So, I've got this viola...and I've already lost any fiddlers that started to read this post, haven't I? lol. Sorry about that! Stick with me though - this really does pertain to fiddling. Honestly.Since playing with an amateur community orchestra several years back, I have found myself intrigued by the viola. Its voice is throaty with lots of overtones. Suffice it to say, it's an instrument with guts, but still easy to lug around! So, about a year or so ago when I saw this viola for sale on eBay, I couldn't resist purchasing it.
The viola is a 15" Andreas Eastman VA200, made in 2004, and originally purchased from Kamimoto Strings in San Jose, CA. Although my camera and lighting give it a bit of an orange cast, it really has a lovely amber finish. The back also has nice flame. The VA200 is the first model of the Eastman line of advanced instruments and I have to say that I was truly impressed with the quality of this level of instrument. The grain on the spruce top is very fine, the book matched back, the purfling, the fittings - all executed with care.
It's such a great instrument, I'm dying to figure out the best way to play old-time music with it - which isn't as simple as it first seems. At least, not that I'm seeing.
The viola is tuned CGDA which means that it lacks the violin E string, but gains a C string on the lower end.Thus, you are one-fifth lower than the violin.
As a fiddler, my first "lazy" thought was: Why retrain/confuse myself on note/string locations when you can just play the viola like a violin? Just leave it tuned the way it is and finger it just like the violin. Silly me, if life were only that simple... You can do this and it sounds great, but only if you want to play alone. Why? Because you are playing one fifth lower than your violin friends. Hence, you will be playing in a different key than everyone else. When they are playing in D, for example, you will be playing in G. Damn.
My next fleeting (and once again, "lazy" fiddler) thought was to tune the viola up to violin tuning, but I don't think I would ever try this because of the increased tension on each string. I tend to think raising each string one entire fifth could lead to string breakage and that perhaps the viola is not designed for this higher tension in the long run either. I'm also guessing that pitch would be somewhat effected as well due to string thickness, length, etc. - things that I don't even want to begin to wrap my brain around.
Not wanting to take an inordinate amount of time on this at the moment (as I have committed myself to the violin and my Brad Leftwich DVDs), I'll continue to experiment with transposition, cross tuning, etc. to see how this effects key and droning/double stop issues. It's actually kind of fun working this out, once you take out the frustration factor of wanting everything to immediately fall into place. lol.
However, I'd be most interested in hearing from anyone who does fiddle on the viola. Do you have any suggestions or is there, as some of my initial Internet research seems to indicate, pretty much a need to adapt your playing on a tune by tune basis? Do you cross tune the viola to DADA or CGCG? Please share your thoughts and experiences with me!
UPDATE: Regarding my previous post on the Brad Leftwich old-time fiddle lesson DVDs, I have now advanced to Sugar Hill, the 2nd lesson on the first DVD and can now play through that tune fairly well at about 50% speed. The fingering when playing on the lower strings takes a wee bit longer to get used to as the fiddle is tuned ADAE (not symmetrical like the AEAE tuning for Shortenin' Bread.) It's a really fun tune to play though.
I got a fiddle through eBay by accident -- they thought it was a violin -- but worked out a deal to keep it. It came with one string, no bridge, but no cracks or deficiencies. I fit a bridge and strung it with G-D-A-E another octave lower by using G-D-A Octave Viola strings (Sensicore Perlon) and a regular/real viola D string (Pirastro evah pirazzi) tuned up once to the E. Works great, sounds neat, doesn't require learning new fingerings, and plays well with others. volnavy@embarqmail.com
ReplyDeleteThat's a very interesting idea, Volnavy. I hadn't considered octave strings - I know very little about them.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about the tension and the diameter of these strings versus standard viola strings?
I also see that the Super-Sensitive website states, "Your instrument needs to be adjusted for these special strings. Please consult a qualified luthier for proper set-up." I'm thinking they mean the notches in your bridge and perhaps the nut might need to be widened a bit.
Not sure if I want to make those changes, but it is certainly a tempting thought! Until then, I guess I can just call out tunes in G when I want to finger them in D. lol.
Thanks very much for your comment and for checking out my blog. I really appreciate it.
~Melissa
Hey Melissa, Good to see there's another viola fiddler out there! I have a 16 3/4 inch 5-string viola and so had to face the string tension and length problem often when I first got the fiddle. The locations of 5 pegs are not as same as regular viola, of course, so it caused me some headaches. Now I have long scale strings for C & G and extra long for D & A. I still have a guitar string for E but D'addario's producing an E string for viola now, which I'm dying to try out soon.
ReplyDeleteI've restrung my viola with violin tuning for my friend, who plays with a rock band, since her violin's got a very thin voice and it doesn't go with the rock sound at all. It definitely sounds thicker and richer. I've read some postings of people who have tried the same. One of them described it as "bossy violin" and I agree on that. :)
vylabrie@gmail.com
Hi Vylabrie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting on my blog! I actually hadn't heard of a 5-string viola, believe it or not. A 5-string violin, yes, but viola? Now that sounds sweet!
For now, I've resigned myself to playing my viola as a violin, leaving it tuned CGDA. It's less confusing that way, but I do have to pay attention to what key I'm in when playing with others!
As my viola is only a 15", I do wonder if standard violin strings might work, though I worry about too much tension. Maybe that's not an issue, I don't know. I also don't want to lose my viola "growl" a.k.a. that "bossy violin" sound!
I had been playing violin for 3 years before I bought my first viola. It took me about 2 hours before I became good at sight reading the new alto clef and getting used to the fingerings. It's not really all that different when you look at the alto clef as just a roadmap to where you put your fingers. When one sight reads, usually, who thinks of what note their playing, rather than just putting your finger where you've memorized that dot to mean and moving on to the next note! Given that mentality, I can easily switch between violin and viola, at a moment's notice. If I need to know what note it is, I can always think about it then. After all, the viola and violin share 3 of the same strings, so it's not very difficult to come up with what note I had been playing. Good luck!
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