Exploring the
ORCHESTRA
Viola
Musical Section:
Strings (Instruments that produce sound by means of vibrating strings. Other instruments in this family include: violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, guitar.) . Other instruments in this family: Cello, Double Bass, Harp, Violin
About the Viola
What it looks like
The viola is kind of like the violin’s older brother or sister. The viola looks like a violin but is a little bigger so it can play lower notes It also has four strings tuned a fifth apart: C-G-D-A and it is played with a bow.
It has a richer, deeper sound than the violin. Of course if you’re just learning, it might sound like a cat howling after someone steps on his tail!
While the violin plays the melody in the orchestra, the viola tends to play the harmony.
In a typical orchestra, there are 8-12 violas playing together.
Did you know? Most instruments in the orchestra use either a treble or bass clef to name the notes on the staff. The viola is the only instrument to use alto clef.
How to Play
Mini Maestro
Just like with the violin, you tuck the viola under your chin and press down on the string with the fingers of your left hand. With your right hand, you move the bow across the string to make a note.
Young Maestro
Just like with the violin, you tuck the viola under your chin and press down on the string with the fingers of your left hand. With your right hand, you move the bow across the string to make a note. Moving your finger higher on the fretboard makes a higher note.
String players often move their finger slightly creating movement in the note. This is called vibrato.
Berlioz and the Bag of Gold
Hector Berlioz’s piece Harold in Italy, is unusual because instead of the violin being the star of the show, the viola is. Berlioz wrote it for Niccolò Paganini, a crazy-talented violin player of the time. But when Paganini saw how many rests there were in the score—times when he doesn’t have any notes—he refused to play it.
So another violist played the piece and it became a huge success. The story goes that when Paganini heard it performed, he burst into tears, ran to find Berlioz backstage and threw a bag of gold at Berlioz’s feet! Even better than a five-star Yelp review!
