I myself is a Violinist, but I'm extremely interested in the Viola; why is their a competition between Violin and Viola? They're both beautiful instruments.
I play the violin. I personally love the violin because I love the pitch. however, viola sounds really nice and deep, similar to cello which I like. I'm just wondering why there has to be competition between violin and viola. (please give me a real answer ) for example don't say "because viola is better" I want to know WHY viola is better.
The viola is a bit too small for its acoustic range. To be properly acoustically balanced, as its violin counterpart, it would need to be a 21" body, rendering it unplayable in the shoulder position, whereas the violin's perfect size is 14" and that is the standard full size violin. Since 21"is too big for human sized arms, luthiers have to compensate on size for tone. The typical violist uses a 16-16.5" viola, with 17" not being terribly unheard of. That said, with the smaller size, violists deal with this "harmonic imbalance" making the instrument rather tempermental when it comes to tone and intonation. A proper violists use this to bring character to the instrument and rather than thinking of it making the viola worse, it should be thought of as a unique challenge for the musician to move through.
Jaye Curry I don't think any instrument is better than any other. I love Viola because of the lower pitch. I love listening to violin but not personally play the instrument. I think it was the violinists in orchestras that started this thing against violists as violists are hidden away in the orshestra and given bit parts to play meanwhile violins are up front and shine. I am learning that there are many viola jokes out there. The general public does not know what a Viola is
I the French horn and every time I play at a football game I have to play the mellophone. Which is the stupid cousin of the trumpet. Or the inbred child of the trumpet and French horn.
Man violas sound great but they look gigantic in comparison to the violin. Makes it seem like it ought to be stood upright like a cello on your thigh or something. Hehe.
I'm 76 and learning violin, but looking forward to being accomplished enough to then get to my real goal which is playing Viola. I think Violas have the most beautiful sound of the strings. ciao.
It is so very gracious and generous of you to offer help to other musicians. So many musicians are jealous, competitive and territorial, because of the competition for positions in the orchestras. It is so refreshing especially to see a master freely offer help to others. I hope this is the wave of the future because the school system cuts have so negatively impacted music education, If pros don't help, there won't be a next generation. Thank you so much and your playing is so beautiful!
This is not a criticism at all, but this guy looks like he's torn between helping anonymous budding musicians and making "the man" a shit ton of money in some business scheme thought up by some freaking google team member. I love his humor and appreciate his input, which I have passed along to the viola player in my string quartet. And hey, if I read you right, I feel ya, bro!
@violinGeEkz The first day i found out about Vibrato i got it within a minute. I had already played relaxed, so it wasn't that hard. When i do Vibrato i don't really use my wrists, i focus more on moving my fingers in the one place.
Step 1: Acquire viola. Step 2: Legally change your surname to 'Clef'. Step 3: Have kid and name him 'Alto'. Step 4: When he is 12, give him the viola. Step 5: ??? Step 6: Profit. (Yes, I am aware that there is someone at the SCP Foundation called Alto Clef)
I have a question for Paul Silverthorne... I really liked his recommendations on Bach. Still, what does he recommend for playing for example Bach's compositions for viola da gamba in viola? I've been studying Sonata n.3 for viola da gamba, but I see several interpretations for that. Would like to read more about his opinion on that specific music. Also would like to hear from him if he has any special recommendation for playing adapted viola da gamba repertoire.
Great masterclass - we are so lucky to be able to access this. There are some really useful tips about how to approach spiccato bowing with illustrations as examples - Thank you Paul Silverthorne!
Great playing, but he looks like he might have some hand problems because his vibrato is shaky and uneven, particularly in Don Juan. In fact, the Don Juan could've been better (even Martin Stegner's masterclass for the Berlin Philharmonic was a bit iffy, but better than this), as his fingerings were a bit difficult and awkward. You would think members of the LSO and BPO would be flawless. He can play all of this better than me, however, so I can't say much, can I?
I got a question. I'm going to join orchestra soon for people who has no experience playing stringed instruments. The viola sounds lovely but I also want to play violin. Does the viola and violin have same notes? Please reply! :)
RU-vid symphony orchestra? I had no idea such a thing existed until seeing this here video tonight. So just now I looked "RU-vid symphony orchestra" up in Wikipedia. Very interesting. Look it up.
i dont play the viola,because i cannot get one and everyone thinks ill just quit on it.but how could anyone quit on something that sounds so beautiful?
Thats not a viola, he is a giant and has tucked a cello under his chin! Ha Ha Great playing one of the best you will find! I think the sound is awesome.
If it's anything like violin, it wasn't too tough for me. It just takes a little bit of practice. What I did was start out moving your fingers left and right repeatedly, slowly. Then, speed it up a bit. Hopefully the LSO will respond as they are a whole lot better than I am. But, I thought I'd at least try!
It should come from your wrist and hand. I've heard a lot about arm vibrato and personally I think it's a load of crap. I've never seen any serious musicians using arm vibrato. Your entire left arm should be very relaxed and you should not be gripping the neck of the viola too tightly. If you need help holding it up, get a shoulder rest if you don't already have. That alleviated my problems. After that, just practice! It will develop slowly and naturally over about a year normally.
What a wonderful and helpful video! Thank you very much! Though I am confused. He went into the minor section of the Stamitz viola concerto however the excerpt goes only to first section of the major...are to go on?
Hi I have 11 years I've been studying viola when I was 7 years or so I am very interested, is my passion and I play better orchestra Curico Chile ay also be many languages English, French portuges, German, Chinese, etcetera
The sound is hard just because you play the whole hand and the forearm should be only with the movement down as well and be sure the top. ease the sensation of free bow brush all that well but only at the basic movement of the forearm. On their own movement in the brush and paltsem not stable and can not give 100 prottsentny control.
The violin has a higher set of strings, being G, D, A, and E. The viola's lowest string is a fifth lower than the violin's, so its strings are C, G, D, and A. Also, the viola is slightly bigger with a more mellow sound. :)
@Bratsche2000 I think he was just giving overall advice on playing it in an audition. It was mainly for choosing a tempo that works for the entire movement.
