If you’ve ever been to a symphony or heard classical music, you’ve likely noticed that there are many different stringed instruments being played. Two of the most popular stringed instruments are the viola and the violin. They look very similar, so it can be hard to tell them apart at first glance.
But if you take a closer look, you’ll find that each instrument has its own unique sound, construction, and style of play. Let’s explore the differences between the viola and violin!
Which is Easier to Play Violin or Viola?
It’s natural to wonder which string instrument requires less effort to learn and play, the violin or the viola. Here’s what you need to know:
- The truth is both can be difficult especially for someone who is completely new to music. However, the violin typically takes longer than the viola since its ranges from highest to lowest tones are larger.
- The fingering positions on a violin also overlap more often, making it slightly more complicated to master.
- On the other hand, an advantage of playing the viola is that aspiring musicians may find it easier to hear a single line within an ensemble due to its lower pitch range.
Ultimately, some may find one instrument preferable over the other based on their individual music tastes and skill level.
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Violin vs. Viola – Similarities and Differences
Have you ever seen someone holding a stringed instrument, seemingly a violin, and used it as a conversation starter with them? “That’s so cool that you play the violin! How long have you been playing?” Only to get the response you most feared “It’s a viola actually”. Don’t worry! Tons of people make the same mistake, and it can even be difficult for musicians to distinguish the viola vs. violin at first glance. There are several differences, including some obvious ones, and others which are more subtle. These can be used as a tool to make more educated guesses on what instrument someone is playing.
Viola vs Violin Sound
The most obvious difference between the viola and violin is their sound. The viola has a richer, deeper sound than the violin, because its strings are tuned lower. This gives it a more mellow tone that some musicians prefer over the sharper sound of the violin. Because of its thicker strings and larger body size, it produces lower frequencies than those produced by a violin of similar size and construction.
Viola Bow vs Violin Bow
Another major difference between these two instruments lies in their bows. A standard viola bow is longer than that used on a violin; this is due to the fact that it needs more leverage in order to draw out strong tones from its thicker strings. Along with being longer, viola bows also have wider heads than those found on standard size violins; this allows for easier bowing techniques such as double stops (playing two notes simultaneously).
Style of Play
Another key difference between these two instruments lies in their style of play—the way they are held and how they produce sound. The viola is typically held slightly higher up on the player’s body than the violin so that it can project its deeper tones further out into an orchestra or band setting. It also requires more bow pressure to create sound which can make it difficult for some players to get used to initially.
On the other hand, playing a violin is often considered easier for beginners because its strings are strung closer together which requires less bow pressure and makes producing notes simpler for inexperienced players.
Tuning
The first important difference between the violin and the viola is the tuning. Tuning refers to the notes each open string plays. The violin’s tuning, from lowest to highest, is GDAE. The viola, on the other hand, is tuned CGDA.
An interesting thing to notice, contrary to the difference in tuning, are the similarities between the way the viola vs. violin are tuned. On both instruments, each string is tuned a perfect fifth apart. That means the difference in pitch between each string is five notes. On the viola, the lowest string is tuned one fifth lower than the lowest string on the violin.
When listening to a violin or viola, try to listen for the pitch of the notes, because although there is much overlap in the range of the two instruments, the viola can play lower notes than the violin can, and vice versa for the violin.
Viola vs Violin Size
The next thing to notice about the differences between the viola and the violin, is the size. This is hard to notice at first glance, but the difference in size becomes more obvious when seeing a viola and violin side to side. When comparing full size instruments, a viola is a few inches longer than a violin.
This becomes slightly more complicated when there are children playing instruments that are smaller than full size. When many kids start playing the violin or viola, they are too small to hold or properly play a standard instrument. For this reason, there are smaller sizes of most instruments for children to start out on. But, this does make it more difficult to distinguish the violin and viola based on size. In this case, it may be necessary to revert to another way of differentiating them.
Role in Ensembles
Both the violin and viola usually play in orchestras, but they have quite distinct roles within the ensemble. The violin usually plays the melody most, if not all the time. The viola is usually in charge of playing a countermelody, or harmony. A countermelody is a kind of melody that is played at the same time as the melody, and is meant to enhance or highlight it. Harmony refers to a kind of accompaniment with long notes or chords, also meant to accent the main melody.
