I know how to read the viola clef, but not as fluently as I read the treble and bass clefs. I'm going to spend this weekend to see how good I can get...because for this last piece there has so far been only one violist at the rehearsal and the conductor jokingly begged for a violinist to try the viola
Ha! Maybe I don't know how to read alto clef after all! It's actually SEVEN steps down, not one step up!
@kpdooty oh wait alto clef maybe i'll un-volunteer myself
@mhoemmen right? I might rent a viola for the summer to see how it goes...the notes are farther apart, plus the violin doesn't go low enough (I'm not tuning my violin down a perfect fifth lol)
@kpdooty had the opposite problem today -- i'm so used to the 59 cm string length on my octave mandolin and lute that i keep hitting the wrong notes on the regular mando
@mhoemmen yeah it would be great if they make a viola the same size as the violin...I should talk to my violin guy!
@kpdooty are those 5-string violins (with a low C) a bit shorter than the usual violas? i imagine they would have to be so you don't break E strings all the time
@mhoemmen hmm that's a thought (although my violin guy probably would not approve)...IIRC @hpcgal has one...
@kpdooty @hpcgal if the conductor doesn't mind plucked strings, tenor guitar in viola tuning sounds great
@kpdooty @mhoemmen mine is electric... Maybe with amplification they'd need only one new viola