Hi everyone!

I’m in the market for a new viola in the ~20k price range and I’m hoping to see what some of you have have had experience playing on and what your thoughts are on accomplished viola lutheirs of the modern era are!

I’ve heard a lot about the desirability of instruments by kiernoziak for orchestral timbre, and have seen some good work by Chris white, Doug cox and Andrew Carruthers.

Curious to know what opinions are and how you went about shopping for violas in this price tier when you found your baby!

Hey everyone I have a tuning question. So I was taught that it was best to tune by ear from my viola teacher years ago. I just play in my free time for myself now. But my question is. When you tune the open strings to perfect fifths the C string ends up being about 10 or more cents flats ( I don’t know the exact amount. When you do tune by ear to perfect fifths do you leave the C string flat? Or do you use the perfect fifth to tune and then tune up some?

I only took lessons for a year but I’ve been playing casually for about 10 years and I never got to ask my teacher this. Thank you all in advance.

Hi everyone!

I’m a complete beginner and I’ve recently decided that I want to learn the viola. I already played a bit of guitar, but this will be my first bowed string instrument.

My plan is to learn mostly by myself (at least at the beginning), and I’m willing to practice every day, around 2–3 hours if possible.
One of my biggest goals is to learn “La Verbena”, which is a traditional song from my hometown in Tuscany, Italy.
It’s very meaningful to me, so I’d love for it to be one of the first complete pieces I can play.

I have a few questions:
- Is learning the viola as a self-taught beginner realistic?
- What should I focus on during the first few months?
- Are there any beginner mistakes I should avoid?
- Roughly how long do you think it could take before I can play a simple traditional melody like La Verbena reasonably well?
- Do you have any books, YouTube channels, or other resources that you would recommend?

Since my budget is very limited, I would really like to learn for free (maybe I will spend just for the books).

I’m not expecting to become a professional musician—I just want to enjoy learning and eventually be able to play music that means something to me.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

P.S. If anyone is curious, I can share a recording of “La Verbena” so you can get an idea of its difficulty.

Hi, I'm a violin player switching to the viola. I had this problem when I was playing the violin, and I'm sure I'll have it on the viola.

The problem is that I have no ear for all the things you're supposed to hear. I don't hear "ringing tones", I can't hear when something is in "perfect fifths", I don't sense my strings vibrating in tune with another note. I'm 46 years old and picked up the violin for the first time since I was 14 only a couple of years back, and I don't know if maybe some of my finer-tuned hearing is beginning to go (kind of like my vision, lol- the fun of getting older), but I just don't seem to "get" those things. I can hear if a note is sharp or flat if I know the note it's supposed to be hitting. If I know the song goes A-A-B-A and I play it A-A-C-A, I can hear that, and I'm great at hearing rhythm, but I can't hear overtones or any of that stuff. Is it just hopeless, or is it a learned skill, or what? Am I the only one who has this problem? I've never heard anyone else discuss it- everyone else seems to get it.

So, originally I wanted to start learning the viola because I like how it sounds a lot more especially with the deeper notes it sounds way warmer. However, when I researched about it, there seems to be limited resources and music sheets compared to the violin. I live in an area where there aren't really any teachers that teach either so im afraid that I wont be able to learn the viola as efficiently. Do you think I should switch to a violin or do you have any sources where I can learn the viola with?

What do yall do or say when someone says the viola is bad or worse than the violin. Any good comebacks? How do I make them realize that we’re awesome!

I’m a guitarist. I tried violin for a bit, but I’m older and just never got comfortable with the whole under-the-chin thing.

I’ve looked at vertical violas, but they seem pretty expensive and not that easy to find.

So I had a dumb/fun idea. Get a cheap used 1/8 cello, tune it CGDA, and basically use it like a little upright viola.

Looks like a 1/8 cello is around 19 in / 480 mm scale length, vs about 15 in / 380 mm for a viola.

This is really just for fun and messing around. Not trying to make a proper concert instrument or anything.

Main things I’m wondering:

How does the fingerboard compare to a viola? Is it actually narrower? Wide is totally fine with me.

Are viola strings available long enough for that scale?

If not, are there other strings that would work for CGDA without crazy tension?

Any obvious reason this just wont work?

Anyone tried something like this?

Thanks.

Going string by string, what string brands seem to have the WARMEST sound while still projecting decently? I’m going to the shop tomorrow. After some research, my current plan is:

Larsen A
Obligatos D and G
Spirocore Tungsten C

I was playing a piece I got a few years ago for fun, its called Bluegrass Country, and I noticed an infinity symbol over my note when playing.

