# switching to Viola



## Barry

Ive been playing fiddle for the last 4 years, guitar before that, and have decided to switch to Viola. Yep, over to the darkside.
Anyone else made the switch ?


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## Head_case

To the dark side? 

Yes. I couldn't see what I was doing so I had to go back (to the flute). 

The viola has a beautiful pitch (not so beautiful left hand calluses though  ) . You'll be one of those special cases who get to read the alto clef, which confounds treble clef and bass clef wannabes. I like the alto clef, although I only play alto flute, and most of it is written in treble clef and transposed a quarter.


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## Ukko

Barry said:


> Ive been playing fiddle for the last 4 years, guitar before that, and have decided to switch to Viola. Yep, over to the darkside.
> Anyone else made the switch ?


Zukerman, tentatively. Paganini, sort of.


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## Jaws

Barry said:


> Ive been playing fiddle for the last 4 years, guitar before that, and have decided to switch to Viola. Yep, over to the darkside.
> Anyone else made the switch ?


To my knowledge about 24 people. I lend instruments to people to have go at playing them. So far I have lent about 24 violinists, violas. Shouldn't be a problem as long as you don't start to try to transpose the alto clef instead of reading it.


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## Barry

I actually have already started studying the alto clef and look forward to the challenge.
I meant had anyone here made the switch, I know others have. The most violists start out as violinists.


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## drpraetorus

Not as dramatic as yours, but I found I was better on viola than violain because it fit my fingers better. That fiddle is too small.


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## Nariette

I started playing the viola recently: but I didn't make the switch. I just decided to play the viola, while I played violin a few years when I was a young child. I love the low clef, especially the dark sound because the size of the resonance box is slightly bigger. The only thing is that I have ridiculously small hands, but, my small hands are luckily ridiculously flexible.


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## KateSmith

I'm sure you'll cope with this task, cause you already have experience in playing different instruments!


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