Hi,

I've just recently taken up the viola which I am teaching myself. I've played the violin for about 8 years now and the only problems i've found with the viola is reading the music! I've never used the alto clef before and I was just wondering if anyone had any easy ways of remembering the notes on the lines and spaces on the stave? I really want to get playing some proper viola music rather than just playing it as a violin which is what i'm currently doing

Thanks!

Matt

I think of alto clef as being the bottom 2 lines of the treble stave and top 2 lines of bass with the 'missing' line for middle C in the middle. Hope this helps

I also started learning viola after starting on the violin.

When I started learning viola I first learnt to recognise which notes on the stave related to the open strings, then I could rapidly work out which finger to use for the other notes by just calculating the interval from the open string notes. I would mentally name each note as I played it, so that I didn't just relate the note on the stave to a particular finger.

I could read alto clef music accurately within just a week of starting to play the viola by doing this, but I was very frightened of my teacher so that might have helped me to learn quickly.

Good luck with the viola!

Thanks for the replies!



It took me a while to realise what you meant there but I get it now. I think that would just confuse me more but thank you!




This was very helpul. I think associating the notes on the staff (once I can work them out) with the notes on the viola will be quite difficult as I immediately think of where the notes are on the violin so I will definitely try this out.

Any more tips would be very much appreciated!

If you're serious about playing the viola - it's a big waste of time to try to find a quick way to trick your way around the clef - at some point you will need it to be as automatic as treble clef presumably is for you.

I learned by purchasing a book called 'Manuel Pratique pour l'étude des clés', but I don't know if this is available in England. It starts you off by showing you where the open strings are and then gives you rhythmic exercises in sight reading, using only these strings. It follows on by gradually adding one or two notes at a time (which it keeps in a different colour to begin with) where you have to put a finger down. Eventually you end up sight reading passages quite quickly which require all fingers on all strings and, eventually, shifting.

It's very good and learning to actually read the clef would be the best way forward, I think.


Good luck!

Allan

I agree with Allan and Purple. Forget the tricks to help and just learn it cold. It'll come very quickly and it might even help to get a very simple tutoral book with the note letters written on (you know the type, for beginners and kids etc). Maybe you could borrow one from the library or something like that as you're not that likely to need it at that low level coming from violin.

I never played violin, but I do sing from treble clef and have also had to get used to alto. It's better just to start fresh with it and let it come the same way as treble did - by sheer use.

All the best and GLAD to hear you've graduated to viola!!

My son (9) started viola this summer after playing violin for a few years. We used Mary Cohen's viola quick change and he soon got the hang of the clef. I get him to name the notes then to give the fingering for each new piece we've encountered since.

It should be easy to remember that the bottom four lines of alto clef have the same letters as the spaces in treble. If you want a rule for all the C clefs (tenor, alto, mezzo-soprano, soprano, plus the rarer variety of baritone clef), the collection is so named because the clef sign is centred on middle C.

I agree with those who have said that you just have to learn the alto clef, rather than finding tricks for converting from another clef. But this is much easier if you are not using other clefs for other instruments while you learn. I found learning the bass clef (for piano) quite hard because I was reading from the treble clef at the same time. I've barely touched the piano since starting the viola, and the alto clef is the least of my viola troubles. (Bigger problems are (a) the left hand, and (b) the right hand.)

Congratulations on coming over to our side anyway.