I've just acquired an old, somewhat battle-scarred viola which I plan to tidy up, experiment with, and generally restore to health. It needs a bow, and I don't want to spend a huge amount on one until I know I like playing it, and I thought of a carbon bow as maybe having better playing quality for the same price as a cheap wood one - any opinions welcome. Also I wondered about fitting a new bridge myself - is this something that's really impossible for a non-luthier or has someone tried it? After all that I will have to face the challenge of playing it...

N

Try the glasser bows, they're cheap and very good for the money. Liz from Elida trading sells them and is very helpful. www.elidatrading.co.uk

My viola is now playable and slightly less battle-scarred, and I know a lot more than I did about how to put one back together again. I'm using my violin bow for the present but I'll probably take rosfrog's advice and go for a Glasser one at some point.

I'm very pleased with the enormous sound but it probably needs a proper check up at the luthier's to be on the safe side.

My violin seems so small!

Yes, that's a problem when it comes to practicing. I always have to do the violin first. I just can't cope with playing the viola and then immediately down-sizing to the violin, it's too weird for comfort.

Having just had an intensive alto clef reading session I think playing anything else is a bit uncomfortable - and a whole new lot of fingerings is rather a shock to the system. I think I just have to do nothing else for a few days to get my head round it. N

Glad to hear you've started viola, Nova! It is a great sound, isn't it! I don't suppose it's as pretty as that lovely violin I saw you play on last June in Leeds, with the lovely picture on. What kind is it?

It certainly isn't at all pretty, although it's quite an elegant shape. It looks as though it has been through a hedge backwards but I think it has potential to be at least interesting rather than beautiful. It does seem very loud compared to the violin, with almost too much resonance. I shall persevere, possibly with cotton wool in my ears. How are you getting on with yours? N

No worries, Nova, violas are louder than violins, part to do with their size, I guess. What size is yours?

How am I getting on with mine? Slowly! I've just been to Taiwan for the last 3 weeks and the only time I touched a viola there was in a music shop in the south of the island. Of course, my mind went totally blank and I couldn't think of anything to play!! Not that I really can play anything yet, beyond a few simple scales and beginners' exercises, that is..... My teacher is ever so excited that I'm finally on book 2!!! I've been playing since 1 Feb '07, have had 2 teachers and about 5 months of illness, as well as narrowly missing a work induced nervous breakdown (a real one, I mean as this expression is used far too glibly these days. Anyone who has a drawn out crying fit is proclaimed to have had 'a nervous breakdown'!!!) , so I guess you could say I'm doing OK!!! I've still got jetlag, but I hope to get a proper practise session in today....

Are you going to be at the Leeds concert? I'm not down to play, but Skyers has kindly invited me to pop in during the morning and see everyone, which I may very well do if I can.

Yes do! It will be lovely to see you!

It's quite small, 15.5 ins., so I was a bit surprised at the volume, even when playing with a violin bow.

Sorry to hear that you have been ill, it must be hard to put effort into learning such a challenging thing when feeling unwell. It sounds like you need some proper tunes to play, rather than only exercises and scales; if they were really simple you could just enjoy playing through them when you don't feel up to practicing.

I am finding the viola really tiring and tough on my left shoulder - I can only play for twenty minutes or so at the moment. Just that extra 1.5 ins makes a lot of difference to my arm.

I don't think I will be at the Leeds concert this year as I'm likely to be away that weekend -

N

Amazing how one can just 'acquire' a viola...

Good luck with it! I'm sure Banks will have a few lots of useful viola resources!

It will be good to see you again, Elisabeth, and sorry to hear that things haven't been going too well.

Thanks Guys!

Yup, I'll pop in that Saturday morning if I can at all. Skylark e-mailed me yesterday asking me to do a little ooh-ah stand of my embroidery etc for folk to look at between rehearsals, but as I give all the stuff I make away, I wouldn't have had enough to make it worthwhile. Still, maybe next year..... And I hope to be playing then too.

I've had health hassles for a good few years now, but things went potty as I took a job I didn't really want and making myself stick with that made me really poorly and weak. Yes, it is hard to learn music under those circumstances as you're either too pooped to practice or something worse!!! Anyway, the very week after I finished my teaching work for good, my teacher said that my playing had noticeably changed for the better!! Now I've just had almost a month off I have to get back into things again and try to move forward better. I expect progress will always be relatively slow, but if I can accomplish, say a grade per year, that will be good. Teach has approved the idea of going in for Grade 1 in November too, so that's another landmark to work towards/panic about.

I do know a few little tunes, Nova. Probably about 3 as well as the little ditties you do in beginners' books. I play those 3 when I need something more 'real' to play and hear! I'm really glad that there are now CDs of the viola exam pieces available now as I think that will really help and motivate me too. So will the prepr test and theory exam entries I've just made.....

Mmm, yes Matt, I wonder how people manage to just 'acquire' instruments as well. No-one's ever offered me one!! If anyone has a clarinet or, esp, a cello to give away, I'm game!

I'll just clarify that - money did change hands! It didn't fall off the back of a lorry - although it looks as though it might have fallen off something sometime in its past...

It is going to a luthier next week so I will find out then whether it was a big expensive mistake.

N

I don't think the thought that you might have pinched it crossed anyone's mind!