Violin And Viola Research Paper

462 Words2 Pages
Ah, the violin; the lovely, stringed instrument that dazzles with its high pitched notes and sound. However, when one looks more closely at the army of instruments that they call an orchestra, one will find the violas between the cellos and the violins. Though the viola is constantly being mistaken for violins, which is a problem for most violists, it is easy to see why they are so easily mistaken for each other. The violin and the viola look extremely similar. Both have four strings, have the same shape, and share the same parts, such as the chin rest. They both require a shoulder rest and a bow to play. They also both tend to be made by hand, especially if it is a high quality instrument. However, this is essentially where the similarities between these two instruments end. First of all, the viola is larger than the violin. The viola also has longer and thicker strings than the violin, which makes a deeper sound than the violin can produce. Though they both have four strings, they only have three in common: the G string, the D string, and the A string. The viola has a C string, which is its lowest note, and the violin has an E string, which is its highest note. To make sound on either of these instruments, one has to pluck the strings or drag a bow across the strings. The bow that the violin and viola use is…show more content…
Or, more specifically, how they play and what their clef is. The violin has a treble clef on their sheet music, while the viola has an alto clef, which is also known as a viola clef. Also, because the viola has thicker strings than the violin, a violist has to use the pads of their fingers to press down on the fingerboard, while a violin only has to use the tips of their fingers. Violas also have to spread their fingers wider on the fingerboard to make the correct notes. Violins tend to play the melody of music, while the violas are stuck accompanying
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