If you answered yes to any of those questions (particularly the last one), you might just be a member of the elite group of orchestral players known as violists.
"Violists you say? I think you might have left out an "in" (violinists for all you non-spellers out there)." On the contrary! I speak of the wonderful instrument the viola, and there players, the violists. A viola, for those who don't know, is a wooden, stringed instrument tuned a fifth lower than the violin that is played on the shoulder. For those of you who still don't know, it is a big violin that sounds deeper. If you still have no idea what I am talking about, you are probably on the wrong page.
Before I get too far into this, let me explain something about violists. 99% of violists (maybe a little exaggerated) are wonderful people, but they tend to be a tad defensive of their instrument. What I mean to say is, if you happen to meet one and start bad-mouthing their viola, don't be too surprised when you wake up in the hospital with a minor concussion and splinters in your head. Ok, this is probably not what they would do, they would never want to damage their instrument...
Why does a viola burn longer than a violin? Because it is usually in its case.
What is the difference between a viola and an onion? No one cries when you cut up a viola.
How can you tell the viola is out of tune? The bow is moving.
Why is the viola solo like a bomb? By the time you hear it, it is too late to do anything about it.
While I briefly explained above what a viola is, I am going to delve a little deeper. As you can see from the picture below, the viola (in the back) is significantly large than the violin (around 4 inches longer). The reason for this is so that it can produce the lower tones signature to the viola. When I said the viola is tuned a fifth lower than the violin, I meant that instead of the strings G, D, A, E, the viola has the strings C, G, D, A. In other words, the viola replaced the violin's high E-string with the cello's low C-string. Other than the size and the strings, there is virtually no difference between the two instruments; they are even held the same way. Because of this, many violists are violinists as well.
While the tones that the viola produces are exceptionally beautiful, many people are unable to pick out the viola among the hoard of other musical instruments in an orchestra. In most cases, the viola provides the "backbone" or structure to musical pieces. Because of this, the viola gets lost in the beautiful melodies produced by the other stringed instruments and the power of the brass, percussion, and woodwind sections. Since they are not often heard, violists rarely receive the same kind of praise given to the other sections.
When you compare the blazing fast fingering patterns and the inconceivably large repertoire of violin sheet music to the relatively docile looking viola sheet music, you might decide that the viola is a much easier instrument to play. Coupled with the fact that most people can't hear you anyways, the viola section seems to be the best place to throw all of those violin players of lesser skill. The ludicrousness of this almost boggles my mind. Just because the viola sheet music looks more docile and easier, does not mean this the case. Instead of fast, challenging fingering, viola players have to combat awkward rests/timing, weird intonation, and a part that usually does not make sense with what everyone else is playing.
Many people drawn to the viola because of its supposed simplicity are often immediately turned around when they meet every orchestra players arch nemesis, the alto clef. If you answered yes to the question "Do you read in a language that no one else knows?" you either need to see a doctor, or play the viola. The alto clef is only read by violists, and seems to stump most other players. Indicated by what looks like two backwards c's stacked on top of one another (𝄡), the alto clef presents, in my opinion, one of the best designs for a clef. Unlike the treble clef (𝄞) (which all viola players must be able to read as well), the alto clef marks the middle C in the center of the staff. This might not seem like such a big deal to most of you, but it makes a lot of sense (to me at least).
Considered the most under-appreciated and most ridiculed of all of the orchestral instruments, the viola provides the backbone for orchestra and is a crucial piece of the orchestral machine. One thing that many viola haters do not know is that many of the great composers played the viola and considered it a very important instrument. Some of those violists include Mozart, Brahms, Bach, Beethoven, and Stamitz. Another important fact often left out is that the viola came first, making the violin a small viola, not a viola a large violin. Before you violinists crack another viola joke, please remember that violists are people too, and their instrument is larger and does more damage ;).
I hope at least some of this made sense to you. Even if only one person goes away knowing and appreciating the viola a little bit more, I will still consider this post completely worth it. I am not a music major and do not claim to know everything about the viola (all of my knowledge comes from my 6+ year playing experience), so if I have said something wrong, please let me know.
