What’s the difference between a violin and a viola?
Although the violin and viola are similar, they are two different instruments.
The viola is older than the violin! Violas first emerged in the 16th century in Italy (way before violins, which are dated back to the 17th century). The first visual evidence of a viola comes from a famous fresco in the Santuario di Saronno's dome near Milan, dated 1530. In the fresco, we see angels bowing on instruments that roughly resemble the modern-day string family.
The first two viola luthiers were Gaspare da Salo of the Brescia region and Andrea Amati of the Cremona region. At the time, luthiers were experimenting with various stringed instruments, seeking the ideal combination of size, shape, tone, and range. The question of which came first-the violin or viola-has been widely debated, but the clue lies in their names. Violin and violincello (which is Italian for cello) are rooted in the word “viola”.
The range of the string section was created to mimic human voice types. Cellos played the bass line, violas played the alto and tenor, and violins played the soprano. Since the violas played more than one part, there were usually more of them than any other instrument in the orchestra. Oh, how times have changed!
In the modern-day orchestra, violas act as a bridge between the violins and cellos, usually taking a mostly supportive role in adding harmony notes to chords rather than solos or melodic lines.
Size. The viola is bigger than the violin in both length and width. The sizing of violas is also different from that of violins. While violins use fractional sizes (ranging from 1/32 to 4/4), violas use inches, with sizes ranging from 10 inches to 16.5 inches and beyond.
Range. The violin has four strings: E, A, D, and G from highest to lowest. The viola also has four strings, but their pitches are A, D, G, and C from highest to lowest. The viola does not have an E string but instead has a low C string, making it lower in range. The viola and the cello share the same string names, but the cello sounds an octave lower than the viola.
Clef. Violins read in treble clef while violas read in alto clef. Reading alto clef is a unique skill, one that only violas and alto saxophone players need to master! I played a bit of viola in high school and college, and the clef was always myh biggest barrier. The line notes in alto clef are space notes in treble clef, and vice versa, making it a real brain teaser!
Are the violin and viola played in the same way?
Yes and no (and the main reason I say no is so viola players won’t yell at me! Generally, the technique is the same, which is why many players can switch between both the violin and viola. Bow hold, shifting, and vibrato are all done in the same way. However, since violas are bigger and lower, they require a bit more arm weight in order to get a good sound.
