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<\/a>\u00a0Click to play<\/p>\nTo emphasize this gif, here is a recording<\/a> of one of my favorite pieces (and one that shows off that caramel sound of the viola). Just listen to the first 30 seconds- that\u2019s all you\u2019ll need.<\/p>\n Let us go back to sixteenth century Italy. The viola is a member of the violin family, but there is no clear answer to exactly when this instrument came to be. According to the Vienna Symphonic Library<\/a>\u00a0the role of the viola came defined when demands for instruments that would fill out a room with sound for Baroque Opera became necessary. String instruments were often made in different sizes with the same tuning, so when a need had to be met to split the registers and have another instrument played \u201cda braccio\u201d <\/a>\u00a0or played on the arm, the viola was born.<\/p>\n Composers soon composed for sections to mimic the human voice (parts separated by bass, tenor, alto, and soprano registers). Naturally the viola falls into the alto category, and makers had to continually experiment to \u201cfind the optimal combination of tone, size, shape, and range to compliment the current trends in orchestra and court music\u201d\u00a0.<\/a><\/p>\n The viola is often misunderstood in terms of size because there is no standardized system for measurement. This makes the viola imperfect acoustically, because in order for the most amazing sound to be achieved, the body of the instrument would have to be huge (and therefore unplayable). Today there are many makers who experiment with string length and the size of the body to achieve the optimal effect. Usually, people with longer limbs and fingers play larger violas and vice versa.<\/p>\n A huge advance in the viola-making world came with the modern bow. Francois Tourte<\/a>\u00a0, a Frenchman, is often credited with many string instrument advances but the modern bow is especially important to violists. Because a viola responds less quickly because of the thicker strings, a modern bow allows for more tension between that hair and the strings. This means violists could actually project(!). Soon, the role of the viola became increasingly important in chamber music and the first solo pieces were composed for the instrument.<\/p>\n I encourage you to watch this TEDx talk <\/a>specifically about the viola. This talk is great because there are frequent playing examples as well as great facts.<\/p>\n Today, there are many amazing solo violists who have created a beautiful new reputation for this instrument. Some of my favorites, including Kim Kashkashian, Nobuko Imai, Yuri Bashmet, etc. have inspired not only violists around the world, but also composers to write new and challenging works for this instrument. In the last decade new commissions and transcriptions have taken off, carving out a new path for this instrument. In this article<\/a> by TimeOut New York, Steve Smith writes of new CD releases that deserve attention, honing in on many new contemporary works.<\/p>\n Past the viola jokes, I believe we gain a lot from understanding the technology of this instrument, and how it came to fruition. It is important to consider that instrument makers in the 16th<\/sup> century may have had some of the same musical concerns that instrument makers and composers have today, and that the means of creating music are constantly being improved upon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I first decided I wanted to play an instrument, I went to an instrument \u201ctry-out\u201d day at my town\u2019s local music store. I first tried out a flute, then a trumpet. Then I moved on to strings and picked up the violin. I remember that the sound of the bow against the strings was … <\/p>\n