In a full size orchestra, there are usually many more violins than violas. To be more exact, a standard orchestra has 30 violinists, which are split between two violin sections, called violin 1 and violin 2. Then, there are only 12 violists. This helps with the balance of having the accompaniment softer than the melody.
Reading Music
Sheet music for violin and viola are written differently from each other. This distinction is most important for those considering playing either instrument. A clef is a way of marking which notes go on each line of the music staff. The most common clefs are called treble and bass clef. The notes on a treble clef staff are read EGBDF from bottom to top, while the bass clef staff is read GBDFA. But there are also many other clefs including alto, tenor, soprano, etc.
The reason different instruments use different clefs is because of the range of the instrument, and how it compares to where the notes fall on the staff. It’s easiest to read notes that fall directly on the music staff or only a few notes above or below it.
Since the violin falls pretty comfortably in the range of the treble clef staff, that’s what it typically uses. But the viola is lower than the violin, so it wouldn’t make sense to write viola parts in treble clef. That’s why sheet music for viola is usually written using alto clef. The cello and bass read bass clef, because their pitch is even lower than the viola.
Viola vs Violin for Beginners
For beginners looking for an introduction into stringed instruments, both options are excellent choices—but there are some key differences to consider before making your decision. For instance, since the strings on a viola are thicker than those found on a violin (which makes them harder to press down), it may be easier for some people to start out with the thinner strings of a violin instead.
Additionally, because of its slightly larger body size, many people find that playing a viola can feel somewhat cumbersome at first if they have not yet developed strong posture habits while playing an instrument.
Viola vs Violin vs Cello
If you’re considering learning a new instrument, the cello might come up as another option to compare with the viola or violin, too.
The viola, violin and cello are all members of the string family. However, each one is distinctly different from the other. The viola has a darker, richer tone and produces a lower sound compared to its cousins. Its strings feel thicker and it has slightly bigger body with a longer neck than either the violin or the cello. On the other hand, the violin is characterized by its bright tone and high range.
Aesthetically, it features four strings in addition to shorter frequency strings for tuning making it have thinner sounding strings than both the viola and cello. Lastly, the cello is larger than both instruments allowing it to produce a much deeper and mellower sound that lends itself well to quieter pieces of music.
Fiddle vs Violin vs Viola
In addition to knowing the differences between violin vs viola, it’s also important to know how fiddles factor in.
Fiddles are most associated with folk music that has its roots in traditional Irish or Maritime playing styles. They tend to be slightly smaller than the classical-style violin; fiddles typically have screws for adjusting the bridge, nut, and neck tension instead of pegs for tuning. Violins are best known for classical music; they produce a unique sound because of how its strings are tuned in fifths.
Much like the violin, violas still cater toward classical music but often lack the same reverberation due to their noticeably thicker strings and deeper tones. Figuring out which one is right for you will depend on the type of sound and size that suits your preferences and playing style.
Viola vs Violin – Why is This Important?
Knowing the differences between the viola vs. violin can be useful in many ways. If you want to be more educated about what you are hearing when you go to the symphony, start by learning to play one of these beautiful instruments, or just be more sensitive to the differences in the instruments when you want to strike up a conversation with a musician. Whatever the reason may be, keeping all these distinctions in mind will surely help you crack the code.
Viola vs Violin – Which is Better?
Deciding between a viola and a violin is not an easy choice. Both instruments share the same musical tuning, but they have some slight differences that give them unique characteristics. The viola is larger than the violin, with four strings tuned an octave lower than its smaller counterpart. As a result, it offers a warmer and more mellow sound than the higher-pitched violin.
While musicians of any skill level can play both string instruments, it’s often recommended that beginners start with the violin as they are typically less expensive and require less effort to hold up in playing position. Ultimately, each instrument has its own appeal and many players enjoy using both depending on the type of music they want to produce.
No matter which you choose, either the viola or violin will provide beautiful tones for your musical adventure – ask your music teacher for recommendations!
Alani Sugar