I’m going to start viola lessons soon and was just wondering if the viola can play songs (like Pachelbel’s Canon, Swan Lake, etc.) which the violin can. Thanks.
Those pieces you listed are not written for the violin….. swan lake requires a full symphonic orchestra which includes 2 harps (I think.. can’t remember). Yes a viola can play the same songs as a violin, however, you either need to play in higher positions or need to transpose the music down a 5th.
The really difficult violin pieces may be too difficult to accomplish on the viola, for instance, high position work on the D A and E strings or something requiring the E string (harmonics, open E written, etc.) Also, you may find some of the stretches on the violin a little too much on the viola (10ths)
Stephanie, I’d like to see a violin play a full symphony by itself. You can transcribe pieces, but the bigger the change of instruments and their capabilities, the less full it will sound. one exception to this is Rachmaninoff’s piano transcription of Liebesleid which I prefer to the original for violin and piano by Kreisler, but otherwise, I try to avoid transcriptions and arrangements. For instance, I’m pretty sure there isn’t a single good piano transcription of Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy. Now there are Carmen Fantasies written for piano, but none of them sound like Sarasate’s
Any instrument can play the same song as another instrument
It just has to be transcribed first
Viola plays in the alto clef and Violin plays in the treble clef
You just have to find the right music
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Those pieces you listed are not written for the violin….. swan lake requires a full symphonic orchestra which includes 2 harps (I think.. can’t remember). Yes a viola can play the same songs as a violin, however, you either need to play in higher positions or need to transpose the music down a 5th.
The really difficult violin pieces may be too difficult to accomplish on the viola, for instance, high position work on the D A and E strings or something requiring the E string (harmonics, open E written, etc.) Also, you may find some of the stretches on the violin a little too much on the viola (10ths)
Stephanie, I’d like to see a violin play a full symphony by itself. You can transcribe pieces, but the bigger the change of instruments and their capabilities, the less full it will sound. one exception to this is Rachmaninoff’s piano transcription of Liebesleid which I prefer to the original for violin and piano by Kreisler, but otherwise, I try to avoid transcriptions and arrangements. For instance, I’m pretty sure there isn’t a single good piano transcription of Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy. Now there are Carmen Fantasies written for piano, but none of them sound like Sarasate’s
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yes, but u might need to transpose it into alto clef it’ll be easier to read.
and yes its not the same as a full orchestra but u can still play the violin part. (there might also be a viola part)
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music theory since 5th grade
Since the viola strings are tuned a perfect fifth down from the violin,
there is a lot of violin music transcribed for the viola by being transposed down a fifth.
So a lot of violists feel like a younger child who has to wear hand-me-down’s.
There is something about the piano, violin, and cello that attracts composers to the detriment of almost any instrument.
They say that the best way for a composer to make a name for himself is to write for some instrument besides those three.
Quantz became the patron saint for flutists, Salzedo became the patron saint for harpists, and Koussevitsky became the patron saint for bassists.
I want to make a name for myself as a composer, and I played viola in high school.
If I had any sense, I would have started composing for the viola long ago.
I have, however, written an easy viola composition recently.
You can find it here:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnG.ecTsYNC1BTtwfl7fl4AjzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20090803194915AA2HRO9
I hope you like it.
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Neither the violin or the viola can play songs. Pachelbel’s canon and Swan Lake are not songs.
You need to get your terminology straight.. songs are performed by singers.
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Well first of all, those are not "songs," okay? "Songs" are works which have lyrics and are SUNG.
But yes, anything on violin can be played on viola, pretty much, and there are viola transcriptions of a great number of violin works, and vice versa. The exception would be very virtuosic violin works in high positions, which are not written for viola, and, alternatively, viola works which are specifically written with the viola in mind, are not transcribed for violin.
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