Viola Notes

How to use the viola notes chart

Viola notes in first position climb from the open C string (C3) to E5, which finger 4 plays on the A string; this viola note chart puts each of them on the fingerboard with its finger number, on the alto clef staff and on a piano, and plays it with a bowed sound when you tap. Strings run across the board, C at the bottom and A at the top, with the nut on the left. A dark circle is a stopped note with its name inside; the small number beside it is the finger, and the white circles at the nut are the open strings. Tap one and you hear it bowed, while the matching note turns green on the staff and on the keyboard. Staff notes and piano keys work the same way in reverse. Keyboard users can press the arrow keys to walk up or down and Space to hear the note once more.

Use the Show menu to switch between a major key, a single finger pattern on all four strings, or all the half steps. With a key selected, the chips 1st to 5th slide the hand to a higher position. The label chips swap names for finger numbers. Tick Finger tape lines for guide lines at finger 1, high 2, 3 and 4. The Quiz view tests you in two ways: name a marked note (answer keys 1 to 4) or find a named note. Print this chart gives a paper copy of what is on screen.

The viola strings

The viola has four strings tuned in fifths: C3, G3, D4 and A4. It shares the G, D and A strings of the violin, drops the E and adds a low C string, and the cello uses the same four notes an octave lower. Check them with the viola tuner before you practice.

Fingerings are the same as on the violin, with fingers numbered 1 (index) to 4 (little finger) and 0 for an open string, but the viola is larger, so the notes are spread further apart along the fingerboard and the stretches are wider.

First position notes on the viola

Each row starts on an open string and climbs to finger 4, which plays the same note as the next open string up. Finger 2 is low (a half step above 1) or high (a whole step above 1) depending on the key. The table comes from the same data as the chart.

The C string is the one violinists do not have. In C major it uses the 2-3 pattern: C, D, E, F, G, with the half step between E and F.

Alto clef notes

Viola music is written mainly in the alto clef, a C clef whose center marks middle C (C4) on the middle line. Counting from the bottom, the lines are F3 A3 C4 E4 G4 and the spaces are G3 B3 D4 F4. The open strings sit at easy landmarks: C3 hangs just below the first ledger line under the staff, G3 the bottom space, D4 the space just above middle C and A4 the space just above the staff.

When the music stays high for a long passage, viola parts switch to the treble clef. The chart does the same: notes above E5 move to a treble staff, which you will see in the higher positions. For the treble clef itself, see treble clef notes.

Finger patterns and positions on the viola

Viola finger patterns carry the same names as on the violin: the 2-3 pattern (high 2), the 1-2 pattern (low 2), the 3-4 pattern (high 3) and the low 1 pattern. Pick a key in the chart and the pattern for each string is written above the board. In C major the C and G strings use the 2-3 pattern and the D and A strings the 1-2 pattern.

Positions work by letter: in second position finger 1 goes where finger 2 was, and so on up to fifth position, where each string plays the notes of first position on the next string up. Because the notes are further apart than on a violin, keep the hand shape relaxed and move the whole arm when you shift.

Practice tips

Say the note names aloud as you play a scale, then play it again from the staff without the chart. The note reading trainer drills the treble and bass clefs, which you will meet in other parts; the quiz on this page covers the viola fingerboard and its alto clef notes. Keep a steady pulse with the metronome.

More for viola: Viola Tuner

Questions

More tools

• Viola Tuner
• Violin Notes
• Cello Notes
• Note Reading
• Metronome