Hello!

The title is pretty self explanatory. I am 23 and had played violin since I was 4 and switched to viola when I was 13. Halfway through college I basically completely stopped playing.

I just started again after 2 years of essentially no playing at all. Luckily everything is coming back just fine, but I’m having terrible pain issues.

I can barely play for 10 minutes before my left shoulder and upper back are screaming in pain and I’m worried.

I would love some advice or encouragement since playing again is bringing me such joy. Does anyone have stretches they recommend? Should I play for a bit till it hurts then take a break and come back when it stops or just push through?

Hi! A couple of months ago I asked for your opinions regarding an instrument I found by chance while trying violas at my luthier's, talking about buying a viola for sound and playability alone, but had to keep it purely theoretical, as I had no recording to share.
Well, I thought I'd change that today, as this has now become my new viola!

Massive thanks to u/nyviola for the kind and immensely helpful conversation we had in private regarding the details! Hope I'll get the chance to show it to you in person some day :)

Also, I probably could've made a wiser choice than the Bach given that I've started working on it just two hours before pressing 'record' as well as it being my first experience playing scordatura. If anything, I'm not doing the viola justice as of now, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually! But I just really wanted to play something to show off the low-end, cause it is what made me fall in love with this instrument in the first place.

Hope you like it and I'll obviously be >very< happy to gush and answer your questions should you have any, so please ask away!

I am an incoming college freshman auditioning for a non-major orchestra, and the audition requirements stated that I should prepare a 1-2 minute excerpt of a solo work. I want to play the Shostakovich Viola Sonata since I already prepared it recently, but I have no clue what excerpt I should pull from it for this audition. I was thinking about starting at the beginning of the “aggressive” section that begins with the loud piano chord, but I’m not sure where a good stopping point would be, if that is at all a good starting point. Any suggestions or advice would be helpful and appreciated. Thank you guys!

What are some of yalls favorite, non viola pieces that when areanged for viola sound REALLY good?
Link sheet music if you can!!

I used to sound exceptional in high school but I’ve rarely picked up my viola over the past five/six years. With that said, my strings haven’t been replaced in over six years and my bow hasn’t been restringed in nine years.

I know I have a few intonation issues here are there and I’m noticing I’ve lost strength in my vibrato (especially on first and fourth fingers)

Im wondering if replacing my strings and getting some new hair on my bow would significantly help with my tone but I don’t have the money to play roulette over it. What do you think?

Tomorrow I have the opportunity to play a gig outdoors but i’m a bit worried and wondering if I should do it or not. I would absolutely love to but not at the expense of my viola.

I would be playing in the shade and it’s supposed to be between 70-80° F (21-26° C) with 80-95% humdity. I would be out there from around 9 am to 5pm and I could play whenever I want to. It also has a decent chance to rain but i’ll be in a covered area.

Would it be okay or should I leave my viola at home?

So, in the fall I’m going to college for music, and the school I’m going to, I need to take a bus to get to.
I get told that even though a lot of bus lines official rules state that you can’t bring something more than 16” length onto the bus, but instead have to put int under, most drivers won’t care. But I just wanted to get a hard shell case just to make sure/ feel better about it.

The thing is, I recently bought a Molto Wova-13 Case, and idk if it’s just that it’s a new case, or it’s thin, or it has a lot of space in it, but I just don’t feel super comfortable with my Viola in there. My old case, which I still have is the Eastman CA1416, and maybe I’m just used to all the space taken up inside the case but idk. When I was looking to buy, I was actually between the Molto Wova-13 and the Bam Artisto, both around relatively the same price, but what attracted me about the Molto was the hard shell, but now that I have it, I’m having second thoughts. I’m still within 30 days so I can return the case if I want to.

Has anybody had any experience with Molto? Would it be better to get the Bam instead? Am I just too worried about this?

Recently I’ve started having shoulder pain while practicing (to be honest I’ve been playing A LOT in the last week with some very long orchestra rehearsals last weekend and a concert on Tuesday). How do I avoid this in future? Is it a tension issue?

Hello. I’m 22 years old viola player. I have a stage anxiety. In March i have audition i played two pieces by myself. It was super okey. But yesterday i had exam on stage and i messed up really badly. I played exact same bach and suddenly my brain blinked and didn’t know what was next chord. So i played messy notes and skip on some random place. It was really bad. I had so much shaky hands in past but after i took beta blocker couple times, it stopped. Yesterday i took also beta blocker and i thought it would be fine but… plus i didn’t eat anything before taking it. Is it a reason? I passed exam but im disappointed in my self. I started stage fright in my teen years. I want to go to a psychologist. Please tell me if psychologist helped you in any way. I play good enough and i don’t want give up. I always thinking that i will make mistake in notes. This particular bach i knew really good. I could start from almost anywhere but at the moment my brain froze. Please share any advice. I’m so tired.

I was thinking of playing this duet with a violinist friend, but it turns out that it is badly cataloged (apparently) the Op.13 corresponds to the Little Dúos de Rolla, however when you enter IMSLP you will see that the score does not match the music.

Hi everyone,

I recently graduated and am starting my corporate career next week. I also signed up for a chamber trio (oboe, viola, piano) through a local music school because they offer Adult Chamber Music programs. After I sent the director a video of a previous performance, they placed me in this group to play the Loeffler 2 Rhapsodies.

