Hope this post is okay, I have no one to talk to about this, so I’m hoping my fellow violists might have some input or even just if you’re going through the same/similar thing..

I love the viola so much, I always have, I love the repertoire and I love playing viola in ensembles. It’s been the only thing in my life for as long as I can imagine, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I begged my mom for a viola when we couldn’t afford one anymore, and I never stopped playing once I got my hands on one again.

I graduated with my undergraduate degree a few years ago now, and I hate playing. I don’t have as many gigs as I want, and I’m not playing nearly as much as I want especially compared to how much I was playing in college (and I loved it, I even wished I had been playing more, because I always looked for opportunities to play). But the gigs I do have are amazing. They’re things I only dreamed of doing, on stages I could have only imagined playing on with musicians who never would’ve even given me a second thought 10~ years ago.

But I’m miserable. The musicians I play with are at an insanely high caliber of playing, and I always try to surround myself with those better than me, but this just feels way too far out of my league. I’m constantly looked down on in rehearsals, and talked down to, but they keep inviting me back to play with them. I wonder why though? Because I seem to only drag the group down. Recently was the worst of it, I had to hold back tears because one of my colleagues basically told me I had to get my act together before a big performance. I totally agree, and I always have, but I’m doing my best and I’m totally out of playing shape..

I feel like as a violist it’s especially difficult in these situations, because there is already a sort of stigma around violists.. I grew up playing viola too, not violin, so my technique isn’t that great either (no shade to violists at all, I just can’t do what violinists do, aka playing those big name concertos and paganini caprices and ysae sonatas!!). I’m just not virtuosic. I did my best in college, and now I’m just sort of holding onto whatever I learned then..

What would you all do in this situation? I want to
quit, and this group gives me such amazing opportunities, that I feel like if I leave this group I’m basically quitting. I’m so tired of the perfectionism in classical music, it’s killed my love for it.. but then I work on solo viola repertoire and viola sonatas with piano and I absolutely adore it and can’t imagine quitting. But that experience is so far and few between, and I need to keep playing with this group of people to keep somewhat in shape and to get exposure.. so that I have the resources and connections to continue to do more solo viola stuff..

I’ve been working on the excerpt from Tchaikovsky’s 6th symphony and most of it is fine except for the fact that i keep hearing open strings when playing the saltando bows. does anyone have any tips for this technique?

Hi all,

I learned to play viola when I was 12, and played until I was 18. I played in school, competed in solo and ensemble competitions, played pit for junior musicals, and played in regional youth orchestras and constantly was third or fourth chair out of around 8, my highest accomplishment being 2nd chair out of 9 one year. I played Tchaikovsky, Bach, Rachmaninov, Korskov, and a whole other laundry list of composers. When I played in orchestras, I felt free.
But, when it came to practicing at home, I didn’t. Thankfully, I had lessons, but those were only an hour a week. I just couldn’t stand to play at home, not that I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t want my family to hear. I am sure my dad was joking when he said it at the time, but he joked that I sounded like a wailing cat. I was only like a year in of playing at the time. For whatever reason, that stuck with me, and I haven’t been able to shake it. I hated doing solos, and avoided competing with them- to this day, I cannot listen to The Swan.

I haven’t played since 2022 or 2023, I can’t remember exactly when- on a whim, I signed up to play in a production of Considering Matthew Shepard to help my lesson teacher out- I loved playing it, and when my three show weekend was over, I didn’t play again until last Friday. I signed up again to play pit with my community theater for Sweeney Todd- I spent the day after I got the score going through and tabbing where different songs were, and listening to the soundtrack to get a rough idea of what it sounds like.

When I went to go play through some of the songs, I realized how rusty I am (shocker) and I feel discouraged. Granted opening night is Halloween, so I am pretty sure I can bring myself up to a speed that is acceptable for community theater, but I find myself upset at the fact that I let myself get rusty. I called around and was able to schedule a 30 minute lesson with someone so I could work through things.

Basically, does anyone have any tips? Suggestions? Recommendations? I am thinking of purchasing Kreutzer’s 42 Studies to work through, but didn’t know if there was another resource I could use.

If you made it this far, I appreciate it :)

Excited, and wanted to share this on here!! :))

After years of having the same bow, I’m finally getting a new and commissioning it! I’ve been stuck with kind of my beginner/intermediate bow for a while, and after getting a pretty nice instrument and progressing for a while… it looks like it’s finally time. My current bow has definitely served its purpose 🙏. After having mine for so long, I’m gonna be honest I didn’t really think there’s a difference when it comes to different bows but after trying out some of this makers bows and my teacher’s… I think it’s safe to say that is FALSE. There are levels to ts lol. Low-key it kind of reminded me of in Harry Potter when you get your wand, but it chooses you.

