My bass, Isadore, is currently at Cowtown Guitars, waiting to be adopted into a new home. I have hardly played him in five years, and decided he has been gathering dust long enough.
And bought a viola on e-Bay. Been wanting one for years- I figure, the only thing I’m going to do with a musical instrument is entertain myself in my own room, and I’d rather just pick one up out of the case and, um fiddle with it rather than spend a half-hour hooking up all kinds of pipes and wires and things (including headphones- now there’s a tether for you, being chained to the amplifier). A fiddle, you can get a mute for for less than two dollars…
I know nothing about violas- the string configuration, etc. I know how to play scales- the finger positioning is about the same as a guitar, only smaller and without the frets to tell you where to put your fingers, and I know what the intervals should sound like, but in order to know what notes I’m playing, I’d actually have to turn on my tuner and see what lights up.
So, what are the strings on a viola, anyway?
This should be an adventure.
(BTW, I did work in a music store a few years back, and did occasionally fiddle with the fiddles, and probably would have gotten a bit of a pleasant sound if I hadn’t had to use an unrosined bow. )
