> > > > > Naw, but it seems like it. There are, I believe... twenty violins, three violas [only one that plays consistantly and I think she'd really a violinist... I've pondered taking it up for the orchestra... prob'ly not, I'd have to stop making jokes]
> > > >
> > > > By the way, why do musicians continually make bad jokes about violas and violasists (sp), anyway? It can't be because the instrument sounds bad...
> > > >
> > > > Wolf "???" spirit
> > >
> > > It is because they (the musicians) are evil and cruel and jealous of the sweet, free, resonating beauty of the viola. They're jealous, do you hear me?! Jealous!
> >
> > They're the easiest. Think about it. You can't pick on a Bass. We need the basses. [substantial snip snip]
> See, if there's a really high piece, it generally goes to the violins. Violas are left to play harmony with that C string they are so proud of having. All the instruments have their own sound-- the deeper than deep basses, the sweet cellos, the soft violins / heady fiddles-- but a viola is just a viola. A violin-wannabe that sides with the cellos on the basis of comparative strings. Sure, it sounds a little different, I'll give it that, but there isn't as much character. In their defense [what am I doing?!] the viola-dominated pieces I've heard are all exceptionally beautiful. There are just so few of them in comparison to the others. [snip]
>
> Wow...uh...well this *still* doesn't really explain why "violas are the easiest to pick on". So if I cut all this down to the chase, am I correct in deducing that the actual tone range of a viola is effectively covered by violins and cellos, already? In other words, violas are a joke because they're actually somewhat *redundant* in an orchestra?
>
> Wolfspirit

A viola is not redundant at all. As far as I can tell, the only reason violas get so much flack is because they don't stand out so much: Instead of being particularly high or low like a violin or cello, they are right in between. That's not to say they aren't important, because violas fill in the gap left between violins and cellos. It's not the most glorifying job in an orchestra, but it is an important and necessary one. Those composers are no idiots, (except when it comes to giving us decent parts to play, but I won't get into that right now) and if there was a completely redundant instrument in the orchestra, they would have written it out long ago. Like I said before, violas aren't bad, they're just misunderstood.

-M"as long as we're bashing instruments here: what's so great about basses? My middle school didn't have any in the orchestra and we got along just fine without them"el