3rd position 4th finger



only any higher hurts my ears

I think if you get a good violist, you can let the viola go high. It sounds a bit different but on a good viola and with a good player it soonds good, but please not for too long!

At least until now. Let`s take it one step at a time. The E above the top ledger line in treble clef is one octave above the E played by the fourth finger (pinky) on the A-String. This is the highest note you can play in first position on a standard viola. Now, if we go an octave higher, we should go to eighth position. Since we need to flatten it to e-flat (and since the spacing between notes gets narrower and narrower) I would play it in seventh position and reach a tiny bit above D which would be normally played by the fourth finger in seventh position.

It`s a pretty hard note to play exactly on pitch as is everything in the seventh position. For one thing, unlike the violin, the viola`s body gets into the way of normal hand positioning so the thumb will no longer wrap around the neck. The position will often be reached by moving the hand over the viola`s body much like a cellist does to reach his higher positions. Furthermore, its difficult to press hard enough so that the string touches the fingerboard thus providing a pure note. If you don`t press hard enough, you`ll play harmonics that make a whistle-like sound. That sound might be "cool" to your ears.

Fourth finger, third position would be how you`d play that note on a VIOLIN using its e-string.

You didn`t answer correctly either; the viola can at least play a fourth higher than the e``` above the treble clef, up to the a```. It`s true that you don`t often need to use that high range, but you should be able to as some works require it.
Also, the question the person originally asked doesn`t really have an answer. What sounds "good" depends on the violist`s ability and the listener`s taste. According to my taste I think the viola loses it`s beauty of tone at around a#```, though it really depends on the player.

Theoretically speaking, a stringed instrument can go as high as you want it to. The shorter the string is, the higher the fundamental frequency. You could leave a millimetre of space in between the bridge and your finger, and it would still produce a note. Not a very loud one, granted, but it will still be there.

Thomas

I`ve heard that argument before, but it doesn`t really factor in bow hair width and fingerboard length. In order to get a really good sound ( not including the open string and harmonics ) you need to have your finger on the fingerboard. Most fingerboards end around e```` or f```` on the viola. I find that with a lot of pressure you can make an "artificial fingerboard" above that. The highest note I can get with that is about c#`````, though it only sounds okay in pianissimo, anything louder is just a screech. The highest harmonic I can get is b`````` from b````, though it`s so high it`s rather hard to hear.

PS: I`m not reccomending composers use the above mentioned notes; they`re extremely awkward to play!

The question was whether a viola could play the e-flat and not whether it can play a fourth higher.

I do agree that it would sound pretty awful if played loudly.

As far as playing infinitely higher, it is physically impossible unless the string was infinitely thin. Each note shortens the string by 1/17th of its previous length. There would be an extreme when the string would not be free to vibrate. Anybody know at what point that would be? I would hazard that it would have to be when the string`s length is less than some multiple of its thickness. Would it be two times the thickness?

Ive found that a good viola can speak well on the C at the very top of the A string (with a good player)
Howerver holding these notes for any length of time is not recommended as thye generally have a low tone quality and vibrato is not possible without severely changing the note. However the Eb you mentionend does not seem too bad. Hoffmeister goes higher. Anyways just make sure the other viola isnt playin an E naturel.

gosh i cant spell worth crap
sorry guys lol