#viola appreciation

[babinicz]

Only sexy people play the viola

[itsaviolathing]

Happy Viola Selfie Day!! 🎻🎶

I’ll put my viola story in a keep reading thingy, because it got really long, whoops haha

I’ve been playing viola for about 3 years now, having played violin for 7 years prior to that. I was first introduced to the viola by my school in February 2013 when they needed me to play it in an orchestra, since they never have enough viola players so usually force random violinists to play viola. My first experience wasn’t great, since I couldn’t read alto clef at all and spent most of the time in that orchestra completely lost, but later that year I was put on viola for my quartet and for another orchestra, and as I learnt to read alto clef I realised I actually really liked playing viola, so I started taking viola lessons in January 2014! From September 2014 I quit violin completely and made viola my first study, and I’ve come so far since then and have loved all the experiences I’ve got from playing viola! 

My viola is called Rowan! I picked out the name first because I really liked it and it seemed to stand out to me when I was looking through lists of names trying to find one that I liked. When I looked into the meaning of the name after, I found that a lot of its meanings are to do with the colour red, which seemed really appropriate since my viola is varnished in ‘deep red’! He was built in 2015 by a luthier called Rod Ward, who built him especially for me. It was really great being able to have a viola built for me, since I was able to ask for specific elements of the sound, I chose the wood for the back and the colour of the varnish, and my teacher specifically requested the size measurements, which means I’ve ended up with a viola which is exactly what I wanted!

(pls enjoy another photo of me and Rowan, I love him, he is fab)

(You may notice that my phone case actually says ‘Viola is my superpower’ on it with an extract from Harold in Italy by Berlioz, because I am that much of a music nerd)

Right now I’m learning Bach’s 4th Cello Suite (transcribed for Viola), Berlioz’s Harold in Italy (which there is a recording of me playing the first movement of here), and the first movement of the York Bowen Viola Sonata! Harold in Italy has been one of my goal pieces pretty much since I started viola and I never thought I’d actually be able to play it, so I’m super excited that I actually performed the first movement of it a couple of weeks back, I feel like that marks a milestone in my viola playing and shows myself just how much progress I’ve made!

This ended up being a longer post than expected lol whoops… Anyway, I hope everyone has a great day, I look forward to seeing and reblogging everyone’s viola pictures and getting to know the tumblr viola community today!

[itsaviolathing]

Compilation of Viola Jokes

I thought I’d post a compilation of viola jokes I’ve been subjected to or have heard in the past, please feel free to add to it!

What’s the difference between a viola and an onion? 
-No one cries when you cut up a viola

What’s the difference between a viola and a trampoline? 
-You take your shoes off to jump on a trampoline

What’s the definition of a semitone?
 -2 violas playing in unison

Why are violas an essential for camping trips? 
-Firewood

How can you tell if a violist is out of tune? -The bow’s moving

What’s the difference between a violist and a pizza? 
-A pizza can feed a family of 4

Why don’t violists play hide and seek?
 -Because no one would look for them

What’s the difference between a violist and a dog? -A dog can stop scratching

How do you keep your things from getting stolen? 
-Put them in a viola case

What’s the similarity between violists and lightning? 
-Both never strike the same place twice

What’s the difference between the first and last desk of the viola section? 
-About a bar and a half

How do you get 2 violists to play in tune? 
-Ask one to leave

What’s something violinists can do better than violists? 
-Play the viola

What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians?
 -A violist

Which type of people are the only people who willing hang out with violists? 
-Deaf people

What’s the difference between a viola and a violin? 
-You can tune a violin

How do you get the viola section to play a passage quietly?
 -Mark the passage ‘solo’

What’s the difference between a violist and a washing machine?
 -Vibrato

What do a viola and a lawsuit have in common?
 -Everyone’s grateful when the case is closed

A man left his viola in the front seat of his car while he went shopping. When he came back, he saw his car had been broken into. On the front seat there were now 2 violas.

Also ‘the ultimate viola joke’ -> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fmxP3qlWDuU
(This is my viola teacher 😂)

And finally, 2 of my favourite violin jokes:
 Why are violas bigger than violins? 
-They’re not, violins just look smaller because violinists heads are bigger

Why are viola jokes so simple? -So violinists can understand them

[cuddlefishing]

I found the sheet music for Moonsetter and it has two viola parts not one but two oh my gosh I can't wait to start learning it violists REJOICE!!!!!!!!!!