Viola

I bought a viola. It was time. My new viola A viola is like a violin, but the strings are tuned C, G, D, A, where a violin’s strings are G, D, A, E, making a viola a fifth lower. In a string ensemble, like a quartet or string orchestra, its function is that of the alt/contralto in a choir, the first voice "under" the soprano. Indeed, in Dutch, the instrument is called altviool. In German, it's called a bratsche, after the sound it makes when you accidentally sit on one. Its default key is different too. Where violin parts use a G key, viola parts mostly use a C key, and occasionally the G key in higher fragments. The same note (C) in a C (viola) and a G (violin) key The shiny instrument in the picture above is built in 2009 by Jay Haide. It was bought by someone living in the greater Amsterdam area who had received violin lessons as a kid, but never continued playing since. He told me that during the Corona pandemic, like so many of us, he was looking for a new hobby and bought this…