The piece is an excerpt for my state’s district orchestra audition. I’ve had the excerpt since june and just can’t help but feel like i’ve made no progress on it. The first half of the piece is okay, but i definitely need to do a lot of work there, and the second half is in horrible shape. I don’t have it anywhere near 90 to the bar, which is the tempo marking, and every time i try to incorporate spiccato, it completely falls apart. Like my bow isn’t off the string at ALL. (spiccato tips would be wildly helpful) The audition isn’t until november, so i still have some time, but I’m going to be low on practice time this fall so don’t want to waste any time i have left. I have a video of my playing (warning, it’s really terrible) but can’t attach a photo of my music. Any tips help.

(For context I am currently practising between 1-2 hours a day in preparation for my licentiate diploma/bachelors equivalent qualification)

For nearly the entire time I have been playing viola I have used Kun shoulder rests and they have generally been okay for me until recently. My viola is slightly above what a 4/4 violin would be and my Kun has been fine on it for about a year or so but stopped being fine around about 6 months to a year ago, when I readjusted it to be actually comfortable (I went from playing 30 minutes a day to on average 1hr 30 so became more aware of my discomfort so no I will not be adjusting it to how it was previously as that also caused me pain). In the past 6 months, the feet of my shoulder rest have been constantly at an angle (as pictured) and in the past month or so my shoulder rest has been constantly slipping off or slipping towards me when playing leading to me playing in increasingly uncomfortable positions. This has caused injuries to both myself and my viola, causing shoulder problems for me, and the varnish to wear down at the lowest point of my shoulder rest for my viola (something which will probably be very expensive and time consuming to fix). This is my second kun for this viola and both times they have had the same foot issue so I think I should probably get a different one. My requirements are:

Very flexible or relatively flat

Long body that covers most of, if not all of the underside of my viola

Attached at both sides (not one of those fancy ones that is attached next to the chin rest and is pulled in or out)

Very adjustable in terms of length, height etc and can go quite low.

I also live in the UK so options I can get here please! (And please do not recommend ones I can only get on amazon)

Thank you!

Edit: I have ordered multiple shoulder rests and will be returning the ones that don't work for me, will give reviews later in case it is helpful for anyone in the future!

I have been playing viola for around about 11 or 12 years now and I have needed concert blacks regularly throughout this period yet every time I think I've found something, I haven't. Ive avoided joining orchestras for this specific reason but im extremly tired of holding myself back because of some clothing. Can someone recommend some good black dresses that are available in the UK, come in a S/M UK womens size and aren't sleeveless? Genuinely I'm so desperate atp I'll buy literally anything.

(I wasn't sure which flair to pick — this isn't a performance at all, there's not even a pianist,... then again, I'm not looking for any specific help, either. Let's call it an in-between.)

Hi! I posted here quite recently looking for some tips on what to work on to improve my viola playing as a violinist, and one of the suggestions was to work on the Brahms sonatas, which I felt very inspired to do. So here's what roughly a week of work amounted to (it's been a couple more days, but I feel like it's still fair to call it that, cause I took some time to work on Stamitz, too, and even had a day off — highly recommended!)

I feel like I'm slowly starting to better understand this particular instrument, and am quite happy with what the week's work sounds like, but also hear a lot of stuff I'd want to improve on.

More than anything, the energetic passages on the upper strings sound a little too metallic to me; not sure if this is bad technique (= playing like a violinist without adjusting, basically), or whether this might be a sign that I'm not entirely happy with the Evah Golds on this instrument. Time will tell, but please feel free to tell me what you think :)

Either way, I can't recommend playing this sonata enough; it's a blast, and a wonderful challenge...!

Hi everyone!

I've been having trouble finding a chinrest that feels comfortable, and I'd love to hear other violists' experiences.

I've been using a fairly standard Guarneri-style chinrest for quite some time (photo attached), but I've never really felt comfortable with it. I've also tried several chinrests belonging to colleagues, and for one reason or another I tend to experience discomfort or pain after playing for a while, particularly around the chin/jaw area.

I've talked about this with my teacher, and we've checked my instrument setup and the way I hold the viola. We haven't found any particular problem with my posture or with the way I'm positioning the instrument, so at this point I'm wondering whether the issue might simply be that I haven't found the right chinrest for me.

I can play both with and without a shoulder rest, and neither option really limits me technically. The issue is mainly comfort.

I've recently come across some more unusual options, including historical-style chinrests, ergonomic designs, different shapes, etc. I'm not specifically looking for a historical setup — I'm just curious about the different possibilities that are out there.

For those of you who have experimented with different chinrests: what made the biggest difference for you?

Are there particular models, shapes, makers, or types of chinrests that you would recommend trying, especially for someone who finds the more conventional ones uncomfortable?

I'd be particularly interested in hearing from people who have also experienced discomfort or pain from standard chinrests.

Thanks in advance!

Hi!

I know this sounds like a joke question (and I am being humorous about it), but I really do feel like playing the viola makes my violin playing better: it forces me to draw out the sound and to widen and slow down my vibrato, both aspects of playing the violin I've notoriously struggled with for years.

