Hi everyone, my name is Betsy, I'm 44, married with a teenager. I live in New Hampshire, USA. I'm a green as grass newbie to stringed instruments but I seem to be enjoying myself during practice times. Right now I have a violin that I love but I'm looking to branch out and take on the viola also. My problem is finding the right size for me, I'm 5'2" (feet & inches) the length of my arm from neck to point where palm ends and fingers begin is about 26". So I'm not sure if a 16" viola is too big for me and maybe I should look at a 15". Any advice?
I'm looking into buying a Gliga Gems1 from the American distributer of Gliga but I don't know if they have a trade up policy or not.
Let's see, what else... I work 3 12hr. night (7p-7a) shifts a week at a hospital in a very busy Intensive Care Unit, I homeschool our son and , when I feel like it I paint pictures.
Anyway, I stumbled onto this website looking for some viola related (not too much out there ) and decided I could learn quite a bit from you all.
I'm sure you'll hear from me later...

Betsy

Hi Betsy,

I'm 5ft 3" and play a 15 and a half inches viola, if that's any help.

I used to play the violin too then realised that, since I preferred playing on the G and D strings, the viola would be better suited for me.

Hello, and welcome to the forums

Yeah, those lower notes...something about them. I find when I play the violin, I prefer every string except the E!

Betsy

Same here! I was never keen on that E string... you'll probably love the viola then.

Go for a 15 inch. And save yourself a bit of money by getting a Gems 2 rather than a Gems 1 - they sound the same.

Liz

Hi Betsy

Welcome to the forums....2 things.

You have started the old yearning for a viola in me again, others on here will know that everytime a thread like this starts, I so very nearly get tempted.

And the second thing, hey WOLFEBORO!!! I've been there. Beautiful place and the folks are so so friendly. I once had to have 2 dinners in one night because all our new friends wanted to entertain us!!! And the Lobster mmmmmm.

Hi Betsy, glad to hear it, I was homeschooled right up until GCSE level (not sure what the American grade equivalent would be but I was 15 at the time) and I still think its one of the best things that could have happened to me. Well done for taking up the challenge, hope you are both enjoying it.

Boo

Two pupils of mine have bought Gligas; one has a Gem 2 and the other has a Gem 1 - I had already noticed they sound the same!!! So why the variation in price? Is one of them better made?

Violinia

Hi and welcome Betsy! I'm a nearly-16 year old who plays viola. I couldn't really say much about viola sizes apart from:
Don't get one that's too big! I borrowed one that was too big for me from music centre for a couple of months while they were repairing a smaller one for me and I ended up with excruciating pain in my back after every rehearsal.

Hope you enjoy these forums!

And Jane, why don't you give viola a go. I'd be happy to PM you with my (limited) knowledge of the viola and I'm sure that sarah-flute, kenm, elidatraiding, zoda and many others would do the same with their far more extensive knowledge.

Hi, thank you all for the warm welcome! It's so nice to see so many viola players! Well, I took the plunge today and ordered a viola . I took the advice of Liz and ordered a Gliga 15" Gems 2 with a couple of alterations, firstly, I changed the strings to Dominants and lastly I changed the tailpiece to 1 fine tuner instead of 4. It should arrive in a few days, I guess I should look for some instruction books on the viola. Wait until I tell my violin teacher! Anyway thank you all for your help!

Betsy

Hi, and welcome to the forums!

Car Expert

Hi Betsy, welcome !

Enjoy the viola!

Hi Betsy, in my family it's the nearly-teenager who plays the violin, and the 40-something who just sits back and does nothing .

I have another teenager too, and I can only say, I admire you for homeschooling! (My teen is currently sitting beside me, cursing over his math homework ).

P.S. Welcome to the forums, and keep us posted on the viola!

Yeh...that's the trouble too many people on here egging me on. I even had a go on Sarah's and its gorgeous (I managed a quite passable G major scale). I just don't want to dilute my violin practice time getting to grips with another clef, that's the only thing holding me back.

It is just a matter of time......

Well done Betsy. Keep us posted on progress, AND what your teacher says!

She did really well!

Welcome, betsy, and enjoy your viola!