Why violas are better than violins

I agree entirely re the viola. I started learning the violin a couple of years ago, but when I picked up the viola and heard its glorious tone, I didn't pick the violin up again. Apr, 5.

Originally Posted by Legato. Apr, 6. Originally Posted by Potiphera. Legato, I am interested that you were learning the violin for two years , and just wondered how far you got with that. Are you able to play a few pieces competently now. As I am also an older student , I am just wondering what stage I should be at by now after two years learning violin.

Is the Viola easier to learn? Apr, 7. Thanks Stroopwafel, How long does it take to learn to play reasonably good though? Apr, 8. One is better than the other? Both have their proper place in the ensemble. The higher registers of the violin are just as necessary as the lower registers of the viola, cello, and double bass for proper blending.

Just play whichever you prefer to play. Apr, 9. Answer to Potiphera's question Oh, no I was learning violin for about a year when I checked out a viola and fell in love with the rich tone. I've been learning viola for just over a year now and can play intermediate pieces, by Bach, Mozart, Dvorak, Becker, etc. Are you debating between playing the violin or the viola? We recommend visiting a string music store near you and sharing your dilemma with the staff.

And, remember that as your musicianship grows, so does your ability to add other instruments to the mix. A Connolly Music Publication. Published by StringOvation Team on June 13, Violas are bigger A full-sized violin is usually around inches from the tip of the scroll or head to the bottom of the end button. They are tuned differently Viola and violins are tuned differently — with the viola being tuned a fifth lower than the violin.

There will always be some argument about this question, depending on who you are talking to. The original stringed instruments in the 15th century were called Viols , or viola da gamba and were most like our modern day cellos, as they were all played by holding the instrument between the legs. These newer instruments, called viola da braccio became what we know today as the modern violin and like their earlier relatives, are most always used for the higher lyrical lines in music.

Once instruments started being held upright and under the chin, they evolved through many different stages into the violins and violas that we know today. There is no definitive proof that the viola came first, but considering that the original instruments were all played like a cello, and then gradually transformed to be able to play higher ranges of notes, it seems logical to conclude that the Viola probably did come first and that the violin was birthed out of the different transformations to achieve higher note ranges and a more soloistic sound.

By keeping these five differences in mind, it will be easy to tell if you are looking at or listening to a viola or a violin. The larger size of the viola is the main visual hint if you are comparing the two by just looking at them. You can also spot the viola section in most symphonies as they are located in between the cellos and the 2nd violins.

You can recognize the violins by the higher notes that they play as well as hearing them play most of the melody lines in a piece or a symphony. They are always located on the front edge of any symphony or chamber ensemble, and there will be either two sections of violins, or there will be two violin players in a quartet. Musicians can differentiate between the two by noting what clef the music is in, and by hearing the difference in sound quality in the strings and the note range of the instrument.

There are incredible aspects to each instrument in the way that they sound and are played, and their unique voices add invaluable beauty to any piece of music. So violinists can understand them. Consordini Staff The experts that review the products on our website and YouTube channel are handpicked by the creators and have proven their expertise time and again.

It was in my second year of violin when I bought the score to my favourite piece of music, Brandenburg Concerto No. Imagine my disappointment when I saw the solo parts written in a strange, alien clef. My school orchestra director kindly loaned me a viola and I learned the clef over the weekend so I could scratch out even the slightest bit of the music. I was hooked on viola from then on. I've since worked to convince many of my violin students to switch to viola, citing the many wonderful opportunities mentioned above.

It's got to be done! Viola players are just hard to come by otherwise. In my years teaching only one viola student learned viola before violin, the rest were violin transplants. This unforeseen anomaly is perhaps the only case of a violist who took up violin later.

Who knows their reasons behind playing viola, but many amazing and well-respected musicians have played the viola over the centuries including J. Okay, so smashing a flaming Fender is way cooler than playing the viola. Heck, you may loose a teeny bit of sex appeal and overall charisma when you take up viola.

As the showy violinists clambour for a chance in the limelight, the humbled violists abandon any delusions of glory and accepts their fate with a healthy mix of zen detachment and humiliation. Ahh, but inside every viola player is a daring rebel. An individual who has broken away from the establishment. You see them slogging away in the bowels of the orchestra, playing their unique middle harmonies with knowing grins on their smug faces.

I'm actually married to a violist Trio and Romanian Melodies?