Alto Violin Basics for the Viola Player
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- Опубликовано: 6 окт 2024
- In this all-too-obviously unscripted video (:-)), luthier Robert J. Spear explains some of the basic aspects of learning to play the alto violin. You'll learn how to hold and position the alto, and how to find a comfortable height for both right and left hand. There's also a brief discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of playing viola-style or cello-style.
Robert Spear
The neath thing about the Upright Viola (as it's sometimes called) is that it's the only Viola I know of where the body is big enough for those low notes to speak clearly, so it's not a compromise like some of the smaller Shoulder Held Altos.
0:51 For those of you who've never heard of the Alto Violin, it's a 19.5 in Viola which has the same string names & tuning as our every day Violas, but it's too big & heavy to be played on the shoulder. So it's played Vertically w/ an Endpin (like a Cello) which relieves weight off the shoulders.
I guess that's how Carleen Hutchins worked around the playability issue.
I heard Yo Yo Ma play an excerpt of a concerto for viola on this instrument. The tone, power and the response are on a totally different level given the body size and the right string length for that pitch. Regular violas would struggle to respond that well. It's even better than some six Or seven figure violas. Those instruments are magnificent, but every pitch range has an optimum size and there's no beating physics.
This instrument really needs more love.
Yeah it has an improved response
7:33 That's a good solid sounding C String.
For strings you need Extra Long Scale Viola Strings, D'addario Helicore Strings are my favorite because the Steel Rope Core makes bowing on the instrument easier.
My husband is a violist and he found this very informative. You look great, Bob. Glad you are doing well.. Mary McDonald, Pleasantville Music Theatre, 1972 or so :)
I can't thank you enough for this video!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've got a 16" viola that's too heavy, and I've been looking for information on playing it vertically, and the tip you gave on lining it up directly along my centerline was a godsend. I hope I can afford a real alto violin someday!
Can you do a video review on it?
@Robert Spear I need a very good sound sample of the alto's tone over it's full range (from maybe your best instruments, not the factory ones). I want to see how it differs from a normal viola.
Well you can hear how much fuller that Low C sounds
9:28 You'll wanna do it the way you've done on the Viola the Thumb will come out around the side of the neck like before.
After my most recent shoulder surgery, the doc told me that the tendon needed to play the cello was missing. It probably did not attach after a previous surgery and then withered away. About to try an electric cello that I can get closer to my chest. Will try turning my 16” viola around.
It is a little counter-intuitive that it's easier for someone with a smaller hand to play a larger instrument. The string length of the big alto is not that of a 20" instrument but rather of a 17 1/2" instrument. That's still pretty big even when playing vertically. The real trick is to switch to cello-style fingering in the places where it's needed. If you'd like more information, please contact me directly.
Tell me, from a string physics point of view, if a violin string was around 12.9 inches from bridge to nut, then the alto's string length would ideally be 19 inches, right?
Also one thing I noticed is that the viola's strings are really stiff because they are close to violin string lengths which means the strings have to be made heavier to reduce pitch. With a longer string length, will an alto violin respond as freely as a violin?
Robert Spear , Aaron Davis from Wenatchee, WA. I was searching for cello de Spalla plans and happened on your video. It is very good to see you! I have such fond memories of Durham NH in class with Karl Roy. I haven't made much since my I last attendance at UNH. I got married, bought a new old house and remodeled it and have just been busy. I retired (4 years now) and hope to get back into making sometime soon. My repair business keeps me pretty busy. I hope all is well with you & your wife. I'm going to subscribe to your channel!! .
One runs into a number of difficulties on the alto violin when it comes to strings and string lengths. As in all matters, the size of the player's hand is the most important thing. It doesn't matter if the string is an ideal length or not or how stiff it might be under the bow; if the player can't comfortably finger the instrument he or she isn't going to play it. If you want to dive into the topic of string lengths, I suggest that you join the New Violin Family forums http//octavivo.org/forums where you can get a much longer and more detailed reply. Thanks for your comments!
How interesting. Thank you for this lovely video!
Just wanted to thank you again for this video. I've resumed working on playing my viola vertically, and I can practice for much longer like this. Might I ask you if you would recommend a 3/4 or 1/2 length viola bow for it? You mentioned a bass bow in this video, but wouldn't that be too heavy on viola strings? What kind of bow do most of your alto violin buyers prefer?
Thanks again for the thanks, Janet! If you can find a 3/4 or 7/8 viola bow, that would be perfect. A standard viola bow will also work, but it's a bit long so don't use the last inch or two and you should be fine. This is what most alto players end up with. Bows made for the alto are in the pipeline, but it might be a while before they are here.
would a cello bow work better than the fractional viola bow? I have a well stocked quiver here. :)
John Myers
I think that for the big alto, a light viola bow will work out the best, assuming the instrument is in good adjustment. At least, that's the way comments are trending at the moment. The interesting thing about all New Family instruments that are plate-tuned is that they like a lighter and faster stroke. Cellists are trained to play hard and heavy to move those big high-tension strings on their cellos, and their bows are designed to allow this. Imagine trying to play a cello with a contrabass bow. Although it can be done, it isn't the best solution to the problem.
I know what you mean about the heavy stroke: I had to switch from cello to viola after my first bout of Chemo left me with some nasty peripheral neuropathy so that I couldn't press the heavy viola strings (and for the first year, couldn't hold the bow, either!) When I was commissioning the sale of my dear, re-homed "Yellow Cello" my luthier suggested trying the viola because the larger sizes (I'm 6'6' with a pretty wide wing span) would be easier on the hands. Four years of using the piano as physical therapy to get my hands back and danged if she wasn't right! LOL
The electric cello seems to be a little easier on my left hand now, but since I'm wanting to record/play (with) myself in quartet, I need another instrument. I saw your video and immediately thought, "I have GOT to get me one of these!!"
