Hello lovely string players!

I'm in a severe dillema... which one to chose... violin? viola? cello?

First of all I play 5 woodwinds, 1 brass, and piano, and I'm definite that I want to play a string instrument next.

I'm still not sure of the price range, for the beginner instruments here in Canada, and I see that there are very cheap ones on the internet. I wouldn't mind one of those "Florea" "Bellafina" ones on WWBW, if they are playable...

This is what I think about the instruments...

Violin - Beautiful, perhaps a bit high as in range for me, although I wouldn't mind it at all, I just prefer low sounds. Not so expensive for a beginner one? Of course, transportation is great, easy to go to lessons.

Viola - Amazing, lovely sound... Ideal for me, but I'm not quite sure of the pitch? Is it like an english horn to an oboe and tuned a perfect fifth or something down than violin? I'm not sure if I would be able to find alot of music, correct me if I am wrong!

Cello - Brilliant. Just awed... the price and size hits me hard though. I have the large hands, if that is one thing you need to play, but it would be tough to carry to lessons, and I would be worried if I dont have a hardshell case, I might bash the neck and break it off...

Doublebass - Everyone loves doublebass. Just that there is no chance I will be able to play that. I'll just stay with fiddling the 3/4 size one at school.

My budget would probably be $1000~$1200, so cello isn't IMPOSSIBLE, but of course, viola and violins are more nice to my budget. The budget will consist of my saved up money of around $600, which I plan to have saved by the end of June, and some support from my dad.

I would LOVe any responses from you guys, since I I am seriously considering playing stringed instruments, but bear in mind, that I don't plan to become a professional or anything, just for personal enjoyment!

Thanks!

P.S., I posted this in the violin forum because there is no string forum and no one is on the cello forum and viola forum seems to have less activity than here!

i think you should play the violin. the viola and cello sound beautiful, but i havent seen many solo viola pieces. nor many cello ones. those instruments (in ensemble music) usually dont play the melody, thats pretty much up to violins. you could get a nice 100-200 dollar violin for begginers that works rather nicely.

i havent seen many solo viola pieces. nor many cello ones.

Well, I must disagree with this.

Pick the instrument whose sound that you enjoy the most, since you will be hearing it a lot. Don't worry about the availability of solo pieces....there's a ton for cello and viola, some are written specifically for the instrument and others are transcribed for it.

Another consideration: there are far fewer viola players than violin or cello players. So a good violist is in demand.

Take a look at www.violinslover.com. They sell Gliga instruments at many different price levels.

VaLV, thanks a lot... I'm seriously considering viola... I love the range!

If I was to chose viola, what size do you think I should chose? I do have fairly large shoulders, and a bit of a long neck... if that information helps at all...

The size of the viola is not standardized (like the violin) so there are many different opinions on what the best size is.

In general terms, I think a larger viola sounds better, but sound quality can vary from viola to viola. Try as many different ones as you can to hear the diffence. But I think that you will see that, on average, a bigger viola has a deeper and more resonant tone. Consider getting the largest one that you can comfortably play.

Violas 15.5" body length or smaller are considered small. Average is 16" - 16.5" and above 16.5" is large.

Arm length is the usually the limiting factor in finding the right size viola.

I found a source on the web that describes a measurement to use as a guide to find the right size viola: measure length between your neck and the top of your left-hand palm when your left arm is fully extended and raised perpendicular to your body, just like holding a viola. The top of your palm is where your palm connects with the fingers and not where the palm connects with the wrist.

length in inches/viola size
24.5" / 15"
26" / 16"
27.5" / 17"

I play a 16.5" viola. My measurement is 28.5" (I am 5'10" tall).

This is a guide only and nothing is better than actually trying the instruments on for size.

I hope this helps.

Thanks again!
I'm not sure how many violas I'll be able to try, but I'll look my best!