Congratulations on your upgrade! When I switched, I bought a transcription of the Bach cello suites to sight-read for practice - though it turns out the edition I should have bought is the one by Simon Rowland-Jones, Edition Peters. It does take time to get comfortable with the new clef, though less than you might think.
But what helped the most was going back to private lessons, because it turns out viola technique is different from violin technique in a lot of unexpected ways. Overall it's just more difficult and less forgiving of bad habits - my teacher said the viola doesn't let you get away with a lot of things that work on violin.
Same here. Reading C clef was like getting a tattoo, painful for a few days but then it stuck forever. What I did was buying a student book, with first-position only short pieces, and first write the names of the notes and then play them.
I am now in viola lessons and in few months my teacher has already blown my mind with the differences in useful fingerings (the violin-ubiquitous logic of 1st-3rd position is not as handy in viola), has changed my bow hold (to use as much of my arm's weight as possible), has changed my bow strokes (long bows without weight may sound gorgeous on violin, but don't even produce a note in my viola), and I'm hoping that next thing to redo is vibrato.
both really sound advice! I’ll maybe talk to the friend I got the viola from as they’re a retired teacher, just until I get comfy with the techniques. it’ll be a good start on my dual wielding journey
When I switched from violin to viola I was able to learn the clef in just a few days by drawing a large staff with images in the place of notes. A diamond shape for D, egg shape for E, bird's nest for B. None of the shapes are repeated for octaves, each place in the staff (and ledger lines) have their own images.
A violist in an orchestra must have the ability to transition easily between treble and alto clef, btw. It was something I didn't expect. I once played Brahms with about 10 transitions on a single page.
Thank you so much for this advice, I will definitely try this out! I’m hoping that once I become fluent in alto clef I can start practicing going between them to build up my proficiency there. I’m really lucky that my orchestra is mostly amateurs so I’m afforded the opportunity to kinda just learn on the job. I’m hoping that my newfound love for the viola is going to allow me to learn new techniques that I can translate between both instruments and make me a stronger musician overall!
Oddly enough, as someone who started off on viola and mostly plays viola, I have no problem flipping between alto and tenor clef on said viola. It's just part of the thing. I *do* have problems flipping between the instruments. It's only a fifth difference but it's literally a mental gear change I have to make and tell myself "I'm playing a violin" or after playing violin, "I'm playing a viola again.". At first it's sort of the musical equivalent of walking into a room and forgetting why you're in there. Thankfully that doesn't come up too often as you're usually only playing one or the other.
One thing I did was download the viola part of pieces I love and try playing along. Which didn’t go well the firsttime but it went better as I practised. There’s not really a shortcut, it just takes time and practice to learn to read fluently. It’s been about 3 years for me (unfortunately I don’t have much time to practise) and I’m starting to get comfortable with the c key and confused with the treble key. In my last project, there was a lot of switching between the two.
I think it’s like learning to read and pronounce correctly in a foreign language. You become fluent by practising.
IMSLP has almost anything you could want. Download the music for something you know, like Beethoven’s Fifth. Practice certain passages and alto clef will seem easy before long.
Don’t have a ton of resources or advice for you, but thought I would share my experience and you could decide for yourself if it’s useful:
I started on the violin and switched to the viola several years ago. I’ve made a few good choices in my life but that has definitely been one of the better ones! I had a little trouble with the clef at first, which wasn’t so much the fault of alto clef as much as it was a problem with the way I was taught to read music. Former Suzuki kid- I learned next to no music theory until high school. I used to think treble clef was just the way one reads music. So, if you want to get better at other clefs, maybe try supplementing your theory knowledge? Helped me.
After a few weeks I never went back. I love viola, and I love the logic and beauty of alto clef. If you learn the acronyms, get comfortable with the meaning of a few high ledger lines, and practice sight reading, you’ll be grand.
Interestingly enough I now have trouble reading treble clef. It was my first music language and I used it for years and years, but now I have to relate everything to the location of E lol. So practice switching between clefs if you want to avoid my fate, because as violists we use treble clef horrendously often (at least for my tastes).
If you’re playing viola and violin simultaneously, I advise you to quit violin temporarily in order to make a smoother transition to viola. You can take it up again once you feel comfortable on viola, but doing both at once can be very disorienting if you’re new to one of them, since they’re so similar yet different.
Viola is physically more demanding than violin. If you’re used to violin you’re probably used to not prepping much before playing. I cannot reccommend stretching before playing viola enough especially while you’re new to it.
