Viola

The voice between the outer parts

The viola was born together with the violin. Makers in sixteenth-century northern Italy, among them Andrea Amati of Cremona, built instruments of several sizes so that a whole consort of similar voices could play together, and the viola was the middle member. The names were not stable at first. Italian terms such as viola da braccio, meaning viol for the arm, separated these instruments from the leg-held viols, and early violas appeared in larger tenor and smaller alto sizes.

Through the eighteenth century the viola was often treated as a filler. Orchestral parts frequently had it double the cellos or supply harmony that composers considered less interesting than the tune. A few works gave it more. Bach's sixth Brandenburg Concerto, from about 1721, removes the violins altogether and places two violas in the lead, and Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante of 1779 sets one against a solo violin on equal terms.

The instrument's fortunes changed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Hector Berlioz wrote Harold in Italy in 1834 with a prominent solo viola part, and in the twentieth century composers including Béla Bartók, whose viola concerto of 1945 was left unfinished at his death, and performers who championed new works built a substantial concert literature. The viola's standing as a solo instrument thus came later than the violin's.

A compromise between size and sound

Physics asks for a bigger box than a player can hold. To sound a fifth below a violin with equal power, a viola would need a body considerably longer than it is. Makers settle for compromise. Adult violas commonly measure somewhere between 38 and 43 centimetres in body length, against about 35.5 for a violin, and there is no single standard, which is why sizes are given in inches or centimetres rather than fractions.

The materials and structure are those of the violin: a spruce top, a maple back, ribs and neck, an ebony fingerboard, a bass bar, a soundpost and a carved bridge. An Edinburgh viola of 1779 by the English maker Richard Duke has a spruce top and a sycamore back, neck and scroll. The strings are commonly of gut, synthetic or steel core, and the lower ones are usually wrapped in metal to add mass. The bow is typically a little heavier than a violin bow.

Why the viola sounds dark

Listeners often describe the viola as warm, veiled or slightly nasal. The usual explanation is the mismatch just described: the body resonates higher, relative to the open strings, than it would in a proportionally scaled instrument, so the lowest notes have a husky edge rather than a booming fullness. Thicker strings, which respond more slowly to the bow, add to the impression of weight and depth.

That character makes the viola a blending instrument. Orchestral writers note that it combines especially well with the clarinet and bassoon, and in a quartet it can soften the boundary between the violins above and the cello below. The instrument can also project a clear and moving solo line. The Edinburgh Duke viola is described by the museum as warm, dark and very responsive, a good summary of how the instrument is generally heard.

Reading in the alto clef

The open strings sound C3, G3, D4 and A4, exactly a perfect fifth below the violin's, and one orchestra gives the working range as roughly 130 hertz to 1.8 kilohertz, or from C3 to near A6. Composers usually keep the viola in the lower and middle part of this range, where the tone is fullest, but high notes are well within reach of a good player.

Most viola music is written in the alto clef, a C clef whose centre line is middle C. This places the instrument's characteristic range on the staff with few ledger lines, where a treble or bass clef would need many. For high passages the notation switches to treble clef. Reading both is a skill violists must master, and among standard orchestral instruments the viola is the one that routinely uses the alto clef.

More arm weight, wider reach

Viola technique follows the violin's, but the larger body asks more of the player. Fingers must stretch across a longer string length, the left arm reaches further, and the bow is drawn with greater weight and a slower speed to set the thick strings into motion. Players often describe a deeper contact with the string than on a violin, with a bow arm that pulls rather than skims.

Many violists begin on violin and change later, so sizing and setup matter. Chin rests, shoulder rests and string heights are adjusted to the player's frame, and some players choose smaller instruments for comfort. Vibrato is usually slower and wider than on the violin. The viola can play the full range of bowed and plucked effects, including double stops, harmonics and pizzicato, but its slower response means fast passages require careful articulation.

Cousins with the same name

The word viola covers several instruments, so context is important. The viola d'amore, popular in the eighteenth century, has six or seven bowed strings plus sympathetic strings that vibrate in response; a Tyrolean example in Edinburgh has six bowed and six sympathetic strings. The viola da gamba, a bowed and fretted instrument held between the knees, belongs to a separate family. The five-string viola adds a high E string, and electric violas use pickups.

