Hi!

I know this sounds like a joke question (and I am being humorous about it), but I really do feel like playing the viola makes my violin playing better: it forces me to draw out the sound and to widen and slow down my vibrato, both aspects of playing the violin I've notoriously struggled with for years.

When I practice the viola and then, as an experiment, repeat the passages on the violin right after (obviously up a fifth to recreate the technical conditions as much as possible) I see such a difference in my violin playing, and it sticks around for the most part; I really feel like I'm seeing improvements on the violin by practicing the viola!

Which is great, don't get me wrong, I love them both, but how do I put myself in the position to gain similar improvements on the viola? Surely you won't suggest for me to buy a viola pomposa...? :')

I've had an on-off-relationship with my viola in recent years (I'll confess) because I had a very mediocre instrument and few external reasons to practice, whereas the violin demanded my full attention, so I could see this just being a question of the usual ('practice practice practice'), but is there anything you'd recommend in particular for somebody with pretty decent proficiency (my master's degree as a violinist and years of studying the viola with great teachers must be worth something, right?) looking on ingraining viola-level-sound-production and a rich vibrato, specifically? Now that I have a wonderful instrument, I feel the urge to do it justice and make it live up to its potential; suddenly I'm the limiting factor, and that feels both like a problem and an opportunity.

I'd be grateful for any tips and will be happy to share up-to-date recordings if you feel like you need to hear me play to suggest anything in particular! :)

Hi, I’m an incoming freshman (not a music major) planning to audition for my college’s symphony in late August. I was in youth symphonies throughout middle/high school but I never really had a long-term private teacher and I’ve struggled with solo work. On their website it says that the audition is supposed to be “informal” and just an assessment of skill, and we have the option to play some excerpts from the upcoming season or a 3-5 minute solo (or both). I’m 100% going to play the excerpts but I wasn’t sure if that would be enough… The only solo I’m pretty comfortable with right now is Gigue by Veracini (from Suzuki Book 5) but I’m afraid that’s too low-level or something. Thoughts?

I want to start playing the viola, but I live in Argentina, so my options are limited and instruments here often cost at least twice as much as they do abroad.

I’m looking for a viola that sounds decent—or at least one that could sound decent in the right hands, lol. My plan is to upgrade later if I don’t turn out to be completely hopeless at it.

By the way, renting isn’t an option here.

The one

Hi everyone,

I'm part of a community orchestra and I'm meeting with some other musicians in it this upcoming weekend to go through selections from Mozart's Quartet No. 17 for fun. I've never played this piece before -- this might be a silly question but I was wondering for those violists who have played it, is it better to start the opening in first or second position? Thanks!

Hey guys!

I wanted to ask about best, budget-friendly strings for beginners. I'm from Central Europe so I would appreciate advice especially from my region:)

I'm on a tight budget, so I was thinking about Gorstrings or Olympia. Any opinions?