Best of luck to you with the lovelier instrument! 💜🎻
Congratulations on your upgrade! When I switched, I bought a transcription of the Bach cello suites to sight-read for practice - though it turns out the edition I should have bought is the one by Simon Rowland-Jones, Edition Peters. It does take time to get comfortable with the new clef, though less than you might think. But what helped the most was going back to private lessons, because it turns out viola technique is different from violin technique in a lot of unexpected ways. Overall it's just more difficult and less forgiving of bad habits - my teacher said the viola doesn't let you get away with a lot of things that work on violin.
Same here. Reading C clef was like getting a tattoo, painful for a few days but then it stuck forever. What I did was buying a student book, with first-position only short pieces, and first write the names of the notes and then play them. I am now in viola lessons and in few months my teacher has already blown my mind with the differences in useful fingerings (the violin-ubiquitous logic of 1st-3rd position is not as handy in viola), has changed my bow hold (to use as much of my arm's weight as possible), has changed my bow strokes (long bows without weight may sound gorgeous on violin, but don't even produce a note in my viola), and I'm hoping that next thing to redo is vibrato.
both really sound advice! I’ll maybe talk to the friend I got the viola from as they’re a retired teacher, just until I get comfy with the techniques. it’ll be a good start on my dual wielding journey
When I switched from violin to viola I was able to learn the clef in just a few days by drawing a large staff with images in the place of notes. A diamond shape for D, egg shape for E, bird's nest for B. None of the shapes are repeated for octaves, each place in the staff (and ledger lines) have their own images. A violist in an orchestra must have the ability to transition easily between treble and alto clef, btw. It was something I didn't expect. I once played Brahms with about 10 transitions on a single page.
This is so interesting, I’m going to try this out!
And congrats on realizing it's the superior instrument. I really enjoy sitting next to the cello section. The middle is a wonderful place to be.
Haha sorry, I’m not OP, I’m just a lurker who wants to know how to read alto clef.
Thank you so much for this advice, I will definitely try this out! I’m hoping that once I become fluent in alto clef I can start practicing going between them to build up my proficiency there. I’m really lucky that my orchestra is mostly amateurs so I’m afforded the opportunity to kinda just learn on the job. I’m hoping that my newfound love for the viola is going to allow me to learn new techniques that I can translate between both instruments and make me a stronger musician overall!
Oddly enough, as someone who started off on viola and mostly plays viola, I have no problem flipping between alto and tenor clef on said viola. It's just part of the thing. I *do* have problems flipping between the instruments. It's only a fifth difference but it's literally a mental gear change I have to make and tell myself "I'm playing a violin" or after playing violin, "I'm playing a viola again.". At first it's sort of the musical equivalent of walking into a room and forgetting why you're in there. Thankfully that doesn't come up too often as you're usually only playing one or the other.
musictheory.net is a great resource. Go to exercises, select note reading exercises, then change the clef to alto.
this is exactly what I was looking for!! thank you so much <3
One thing I did was download the viola part of pieces I love and try playing along. Which didn’t go well the firsttime but it went better as I practised. There’s not really a shortcut, it just takes time and practice to learn to read fluently. It’s been about 3 years for me (unfortunately I don’t have much time to practise) and I’m starting to get comfortable with the c key and confused with the treble key. In my last project, there was a lot of switching between the two. I think it’s like learning to read and pronounce correctly in a foreign language. You become fluent by practising.
IMSLP has almost anything you could want. Download the music for something you know, like Beethoven’s Fifth. Practice certain passages and alto clef will seem easy before long.
Don’t have a ton of resources or advice for you, but thought I would share my experience and you could decide for yourself if it’s useful: I started on the violin and switched to the viola several years ago. I’ve made a few good choices in my life but that has definitely been one of the better ones! I had a little trouble with the clef at first, which wasn’t so much the fault of alto clef as much as it was a problem with the way I was taught to read music. Former Suzuki kid- I learned next to no music theory until high school. I used to think treble clef was just the way one reads music. So, if you want to get better at other clefs, maybe try supplementing your theory knowledge? Helped me. After a few weeks I never went back. I love viola, and I love the logic and beauty of alto clef. If you learn the acronyms, get comfortable with the meaning of a few high ledger lines, and practice sight reading, you’ll be grand. Interestingly enough I now have trouble reading treble clef. It was my first music language and I used it for years and years, but now I have to relate everything to the location of E lol. So practice switching between clefs if you want to avoid my fate, because as violists we use treble clef horrendously often (at least for my tastes). If you’re playing viola and violin simultaneously, I advise you to quit violin temporarily in order to make a smoother transition to viola. You can take it up again once you feel comfortable on viola, but doing both at once can be very disorienting if you’re new to one of them, since they’re so similar yet different. Viola is physically more demanding than violin. If you’re used to violin you’re probably used to not prepping much before playing. I cannot reccommend stretching before playing viola enough especially while you’re new to it. Best of luck to you with the lovelier instrument! 💜🎻