Books › The violinist, 1900 › scan 192
Scan 192
The violinist, 1900
23 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1The Viola
2BY J. WHARTON SHARP
4THE viola as an instrument is, generally speaking, little heed-ed by amateurs, yet it is one that occupies a very important place both in orchestral and chamber music, and on account of its peculiar tone always attracts attention when heard.
6It is always a hard task to get a good amateur violincellist, but it is ten times harder, and even sometimes well-nigh impossible, to get hold of an amateur player of the viola. This may seem a strange statement, but it is nevertheless true, as the writer has found out through experience, and it is all the more to be wondered at, that considering the numbers of good amateur violinists to be met with, very, very few ever turn their attention to or think of playing the viola.
8If the truth be told, any fairly good violinist can, with only a little study and attention, take up and play in a comparatively short time the instrument commonly designated as "the old maid of the orchestra."
10Considering the matter there are only two difficulties, and those not very great, that violinists have to contend with if they wish to be viola players. In the first place there is the change of clef, and secondly the "stop," or in plain English the stretching of the fingers is larger than that on the violin.
12Some few months ago there appeared in The Strad several letters concerning the first mentioned difficulty (if it could be so designated) mentioned above.
14Without going into details and various explanations the clef of the viola, as it is today, and has been for years past, is the best, and the "apparent difficulty" of distinction between it and the treble clef can be overcome in a short time by any player with an average intelligence of music.
16Let any amateur violinist of a fairly good standard, wishing to take the viola as a second instrument, examine the slight difference between the two clefs—that will not take long to discover; then let him take any set of scales or easy exercises with which to learn and pick out the notes; and once this is done, to make himself more at home yet in the new clef, the best thing he could do is to procure the viola parts of the first quartets of Haydn, and practice them frequently. To some readers this may seem all very well and easy in words, but to do it is another thing altogether. Yet with a little patience, perseverance, and enthusiasm, the novice will soon find himself getting into the "running of things," to use an ordinary expression, and the difficulty of distinguishing and playing in the respective clefs will soon disappear.
18The second difficulty, that of the "stop," will perhaps offer more trouble to the would-be viola player. That entirely depends upon the formation of the left hand, and also to what extent flexibility and facility of doing quick passages on the violin had been hitherto attained.
20One might continue enumerating various other small obstacles in the path of the beginner, but if we let difficulties stop and impede our progress none of us would ever become masters of our instruments, or for the matter of that, never be able to play at all.
22What really suggested the foregoing
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