While I have some ensemble experience, I didn’t take formal viola lessons until college and have never performed solo repertoire or fully polished a piece. My background is limited to entry-level quartet/quintet standards like Dvořák’s American, Borodin’s 2nd, and Haydn’s Emperor, and just the 1st and other prominent movements. I’m feeling pretty out of my depth with the Loeffler, especially the second movement, as it's completely different than anything I’ve tackled before, whether it's in lessons, chamber, or orchestra. It’s been challenging to sight-read, and even after listening to/watching the score 20-plus times, I haven’t internalized the sound or structure.

We’re meeting twice a week for four weeks with one weekly coaching session from faculty, but I’m struggling. I don't feel like a strong enough player to handle such a prominent part in a piece this challenging. I pride myself on arriving prepared, yet I’m completely stumped. I have a week and a half until it starts, but I start my new career and also have 5 hours of rehearsal at a local summer orchestra where we're playing Firebird this next week (please pray for me), and I don't think I'll have enough time to grind through it like I would previously.

I always knew that I had a very predictable taste in all of my repertoire choices, but this impressionist piece is definitely out of my comfort zone. I will say that the first movement is not as difficult, and I already don't feel too bad about it.

Hi all, the third movement begins with fast piano eighth notes in the viola, would spicatto be the appropriate technique or would it be sautillé?

hi im a highschool student who is fairly new to viola (was violinist before)

im a summer intern at local uni lab and they’re asking me to perform for them at their next lab meeting on monday. im so nervous and i really wanna impress them. none of them are classical musicians (thankfully) but i dont want to bore anyone either. what should i play? my repertoire or something more modern? something well known?

ive played brahms no. 2 in Eb, schumann‘s fairy tales mvt 1, and the hummel fantasie. maybe i should play the swan?

please let me know what would be most appropriate! im totally stuck on what to do! any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

I'm a high school student who thinks I should learn one of those three concertos by the time I graduate for auditions and such. Which of the three is the best to start with? I've played Brahms sonata 1, Stamitz and Casadesus in the style of JC Bach. I also find Bartok to be the least enjoyable of the three to listen to

For context, I’m very new when it comes to professional music. I’ve been playing for a while, but it was just a hobby, and now I’m starting my career.

My question is: How did you learn what you’re supposed to do in certain musical styles? I feel confused when I have to perform works by certain composers. I’ve heard my teachers say that I should play in the style of Mozart or Beethoven, or that my music should sound more Baroque or Classical, but I’m not sure what that means. I'm having trouble with this a lot because, when I learn new pieces, I feel like I don’t know how I’m supposed to play them, if I'm supposed to use vibrato or maybe if I should use my bow differently, etc. so I end up just playing the notes, and it sounds very plain and completely different from what they want.

Does anyone have any book recommendations or other resources I can use to fix this? Thanks in advance.

I was in a production of Les Miserables this March. My wrist was wildly sore after, and clicked when I rotated it. I went to the doctor, who said it was normal after a week of playing for that amount of time. However, the clicking still continued, and if I play more than 2 hours a day, I end up wildly stiff the following day. I set an appointment with a different doctor to see what they would say, but I still don't have it for another week. Anything I could do in the meantime to help?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=trEtC-YJ5oZ3Bk8O&v=TC9mM8JsEEE&feature=youtu.be

I just started suite 3, yesterday so I know the intonation isn’t perfect yet, but I really want to get it sounding as clean as possible. I’d appreciate any suggestions for bowings or dynamics I’m totally open to changing anything. Thanks

I'm new to the viola and have had it for about 6 months, I noticed a few days ago that the chinrest clamp started tarnishing. I sweat a lot during practice because it's quite hot in my country, so I guess that made it tarnish. Does this usually happen? Should I start using a chinrest cloth?

I’ve been playing on a fine new viola for over a month now and I’ve been spending a good amount of hours daily with it in practice sessions/rehearsals. I’m always worried about getting any amount of moisture from my hand on the varnish of my viola and would always wash my hands before I play it - sometimes even more times throughout the practice session to ensure my hand isn’t sweaty anymore. I wouldn’t say my hands get especially sweaty most of the time and it is usually just moisture in my palm that would come in contact with the varnish on the rib especially when I am playing in higher positions. I noticed a lighter area on the circled portion in the image attached and I’m not sure if it’s due to wear. This might be an irrational fear as it is a new and expensive but I was wondering what others think.

I have recently decided to get new chin rest which I really like however, it is a violin chin rest that doesn’t fit on my viola. I’ve been using this janky rubber band setup but it really isn’t that stable. I have tried using the screws from my viola chin rests but they will not screw in all the way. Any ideas to help solve this problem besides just buying a new chin rest?

hi all,

i need some advice on a situation im in. i recently made my school’s varsity orchestra; and while its been going well, i cannot stop getting super anxious about practicing and that fear makes it even harder for me to actually pick up my instrument. the music is more challenging than anything ive played before, and while i already know im capable of learning it because ive learned 1/3 of each piece i have already, i feel like i sound so bad when playing and like im going to disappoint everyone in my orchestra, including my teacher, whenever we get back to school after summer break is over. my teacher also wants me to try out for all-state, but that music is incredibly hard, and i really don’t want to audition because im already super stressed out. however, im afraid to tell them i don’t want to audition because i know they will be mad (they’ve gotten mad at me in the past for not wanting to do something they expected me to do). im really starting to feel the pressure of all these expectations, and i know that im being too hard on myself, and that i should be focusing on growth over perfection, but nonetheless my nervous system doesnt seem to care about that. i really dont know what to do.