This week, I will be talking about the instrument I have been playing in music class up till now, the viola. First, I will explain what a viola is because it is one of the lesser known instruments in the string family. In terms of look, it’s very similar to the violin. The reason for this is because they have similar sizes, with the viola being slightly larger. Another reason people mistake the two is that a viola are also held in the same way as a violin. However, I believe that the viola is more akin to the cello. I think this because the two instruments share the same strings the only diffrence is they are an octave apart. Meaning a viola can play a cello song, but it would sound high. The two instruments also share a similar role having to support the orchestra. Both of them are in the background supporting the violins and occasionally come out to carry the melody as well. There is one thing that makes the viola different from the other two instruments, and that is alto clef. Which can be kind of troublesome because there is no other instrument in the orchestra that uses alto clef.
I actually don’t mind fading into the background, because if I screw up, it’s not very likely people will hear it. Playing the bass line most of the time also means I have easier sheet music. Which makes the music easier to play, but its also very frustrating. For example, if I practice a song, it might not even sound similar to the actual song. Since it doesn’t sound like a song and just a bunch of notes, it’s hard to tell if I’m improving. However, when I play in class it feels like I’m actually doing something which feels very satisfying.
At the beginning of music, I didn’t really care about what instrument I got. A week into music and I began to regret choosing viola because it was a pain learning alto clef. However, after I got a hang of alto clef and the viola, it’s quite a fun instrument to play. Unfortunately, I don’t think this knowledge will be useful for me in the future because I don’t plan on taking music again.