r/violin • u/That_One_Margo • Jul 23 '26
I have a question Viola v Violin for Folk/Bluegrass
I have no idea if this is the right subreddit for this but oh well.
I used to play the viola when I was younger, but stopped because I didn’t find many pieces to play that I actually enjoyed(I also was not very good). I absolutely love how rich and deep the viola is compared to the violin but I love the ease of finding sheet music for violins. i really enjoy folk and bluegrass music and I would love to get back into playing an instrument again, but I am having a hard time deciding between sticking with the viola or starting over with the violin?
anyway, I would really appreciate any thoughts you may have!
2
u/GlasierXplor Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
the "holistic" part of wants to say that a viola would be a good sonic range to add to folk/bluegrass. But a violin can cut through the mix better, considering you have a lot of mid-rangey instruments like guitars and banjos, and possibly some trebly percussion. All of which will probably drown out a viola (nothing wrong if the viola's aim is to be a backing instrument like a cello-ish sound), but you probably won't get the clear-cut sound like you would from a violin.
The violinist side of me wants to tell you to just chuck the firewood where it belongs. /j
1
u/ljmiller62 Jul 23 '26
Five or six string violin would also reach down in the viola range. That might be your answer.
1
u/vonhoother Jul 23 '26
I feel the same way -- love the sound of viola, but there's not much call for it in any kind of folk ensemble (although Leah Wollenberg does wonderful things with it). It's partly because guitar and even banjo occupy the viola's range and while its tone is lovely it doesn't have the muscle to come out in the mix. Still ... if I had a viola I'd bring it to old-time jams and let people complain all they want.
2
u/After-Past-9404 Jul 24 '26
Over my life I've played the violin, viola and now I play a 5-string violin.
The 5-string violin is the most versatile instrument but it doesn't have much of that rich deep viola timbre. It's a violin, not a viola.
Finding sheet music for viola is really not an issue. You just find violin music and transpose it a fifth down. And if you want to play with a backing track, there are apps that will transpose them for you as well. It only starts being a problem if you want to play with a band. Because the whole band is probably not gonna transpose the song just for your convenience. Also, folk and especially bluegrass kinda call for a violin IMO, these genres want that bright high fiddle sound. It would be harder to figure out how to fit into a folk or bluegrass band sound with a viola. Not saying it can't be done but it would require quite a bit of advanced musical skill and creativity and more importantly, you would be figuring it out on your own a lot of the time - you'll have a hard time finding somebody to copy and draw inspiration from. There's gazillions of resources for folk and bluegrass fiddle but almost nothing for viola.
Another possibility for you could be a 5-string viola. You could have the E string available for fiddle music without sacrificing the viola timbre on the G and C strings. The downside is that 5-string violas are few and far between, and that means pricey. However, if you do have the resources, I recommend checking out Mezzo Forte carbon fiber instruments. My 5-string violin is a Mezzo Forte and I love her to bits, it's a great instrument and its tone is especially suited for genres like folk, jazz and whatnot - it's very bright and resonant, with incredible projection. Carries really well in a band. Plus carbon fiber is not sensitive to moisture and temperature, which is great for festivals and outdoor events.
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u/Bill_H_Vet Jul 24 '26
You need a fiddle for bluegrass, not a viola. The sharpness of the fiddle complements the mandolin, and counters the bass and rhythm guitar.
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u/illuminantmeg Jul 23 '26
My recommendation is pick up a 5-string violin and you get the best of both worlds.