Although I have explained my past experiences with learning to play piano in a previous post, I also play another instrument: viola. Viola and piano are both musical instruments, and both require dedication and practice; however, my personal learning process for viola has been markedly different.
This process started in elementary school, with the “Fifth Grade Strings” program. “Fifth Grade Strings” was an extracurricular activity consisting of weekly group classes after school, and it contained major differences from my piano lessons. Perhaps the most significant was the time frame: while my piano lessons had started in kindergarten, this program began about five years later. Another difference, as I found out quickly, was the physicality of playing the viola, which I found to be more difficult than the piano. Any string player knows the stretching, finger dexterity, and flexibility that is required in processes such as vibrato or shifting, which makes for a unique and often strenuous playing experience that piano does not offer. These physical difficulties, coupled with a significantly later beginning to lessons, resulted in an extremely frustrating start of my learning process on the viola.
I soon realized, however, that there were advantages as well as difficulties in this process compared to piano. Although “Fifth Grade Strings” slowly transitioned into a core class of daily practice, orchestra remained a group effort, and playing the viola never lost its social benefits. I have made many friendships over the course of my five year journey, and have also learned how to work in a dedicated team where each member has to pull his/her weight. In any orchestra, no matter how large or small, every person is a part of the whole sound, which certainly stands in sharp contrast to a solo piano performance. Playing the viola has taught me many beneficial values, and I am sure that the learning process will be just as rewarding in the years to come.
Here’s a helpful link showing the basics of finger position on the viola:
http://www.fretlessfingerguides.com/viola_how_to_use_it.html
This process started in elementary school, with the “Fifth Grade Strings” program. “Fifth Grade Strings” was an extracurricular activity consisting of weekly group classes after school, and it contained major differences from my piano lessons. Perhaps the most significant was the time frame: while my piano lessons had started in kindergarten, this program began about five years later. Another difference, as I found out quickly, was the physicality of playing the viola, which I found to be more difficult than the piano. Any string player knows the stretching, finger dexterity, and flexibility that is required in processes such as vibrato or shifting, which makes for a unique and often strenuous playing experience that piano does not offer. These physical difficulties, coupled with a significantly later beginning to lessons, resulted in an extremely frustrating start of my learning process on the viola.
I soon realized, however, that there were advantages as well as difficulties in this process compared to piano. Although “Fifth Grade Strings” slowly transitioned into a core class of daily practice, orchestra remained a group effort, and playing the viola never lost its social benefits. I have made many friendships over the course of my five year journey, and have also learned how to work in a dedicated team where each member has to pull his/her weight. In any orchestra, no matter how large or small, every person is a part of the whole sound, which certainly stands in sharp contrast to a solo piano performance. Playing the viola has taught me many beneficial values, and I am sure that the learning process will be just as rewarding in the years to come.
Here’s a helpful link showing the basics of finger position on the viola:
http://www.fretlessfingerguides.com/viola_how_to_use_it.html