Violists on IMSLP

[Peter]

That's no offense at all. It's a sign of supernatural intelligence. Also, this way, the others just can't know if we play false notes.

[Yagan Kiely]

No offense intended, but I always thought that violas are special because they use the alto clef exclusively.

Altos used to also!!!

[Vivaldi]

Ah, I meant for musical instruments only. But you're right in saying that alto singers used to sing in the alto clef (cf. old editions of scores with vocal forces) before the modern convention of the treble clef. I always get a headache trying to read four different clefs at the same time (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) while following a score. The most trouble being from the soprano clef.

[Yagan Kiely]

Yes, Soprano clef is useless anyway. Tenor and Alto have uses, but soprano doesn't.

[Vivaldi]

Well, it's not to say the soprano clef is totally useless. In the old days, these C-clefs map out the singing range, so that if there are notes that are written with a couple of ledger lines, then its probably close to the limit of the singer's range. Now the use of C-clefs in vocal music is obsolete, being replaced by the treble and tenorized treble clefs. The tenor clef, of course, is still being used mostly by the tenor trombone, bassoon and cellos.

[adeadsniper]

im a violist too and its great to see many other violists. i guess most violists used to play the violin but made the wise choice to switch some time in their career.

viola rules lol.

[Deinonychus]

I'm learning to play soprano clef on the piano at the moment, so I can play Bach's WTC as it was originally written.