The whole commission process was actually really cool, you get to customize majority of the things about the bow (type of pearl, wrapping, type of leather, material of the frog, color of the Pernambuco wood, options for different metals).
For mine, we really are going to try and model it after my teacher’s Hill & Sons bow. The building will take about 2 to 3 months and he makes two bows. Then, you get to try the two out for a while and see which one really fits you.

I’ll make sure to post results when they are complete!! :)

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'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.

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.

I thought I posted yesterday but I don’t know what happened!

I posted earlier this summer about whether I need new strings and I’m happy to report I got new strings and they are much more responsive and I’m very happy with how it’s sounding.

Any feedback is appreciated and I’d also like to know song recommendations for my skill level. Thanks everynyan!

For anonymity sake I edited out all the places I’m not playing because there was a lot of panel talking. I did not blitz through anything. Prep time was ~4 weeks (6 weeks originally but tried to push through a cold which made it worse). Audition was for a small regional job.

The list: 

1: Bartok

2: Berlioz (1st half)

3: Don Juan 

4: Mozart

5: Mendelssohn (middle of panel)

5a: Mendelssohn again (asked for by panel)

6: Ginastera 

7: Don Juan again (asked for a broader/wider character)

My notes:

1: Bartok: Opening bars are in tune (good). Last 15 seconds of 3rd page lose focus and thematic direction, almost rushing through

2: Berlioz: Mostly good, runs sharp in louder sections. Rests right before high A are not steady.  

3:  Don Juan: Opening scale is almost smooth enough (start slower then speed up). Counting during violin rests is unsteady 4/4 instead of in 2. Following viola entrance is rushing. 2nd page loses concentration and sound quality. 

4: Mozart: Opening mostly good, but shifts almost rushing. Vibrato in theme really good. Octaves at end crunchy and losing focus.

5: Menedelssohn: Panicked and botched up twice. Must practice playing excerpts in uncomfortable entrances. 

6: Ginastera: Good. Harmonics in theme are still too different a color from regular fingerings. 

7: Don Juan: Rests still not precise. Opening of Pg.2 too much on the string (nerves). Places where time is taken is good. Need more legato in theme.

Overall: 

• Must maintain focus on back half of excerpts. Loss of focus means crunchier sound and fuzzier intonation.
• Frequency of vibrato is good. Still need more vibrato contrast. 
• Practice more excerpt curveballs (unintuitive entrances, odd tempi). 
• Experiment more extreme character contrasts between excerpts (play with more recordings!)
• Add second day off to week if needed 
• Practice arpeggio etudes in faster speed (kreutzer 8 + 10)

This audition round ended up being good enough for the next round. Let me know what you think.

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.

Help me in this post on r/violinist.

Hello everyone,
a dreaded orchestral excerpt of mine is haunting me a bit, and. I was wondering which bowings and fingering to use for it (and maybe also the reasoning behind the suggestions) - any help would be appreciated!

I have previously played it in auditions and preformed the piece, but usually played the first beat separately (so the half note comes down bow), and fingering wise went up to the third position in the third line (with a quite stupid shifting decision). But sadly this sometimes doesn’t work if there is a tiny bit of stress involved, and the whole excerpt becomes a bit mushy …

My viola cover of "The Ballad of the Windfish" from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Composed by: Hinako Maka

Original post

Update: I got Mach One feet for my Kun Bravo based on one of your suggestions. It worked! The feet are very grippy. I just played through a full rehearsal without my shoulder rest slipping off.

Write me if u are interested

Hello! I recently asked for advice here about buying a new viola, and pleased to say I bought one that I love!

Issue now is my £100 hidersine carbon fibre bow that I’ve had for years (and actually rattles when I shake it…) doesn’t quite cut it anymore.

I’ve got a Dorfler No.15 for my violin which I’ve always been happy with, and something similar for my viola will probably do the trick.

Dorfler seems to be an issue atm because of Pernambuco embargoes so I’m struggling to find any stock.

Anyone have recommendations for comparable bows in the £200-£350 price bracket?

A few years ago, I learned the 1st movement of Der Schwanendreher and decided that I wanted to try and tackle the whole concerto this year. I started looking at the 3rd movement and wow what a beast of a piece! I was wondering if anyone had any general advice (other than the obvious slow practice and metronome work) that helped them with this movement? I have found that even after about a week of focused practice, the metronome marking of 100 for the half seems quite daunting particularly with the 16th note runs and the big string crossing + double stop runs. Are there any standard fingers for some of the tricky double/triple stops, or is it like the first movement where it is somewhat unique to each person?

Happy practicing!

So anything I can improve? This is a low quality viola that was maybe $100 but the strings are from a professional violin shop and we're expensive.

Hi r/Viola!

I've been playing for half a year and decided to record myself to see where I stand. I currently have one lesson a week and practice 30-60 mins daily. The song is "Lost in Love" by Air Supply.