ITM on Viola

wvtinwhistler · Post by **wvtinwhistler** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:03 pm

I already play ITM on the tinwhistle, but I have started bringing my viola to sessions and they really like it. First of all, I need some songs that would sound great on the viola (it has strings A, D, G, and C). Second, the folks at session mentioned a CD that had ITM on violin and cello, and I have no idea what it's called. Suggestions for playing ITM on the viola would be great, too. (Hopefully it's not frowned upon?)

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:15 pm

Probably sounds great, but then again, you have to put up with all the viola jokes:

http://www.mit.edu/~jcb/jokes/viola.html

wvtinwhistler · Post by **wvtinwhistler** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:31 pm

brewerpaul wrote:Probably sounds great, but then again, you have to put up with all the viola jokes:

http://www.mit.edu/~jcb/jokes/viola.html

Yea. I get those a lot, but I don't really mind them.

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 7:45 pm

If you're adept at picking things up by ear, it would fit in fine I'd think. Just have to drop an octave here and there.

buddhu · Post by **buddhu** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 2:04 am

Maurice Lennon played viola as well as fiddle in Stockton's Wing. I've seen him live with Finbar Furey a couple of times too, and out came that viola again.

I don't know what reaction it'd get in a purist ITM session, but viola sounds great to me in ITM, folk, jazz...

Domhnall · Post by **Domhnall** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 7:03 am

The record with Violin and Cello might be Fire & Grace by Alaisdair Fraser and Natalie Haas. Fraser plays viola on a few of the records of his I own, so he may pull it out on this one as well.

I usually hear viola being played for airs and waltzes and not the fast stuff, and thats what I think sounds best, but to each their own.

TheSpoonMan · Post by **TheSpoonMan** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 8:26 pm

If you retune to DAEB (dunno how feasible that is on viola), you got real easy first position fiddle/mando-fingering, ITM scales fall right under your fingers. CGDA is a bit awkwarder but not impossible (or even really difficult) by any means.

I love viola myself, only got a chance once to play once but I love the sound.

s1m0n · Post by **s1m0n** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 8:32 pm

TheSpoonMan wrote:If you retune to DAEB (dunno how feasible that is on viola), you got real easy first position fiddle/mando-fingering, ITM scales fall right under your fingers. CGDA is a bit awkwarder but not impossible (or even really difficult) by any means.

I love viola myself, only got a chance once to play once but I love the sound.

DAEB is a tuning that often gets used for odd sized mando-critters. One 1919 Gibson mandocello tuned DAEB gave off a sound as gorgeously creamy as anything I've heard.

Lightheaded Mike · Post by **Lightheaded Mike** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 10:14 pm

Does anyone here know if a 3/4 sized viola can be strung as a violin? Pardon the de-rail on the the thread, but the question came up for me the other week. A colleague of mine grew up playing viola in Quebec, and she'd like to try Irish music and dust off the viola that she last played. It's a 3/4, and she claims that it has the same scale length as a violin.
I've heard of viola players buying special strings that allow GDAE tuning, but I've not heard of stringing a small viola as a violin.

Cheers, Mike

s1m0n · Post by **s1m0n** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 5:07 pm

Lightheaded Mike wrote:Does anyone here know if a 3/4 sized viola can be strung as a violin?

12" is a common violin scale length, and 16" is also common for Viola, ableit with greater variation. .75 x 16 = 12

It should work, although depending on the quality of the viola, things (sound post, top, etc) may be optimised for better resonance at the lower pitch.

tin tin · Post by **tin tin** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 8:26 pm

Here's another twist, if you're looking for a low fiddle sound:
http://www.darolanger.com/bariton.html

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:52 am

If the scale length of a 3/4 viola is the same as a violin, what's the difference between the two?

Domhnall · Post by **Domhnall** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:02 am

I've seen a few 3/4 violas and they are the same size as a violin, but tend to be a bit thicker, and obviously have heavier strings on them.

Unseen122 · Post by **Unseen122** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:39 pm

Martin Hayes plays a bit of Viola on his new album "Welcome Here Again" with Dennis Cahill he plays melody and harmonies depending on the track and he also plays it on with Kevin Crawford on "In Good Company." I would check these out if I were you.

Cathy Wilde · Post by **Cathy Wilde** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:06 am

My fiddler fella and I were bitten hard with the "Kitty Lie Over" bug so have been playing "low and slow" with a viola and a Bb flute a bit over the past year. He has a student-size viola (3/4 size maybe?) he's tuned down -- I'm not sure what the tuning is, exactly, but I think he's playing it the same as he would his fiddle because he doesn't seem to be struggling with any sort of transposition. Anyway, the overall effect is quite nice (except for my chuddy Bb flute playing, of course). E-minory tunes like Doherty's (Killarney Boys of Pleasure) and pretty G tunes like The Virginia or Lad O' Beirne's seem to go down very well. The Monaghan Jig is cool, too, and Gusty's Frolics is a riot (though rather a long haul for the flute player).

I've also wondered if Frankie Gavin isn't playing a viola to Mick McGoldrick's Bb flute on "Tunes"? For anyone who wants some low flute inspiration, that's a great recording.

Have fun with it!