HOW TO PLAY THE VIOLA

Parts

Before you start playing you have to know the parts of the viola and what they do.

Upper and Lower Bout

Upper Bout- top part of the viola where the fingerboard is attached

Lower Bout- lower part which is larger than the top. It includes the chin rest, strings and the tail piece.

Tailpiece and Chin Rest

Tailpiece- wooden black piece of wood near the bottom of the viola. It has fine tuners on it and is near the chin rest.

Chin rest- piece of wood attached to the viola to help the positioning of the players jaw while playing

Bridge and Fine Tuners

Bridge- where strings are on and helps to keep you from playing two strings at once.

Fine tuners- are used to tune the viola. You turn the little knobs slightly and it changes the sound

Neck and Fingerboard

Fingerboard- long narrow piece of wood where the strings lay.

Neck- upper part of the fingerboard.

Pegbox and F-Holes

Pegbox- have the pegs and hold the strings. You can tighten or loosen the strings to tune them.

F-Holes- in the middle of the instrument and is shaped line an f in italics. This where the sound comes out when you play

Notes

Seven letters of the alphabet are used to name notes in music

A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H There whole, half, quarter, eighth…. Using math is an easy way to

calculate how many notes are in a measure

Alto Clef

Symbol used for viola music. (Each instrument has it’s own)

Written notes

This is alto clef. It is showing the strings of the viola and where the notes are.Use the chant FCGDAEB( fat cows go down and eat beans) for the lines and GBDF( green birds do fly) for the spaces.