John Myers
John, I had a good friend who played the alto who was 6' 5" and also had a big wing span. He played the alto for years and got pretty good at it. Then he had a stroke and while recovering (nicely, I am happy to add) realized that he probably should have been playing the tenor all along. He (and you, too, I suspect), are actually borderline too large for even the big alto. If you'd like to chat further, go to my shop site singingwoodsviolin.com and email me from the contact page.
+Robert Spear What about alto violin for cellists?
This may seem bizarre but what was called Tenor Viola were in fact shoulder held and were very big, at least 18 inches and at most 20. Not that you’re wrong about historical instruments, not at all, but coming from the cello I wouldn’t want to play a viola like this because I have big hands and going up the fingerboard would become a massive crunch and would love to learn to play a viola 18”-21” after learning violin and viola.
But on an additional note, there is a big gap between the mezzo and alto violin which is in the portability while playing. I’ve had the displeasure when I was still a boy of having to sit down to play a cello and watching colleagues play whilst standing. I’ve considered the option of buying a NS electric cello and playing it with guitar straps to play horizontally and vertically like playing an electric guitar that actually works with a bow.
Aside from that fantasy I could imagine playing with something a bit smaller than this and bigger than a 17” viola which can be used to play tenor parts.
It's a well-known fact in our musical world that physical characteristics have a lot to do with how difficult or easy it is for us to play a particular instrument. Someone with large hands would have an advantage on a cello or a bass that might not carry over to a piccolo violin. :-) And yet there are many examples of people who aren't well-suited to a certain instrument but succeed anyway just because they love its sound and are willing to put in the work. It's generally accepted that the big "tenor" viola was held not on the shoulder but against the chest with the left arm dropped so that the scroll was pointed down. But look in Riley's book on the history of the viola where plate 30 on page 96 shows a woodcut of a big tenor being played vertically while resting on a stool with the player standing next to it. There's really nothing new under the sun.
I have tried the big tenors da spalla-style with a strap around the neck and endpin like a guitar. The bow moves vertically, and while this might look odd to us in modern times, the instrument becomes unbelievably easy to play across the entire length of the fingerboard and the bow arm is quite relaxed. Where there's a will there's a way, but you likely wouldn't land a gig with a major orchestra if you held the viola like a guitar.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments!
@@octavivo Maybe it would be perfect for if you're playing w/ Marching Bands
I wonder if you can play in Indian style. Sit down, Stretch your foot out and rest the scroll on the foot, body on the collabone or just under the jaw, immediately no need for the neck or shoulder to support it anymore, and play it like a very large viola.
6:44 So we want the Headstock to rest on the Sternum.
I need one of these.
This is a forward-looking instrument, but of course you can play any kind of music on it you want. It augments the standard viola in orchestral sections, especially in the lower registers. Each instrument has its own tonal qualities, but in general the alto sounds like a cross between a large viola and a large violin. Check out the introduction to the new family video on this channel, and the view some of the New Violin Family Orchestra clips. For more information, please contact me directly.
The length of the alto body approaches 20 inches, so it's pretty big. The guy is 5' 10 1/2" inches tall (about 1.8 meters), which is an average height. The camera is looking down a bit in this video, which might have the effect of making the player look shorter than he really is.
For my curiosity Bob, I thought the viola string length had to be at least 18 inches long as it's tuned a 5th below the violin. The thing is that since in regular violas, the actual string length is much shorter than that, violists have to use very heavy gauge strings to compensate and as a violinist I've found them really stubborn to get working and it's also hard to press them down - their stiffness also means they don't 'ring' for very long, so you have to work the instrument all the time compared to a violin. Short length + Heavy gauge = Stiff, unresponsive string. So for a sec, if we were to ignore what musicians keep asking for, how long would you make those strings?
@@srinitaaigaura Extra Long Scale Helicore Viola Strings to the rescue
Muy bonito instrumento se presta para colocarle cuerdas octavadas de viola debe sonar muy bien por su tamaño
Seria muy bueno que haga un video con alguie que la toque para escuchasr mas su sonido muy bonito 👍 estoy interesado
What are the main reason one can't play the alto violin under the chin? I have a pretty long neck and pretty long arms and fingers so that won't be a big issue for me.
The alto's pretty big, but I do know of a coupe of very tall people with long arms who play it on their shoulders like a conventional viola. Finding a shoulder rest is the hardest part, but if you ever were to get that far, contact me through my web site singingwoodsviolin.com
Thanks for your response!
Oscar, who are the "they" you referred to? :-) For those who can physically handle such a big instrument on their shoulder, shoulder rests are now available. Contact me through my web site email rjspear@singingwoodsviolin.com.
@Elliot Rodger Yes
270th sub
Where do I purchase one of these?
singingwoodsviolin.com
@@octavivo That's some high price & I really want to play one of these because I did Let It Go from frozen on Bowed Sitar:ruclips.net/video/je509ufzO5I/видео.html & now I want you to do an arrangement for NVFO w/ optional Vocals in the Original key. Can you perhaps send to me (at 2486 Governors Dr S Jacksonville Florida 3223) a very Beautiful Alto Violin?
The new viola da gamba.
I thought the viola was the alto violin, until I arrived here
Este viejo es alto violin
That's a dang small violoncello.
Violoncellino!
@@biinyomiina7a152 Super Piccolo Cello
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