loved your show in Portland last year, it was amazing to see you live. I was surprised that you did not play the Zelda theme that night. Has there been any push back from Nintendo as far as rights to the song/franchise? Have any other gaming companies given you problems playing their songs? Thanks Lindsey!

no, nintendo has been very nice to me and all the games have let me cover their songs with no problems. We just like to switch up the set sometimes since we cant play every song every night. We'll try to play Zelda next time.

Lindsey, will you marry me?

Serious question. Will you ever make a video which involves you singing more than you did in the LoTR Medley? The small bit of singing you do in that song has had me wanting to hear you sing since I heard it.

I'm working on my new album and i just wrote a song that I sing on. I cant wait to show you guys. And... I'll think about the marriage proposal;)

Which of your videos has been your favorite to shoot so far?

Hmmm... I loved shooting Elements because I got to see a really difficult vision come to life as we filmed. I designed the sets with the fire, and water and I thought of all the ideas and designed the costumes so it was really fun and relieving to see that it all worked.

Hi Lindsey! the first video I saw of you was "We found love" and I was really touched by your version of the song as well as the music video, so my question is kinda related: during your stay in Africa, what was your experience with the people, the culture, and the music there?

the People there were absolutely amazing. I loved how peaceful and kind they were. No matter if they were running the hotel, herding sheep, or driving a tour jeep, they took so much pride in what they did and did it to the best of their ability. I love that. I was so inspired by them to always shine the brightest in whatever spot I am currently in.

some of the people lived in mud huts and had so little yet were also so humble and they were so happy. I learned a lot from my experience in Kenya

Hey Lindsey! I saw you in Philly earlier this year! (proof! XD ) https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/426094_10151410416599351_371797674_n.jpg

I've got to ask, what was it like working with John Legend and how did that collaboration come about.

What other artists alive or dead would you love to collaborate with if you could?

You're the best!

It was so awesome working with John. He is so down to earth and nice, plus he is AMAZINGLY talented. Wheeew!

If I could work with anyone from the past it would be Michael Jackson for sure and present its a toss up between Zedd and Ellie Goulding

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We toured for almost 9 months straight and just got back. So from now till the spring I am writing a new album that will be released in MAy. We will tour the us in the spring and we are trying to go to Mexico city on that tour.

phelba never got her Gavi date. She'll keep trying I'm sure

1. How long have have you been playing? Do you do any singing as well?

2. Can we possibly expect another collab with Pentatonix in the future? Or should I put those hopes to rest... Your style of playing goes amazingly well with their voices and Kevin's celloboxing.

3. A special shout out to my woman (a fan of yours) and me (Alex and Alex) for our anniversary today from you would be awesome :D

Thanks!

I've played for 20 yrs. Wow, thats a while. I kinda sing :)

I love Pentatonix so I hope we do something but we are on opposite touring schedules so who knows if it will ever happen. We'll see

hey Alex! Happy Anniversary :)

I heard her sing live at her show in Lansing (We Found Love) She has an amazing voice, wish she'd sing more.

I am working on my new album and there is one song that I might sing full lyrics on. We'll wee :)

What gave you the idea to combine dubstep and violins?

I heard Skrillex song Bangerang and I LOVED it. I had so much fun dancing to it so I wanted to be able to play my own version of Dubstep. I like trying new things. It keeps me creative and it makes me think in new ways

What advice would you give artists like yourself just starting ?

Be ready to work really really really hard.

Try lots of different things in order to succeed. I tried many different roads before I found youtube. Different things work for different people.

Collaborate with other artists as much as you can to get get more exposure.

Have fun with it. Keep it fun and that way you will be happy wether it leads to "Success" or if it stays a hobby

Would you ever consider your own clothing brand, maybe even with a hint of "nerd" in it? :)

Some day that would be really fun and I love the idea of adding the nerd factor into it.

I have a few questions.

What was your life like before YouTube?

What inspires your songs?

Do you have any plans to do more covers of video game music or music from shows?

Any plans for a new tour and come to smaller cities?

I was a student working and paying my way through college. I was playing at opened mic nights and touring ith a country band as their fiddle player. I also worked as a counselor for troubled teens.

My faith inspires a lot of my music.

My new tour starts in March. It will be announced soon.

I am sure I will do more game music own the road