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Regulars






Two and ½ years and I STILL 💖 my 5-string VIOLIN!
Don't know why I just recently had a revelation about the way I look at it.
Instead of thinking it's a VIOLIN with a few extra low notes - I should've been thinking more that it's VIOLIN AND VIOLA!
It's very weird that just by 'calling' it one or the other - gives it an identity that makes such a huge difference!
I'm sure if I'd been thinking that it's equally VIOLA, I would have been searching for play-along solo VIOLA video scores and tutorials, much earlier - and, I'd be MUCH HAPPIER!
...I don't really care to spend a lot of time on the E string, anyway - but sometimes it's just easier to learn a tune using it, then I can move it lower or to a different key.
I think in a perfect World, a fractional 5-string VIOLA would be my recommendation for ALL beginner bowed string players... but nobody makes them!
I'm very excited - I should be getting my new 16", 5-string VIOLA next month. 🤗 It will be interesting to see if I think of it in the opposite sense - VIOLA with a few extra high notes?
...or will I just see it as a BIG VIOLIN, with a few extra low notes? 😳
- Emily
Food for thought:
Bach Cello Suite #6 - can NOT be played in the original key on a four-string viola!
An article in “The Strad” Magazine. The Magazine quotes Simon Rowland-Jones’ comments in 1999. (The article was printed in July, 2021)
“The suite can only comfortably be played on a five-string instrument, although most cellists do play it on a normal four-string cello using thumb position to facilitate the higher registers. As thumb position is not possible on the viola, violists normally play this suite in the key of G.”

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@Fiddlerman -
Kids ARE sponges, you are so right!
So, hypothetically speaking:
If everyone started with 5 strings, NO one would know anything could be different.
And, it's not like, WHAM - we start playing everything on ALL 5 strings. Everyone basically starts learning on the higher strings, anyway - then, moves toward playing more on the lower strings... right?
🤔... If I learned on a 4 string instrument, then was handed a 5-string, I might think "Oh no, I have to learn to deal with another string, this will mess me up - what do I do with it?"
Instead: since I started with 5 strings, when handed a 4-string, I'd think "Oh no, how boring, I won't be able to switch parts with a 2nd voice, or use my favorite double stops and options to shift motifs for improvisation - I miss that string... and it's extra resonance!"
Hmm... now, what if we were talking about learning to use 'telephone' vs. 'smartphone'? My Grandkids only know how to make a call from a cell phone. Not so sure I'd want to use a regular telephone if I grew up relying on a smartphone. ...does anyone still have a telephone in their house?
I'm pretty sure there's room for a little more innovation in 5-string acoustic instrument design. Maybe more electronic innovation, too.
Could have sworn I saw a violin or viola design, somewhere, that had graduated the depth of the rib - so, increased depth on the C string side, etc... tweaking the body shape or fingerboard angle/height - might help with projection and better balance of sound (?)
Can't different types of strings help (a little) with projection? I'm not talking 'miracle workers' here. (lol)
Thought about 2 Clefs, but learning Treble AND Alto Clef shouldn't be difficult if starting with both - I mean, kids learn 2 Clefs for piano!
Okay, this is fun, but I HAVE TO STOP... before I meander any farther down this rabbit hole!
...or my brain explodes! 😳🤣
- Emily
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