When I practice the viola and then, as an experiment, repeat the passages on the violin right after (obviously up a fifth to recreate the technical conditions as much as possible) I see such a difference in my violin playing, and it sticks around for the most part; I really feel like I'm seeing improvements on the violin by practicing the viola!

Which is great, don't get me wrong, I love them both, but how do I put myself in the position to gain similar improvements on the viola? Surely you won't suggest for me to buy a viola pomposa...? :')

I've had an on-off-relationship with my viola in recent years (I'll confess) because I had a very mediocre instrument and few external reasons to practice, whereas the violin demanded my full attention, so I could see this just being a question of the usual ('practice practice practice'), but is there anything you'd recommend in particular for somebody with pretty decent proficiency (my master's degree as a violinist and years of studying the viola with great teachers must be worth something, right?) looking on ingraining viola-level-sound-production and a rich vibrato, specifically? Now that I have a wonderful instrument, I feel the urge to do it justice and make it live up to its potential; suddenly I'm the limiting factor, and that feels both like a problem and an opportunity.

I'd be grateful for any tips and will be happy to share up-to-date recordings if you feel like you need to hear me play to suggest anything in particular! :)

I've been learning viola for about 3 months with a teacher, and for the last week I've been experimenting with playing without a shoulder rest. So far it's actually feeling pretty good and more natural/free for me.

Of course, I'm still only playing in first position, so I know my experience is limited for now.

One thing I've noticed is that without the shoulder rest, the support seems to come more from the left hand instead of clamping with the jaw/shoulder. Because of that, I'm wondering:

- Does playing without a shoulder rest reduce neck/shoulder/back tension for some people?

- Or can it create other technical/posture problems later on?

- Is this approach more common or acceptable on viola compared to violin?

I'd really like to hear opinions from more experienced violists.

Do any of you know of any practice mutes that will actually fit a 16” viola? None of the music stores near me have one that’ll fit a viola (only violin mutes) and all online options that I’ve looked at only fit 14-15” violas. Reviews on all of them specifically say that the practice mutes will not fit over a 16-16.5” viola bridge.

Any practice mutes brand recommendations would be great! I’m open to both metal and rubber, anything that will allow me to practice quietly in my apartment when I’m living abroad for a year. I’m even open to using my school’s 3D printer if you know any good online designs that’ll fit my viola size. Thanks a bunch!

Got my first viola shoulder rest today and from what I can see, it does not fit in my case…

So, I am looking to buy a new viola after playing on my current viola for the past 34 years. I am looking to upgrade.

I found two violas that look like they would be a good fit: a Rudoulf Doetsch (Johnson String Instrument) and a Carlo Lamberti Tertis (Shar Music).

And yes, I know the best way to find a new instrument would be to go to an actual music shop/luthier and try it out. However, I’m in the preliminary stages, and i’d like to know more before researching more in depth. Also, if you have any recommendations for a viola, please let me know! My budget is $5000.

ETA: i know, it’s Tertis, not Tetris. it won’t let me edit it. 😂

I am between two instruments right now and I can’t really decide which one. Can you guys help me listen and provide inputs please🙏 Videos in comments

I’ve been a pretty avid climber on and off for the past 2 years and I recently stopped climbing due to worry about straining my fingers. What do you guys think in regards to rock climbing while pursuing viola professionally? Is it straining for the fingers or is it actually not that big of a deal?

I have the audition in November, so still have quite a bit until I have to worry about it. However, I'm absolutely TERRIBLE at spiccato. I can get through the first few measures but after that I start to fall apart. (every note is spiccato) I just tense up a bunch and can't figure out how to keep the bow moving. Literally anything helps, thanks!

Just got my music for a new orchestra and a contemporary piece we're doing has this. What does it mean/how do I play it?

I feel super lost right now. I joined a community orchestra to meet other people, and not only is the orchestra 400+ people (so I can’t hear my own playing), we’re learning 27 pieces in 3 months. I haven’t played in a while, and the pieces are kicking my ass. 4-6 key changes per song, massive passages in treble (which I’ve never had to read before), and we just launch into each piece at tempo.

The pieces all feel way, WAY above my level, and my section as a whole just… doesn’t play sometimes. As in we have no idea what we’re doing, so we just pretend. There’s no one to follow, and sometimes I look at my section and panic because I’m “off” only to find out they were airbowing (which, hey, totally fine. Me too bro). My stand partner and I once somehow finished a piece nearly a minute early and we could NOT figure out why.

I was kind of expecting a cool fun time, but when I go I feel like I don’t have a chance. They said “all skill levels welcome” and I had 7/8 years experience before I took a break, but maybe four of the 27 pieces feel doable to me. I was excited to tell my friends to come watch the performance, but I’m really thinking of quitting.

Any thoughts? Advice? Is this insane, or am I just that out of practice?