In Brazil and Portugal, viola also names plucked, guitar-like instruments, such as the Brazilian viola caipira with its doubled strings, which differ from the bowed instrument in design and function. In the violin family, the viola sits between the Violin and the Cello, and all three share construction and techniques. Many historical violas are larger tenor instruments that were later cut down, while others are of the smaller alto type.

Inner voice, solo voice

A standard symphony orchestra has about ten to twelve violas, seated together, in a position that varies with the conductor's seating plan. They supply the inner harmony that gives a string chord its body, and they often share rhythmic patterns with the second violins. A viola section may also carry a melody in a slower, dark-toned passage where a violin would sound too bright.

In chamber music, the viola is indispensable in the string quartet and in piano quartets and quintets, where its middle position matters. Solo repertoire includes concertos, sonatas and unaccompanied suites from the twentieth century onward, and many violists also play new commissions. In folk settings the Violin is far more common than the viola, though viola-sized fiddles are played in some regions.

Choosing, fitting and keeping

Because violas vary in size, fit is the first concern for players. A body that is too large can cause tension in the shoulder and left arm, and a teacher or violin maker can help assess length, string length and weight in relation to the player's reach. Shoulder rests and chin rests are chosen to support the instrument without muting its vibrations.

Day-to-day care follows the pattern for other bowed strings. Rosin dust is wiped from strings and the top with a soft cloth, the bow hair is slackened after use, and the instrument is kept in a padded case away from heat, direct sun and abrupt humidity changes. A seam that opens or a soundpost that falls needs a trained repairer. Strings, especially the heavy lowest string, are replaced when they go dull or false.

Notes and oddities

• The Duke viola of 1779 in Edinburgh was bought by the museum in 1855, and counterfeit instruments were later made in its maker's name.
• In Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, the solo viola part is written in D major for strings tuned a semitone higher, so that it sounds in E-flat, which is commonly said to give a brighter tone.
• Bach's sixth Brandenburg Concerto has no violins; its upper parts are taken by two violas.
• The alto clef is also used by the alto trombone, but the viola is its most regular orchestral user.

Terms used in this entry

alto clef

A C clef placing middle C on the centre line of the staff, used mainly for viola music.

alto viola

A smaller historical viola size, suited to higher viola parts.

C clef

A family of clef signs that show where middle C sits on the staff; alto and tenor clefs are two positions of it.

double stop

Bowing two strings at once to sound two notes together.

scordatura

Tuning the strings to unusual pitches to alter the sound or make a passage easier.

sympathetic string

A string that is not played but vibrates in response to other notes, adding resonance.

tenor viola

A larger historical viola size, pitched like the modern viola but built with a longer body.

viola d'amore

A bowed string instrument with sympathetic strings that resonate beneath the played ones.

viola da braccio

Italian for viol of the arm; a term used for the violin family, as opposed to the leg-held viols.

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References

1. Philharmonia Orchestra. Viola | Philharmonia. philharmonia.co.uk/resources/instruments/viola
2. University of Edinburgh, St Cecilia’s Hall. "Viola." — St Cecilia's Hall (Richard Duke, 1779). collections.ed.ac.uk/stcecilias/record/96008
3. University of Edinburgh, St Cecilia’s Hall. "Viola d'amore" — St Cecilia's Hall. collections.ed.ac.uk/stcecilias/record/96014
4. Google Arts & Culture (Museo del Violino, Cremona). Two centuries of Cremonese violinmaking — Google Arts & Culture. artsandculture.google.com/story/two-centuries-of-cremonese-violinmaking-museo-del-violino/xQVxAhr8seMBKg?hl=en
5. Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), Phoenix. See a Rare Andrea Amati Violin in MIM’s Europe Gallery | Musical Instrument Museum. mim.org/news/see-a-rare-andrea-amati-violin-in-mims-europe-gallery

Sources were consulted for facts and context; the text is original. See Sources and Methodology.