im 16 and ive been playing flute for 7 years and just recently took up the violin, but im having troubles with the fingerings. i cant figure out where to put my fingers and which notes belong to the fingerings. so far i haven`t been able to find anyone or anything to teach me this. if anyone has some good info for me on that that would be great. thanx.

You should probably get a teacher, at least for a little while, as they can teach you the basics better than you can teach yourself.

im 13 and in the eigth grade and ive been first chair as long as i remember.....but in 6th grade their was 6 in seventh there was 4 and now their is two including me!!!!!
ANd the other girl doesn`t practice at all.... i took a survey in our library and 3 4ths of our area dont know what a viola is.....I love viola!!!!!!!!!!! I just cant think of any ways tto get more!!!!

violas are the best!!
there are so few because everyone is jealous of how good we are!!

I`m thinking about coming over to the viola side but I`m worried about contorting my arm and hand after being in a relatively "normal" position on the cell0....does anyone have any thoughts?

hi..im from Venezuela and i have played the piano since forever, but started seriously about two years ago...this year i had to choose between studying music or becoming an engineer..im not proud of my decision, but im becoming an engineer...(sorry if my english is not so good..i speak spanish)..ive been going to the university for a few months already, and i cant stand to be away from music so long.. the only thing i can do is join the universiti orquesta, and they dont need a piano, just cembalo in special ocations.so i decided i wanted to play the viola.. it was the one that called my atention the most...but i know nothing about it...i love the piano, but now i have to choose between viola or nothing (here universities are not like in the usa... i have to wake up at 6. am every morning for a two hour trip all the way from my home to the university...and stay there till 6. o`clock...so i arrive home at 8. pm and have to study...theres not any accesible piano were i study...so i can never practice..if i played the viola i could take it there and practice with the orquesta or in my free time)...i have no idea of were should i start...firs i have to convince my dad..who is still mad because i dont study music...but then..how do i start? can i learn alone? what kind of viola should i buy? and is it too hard to swith from piano?...im kind of desperate, so if anyone could answer fast ill be very thankfull!

bye!

hi..im from Venezuela and i have played the piano since forever, but started seriously about two years ago...this year i had to choose between studying music or becoming an engineer..im not proud of my decision, but im becoming an engineer...(sorry if my english is not so good..i speak spanish)..ive been going to the university for a few months already, and i cant stand to be away from music so long.. the only thing i can do is join the universiti orquesta, and they dont need a piano, just cembalo in special ocations.so i decided i wanted to play the viola.. it was the one that called my atention the most...but i know nothing about it...i love the piano, but now i have to choose between viola or nothing (here universities are not like in the usa... i have to wake up at 6. am every morning for a two hour trip all the way from my home to the university...and stay there till 6. o`clock...so i arrive home at 8. pm and have to study...theres not any accesible piano were i study...so i can never practice..if i played the viola i could take it there and practice with the orquesta or in my free time)...i have no idea of were should i start...firs i have to convince my dad..who is still mad because i dont study music...but then..how do i start? can i learn alone? what kind of viola should i buy? and is it too hard to swith from piano?...im kind of desperate, so if anyone could answer fast ill be very thankfull!

bye!

i love the viola,i play it too. i got music yesterday and my violin friend said shed bet money that violas would not get any melodies. she said the orchestra could live without them! i yelled, then we got melody in phantom of the opera, but not any others.

ah yes. i am in the same orchestra at the same school and that stupid karen said that the violas wouldnt get melody because we are too low!! now is it just me or is the majority of phantom of the opera that dramatic bass/alto stuff? that soundtrack wouldnt be the same w/o the violas and cellos (bass too of course) but it wouldnt b so bad if there wasnt that squeaky violin stuff!!! its supposed to be dramatic, not pretty!! grrr karen.

I am a proud violist. I think more people should play. Its a truly beatiful instrument. In my school`s orchestra, the violas and bass are played the least. The bass is also another wonderful instrument.

Good violists can get come super scholarships, also! Go VIOLISTS!
Katie
http://www.folkfiddle.com

Really, who does play the viola? I don`t think that anybody selects the viola. People, unfortunately, are picked to play the viola because there are too many violins, and violas are needed. To tell you the truth, the viola is required for a quartet or chamber orchestra to fill out the missing details or spaces. Unfortunately, that is about as much credit as it gets. The viola deserves much more attention.

Look at the love a viola gets: Telemann maybe one or two concertos for violas (the other Boroque types may offer somtehing); the late 19th and early 20th century composers offer a little something to the viola.

I love the viola, too, since I was a kid. I promised myself, about 25 years ago (I`m an ancient 43 years old), that one day that I would take up the viola and I have. After playing several years of painful brass intruments (trumpent, french horn, baritone) took up the viola. Had no idea that there was such a thing as an alto clef (sp?). As things go, I started playing the viola about two months ago, and I love it, even every mistake. It gets better every time I practice. The more one practices, the more forgiving the instrument becomes. I am renting an old Scherl and Roth, and I`m going to buy it, regardless - it`s become a friend.

As things go, the viola will rise from the ashes and will assume its noble place in the orchestra, and all will give herald to the instrument brings harmony to the violin and the cello.

i hate how everyone down plays the viola. if the composers would just take advantage of the mello quality of the viola then more people would appreciate the viola more, and the viola to get noticed more. like when people ask what i play, i say viola then they are like,"you mean the violin" and that makes me angry how the viola is so often overlooked. i play bass too and its kinda the same with the viola, never the melody always the harmony, and people think its a cello too when im carrying at school. well thats about it for my reply.

well about the violas getting the melody. not only did bach prefer to play the viola, but he made brandenburg 6 a viola on melody piece, in fact there is no violin part.

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