To be a musician starts from somewhere – that is choosing the first instrument you’ll want to learn. It can be a dilemma for most people which instrument is the best to learn first. Fortunately, almost everyone can agree that viola, as a string instrument, is said to be one of the best instruments to start from as it molds a beginner mentally and emotionally. Here are other reasons why viola is a good choice as your first instrument to learn:
- Learning the distinction between the violin and viola
Learning viola should be able to teach you its distinction with the violin. Before learning the instrument, you’ll be quite confused as to what makes it different from violin. While these instruments may look the same, the viola is actually bigger than the violin in terms of its size and bow. If the violin has the highest e-string, the viola, on the other hand, has the lowest c string.
Moreover, the strings of the viola are in alto voice while the violin has its strings in soprano. Thus, a violin is capable of producing sweet, passionate and melodic sounds while the viola has the ability of making velvety, harmonious, sultry and human-like sounds.
- Opportunity to play an instrument that produces human-like sounds
Jimi Hendrix, Mozart, and Lawrence Power – although these musicians did not become popular by playing the viola, they have all played the instrument in their early years as a musician. Since the viola produces a lot of emotions similar to a human’s life, it should be a good outlet for violists to express themselves. Many violists have used the instrument as their way of evoking emotions toward their listeners. As it produces unique sounds compared to the rest of the instruments in the string family, you can easily distinguish the sounds coming from a viola in an orchestra.
- Improvement of muscle memory
The discipline it requires to learn the viola pays off to the creative and intellectual development of a musician’s brain. As a musician starts to learn how to play the viola, it also molds the brain to simultaneously transition between notes and movement of the bow. From learning how to play the viola, it is said that it’ll be easy to learn other instruments as you’re able to surpass one of the hardest instruments.
- You will be one of a kind
As there are only a small population of musicians all over the globe who plays viola fluently, you can consider yourself as one in a million. Everyone knows that the viola is a challenging instrument to learn, that’s why orchestras are always on the lookout for a well-performing violist that can join their recitals.
- Career opportunities as a violist
As you are one of a kind, several opportunities can be snatched as a violist. As a musician, you’ll be in demand in orchestras or as a soloist. You’ll also have the opportunity to teach aspiring violists your techniques and tricks in learning the instrument easily.
In the corporate world, whether you believe it or not, being a violist has also several advantages. As you were honed to be patient and disciplined in learning the viola, these traits eventually became innate to you that you’ve adapted these to your everyday life. Violists are also known to learn things easily and adapt to various environments compared to average employees.
If you want to try and learn a musical instrument for the first time and you want to try something against the usual instruments such as piano, guitar, and violin, the viola might be a good choice for you.