# Small Viola



## colin

Recently I saw a viola the same size as a violin. does anyone know the difference between the two. Also is it possible to put the larger size viola strings on it.


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## World Violist

Well, the only immediate differences would be the obvious string difference, but also the acoustical properties of the viola are likely to be totally wrong (they are by default; in order for a viola to be acoustically proportionate to its strings, it would have to be roughly 20 inches; average is 16 inches (I play 17", just for reference, and I like it much better than anything smaller)). So unless it has some extension or another, I wouldn't trust a viola that small.


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## mamascarlatti

Well you can get small violins (my daughter has a 1/10th size and started on a 1/32) and it sounds like a violin and the strings are specifically made for each size, but of course the tone is nothing like my other daughter's full size violin.


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## Rasa

I asked a violin-builder once and he said the only real difference between the two apart from the scale and strings is that fact that the wood is thicker by a few mms.


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## colin

Thanks for your replies, it has given me food for thought.


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