On building a small viola

Repeated requests for small violas from young professionals, concerned about career-ending injuries as well as aging players with changing needs prompted me to abandon my reluctance to build anything smaller than the 15-5/8” model that has worked so well for me over many years. 
My recent work on smaller violin models made me think I could deal with the plate stiffness issues inherent in smaller outlines, and the continuing success of a large non-symmetrical viola model I developed years ago gave a direction for the basic design.  Experience with Tertis and other unusual model violas cause me to be skeptical of anything that gets too far away from basic principals of proportion, symmetry and balance that are essential to good instrument design. 
Yet there may be ways to find a different balance and symmetry that is more comfortable for the player.

 

I began design work on a 15” viola in the fall of 2005 with a 15-3/8” Gaspar da Salo pattern with full, but elegant archings.  The major design innovation is to shift the acoustic centerline of the instrument (neck and string placement) to the treble side at the neck, and to the bass side at the tailpiece.  The intended effect is easy left hand access to the upper positions with the instrument as a whole held closer to the body.  The string length is as short as normal strings will allow and the neck-to-body proportion is close to normal.

 

One challenge is that the characteristic dark viola sound is largely the product of the air volume inside the viola.  Volume can be maintained in a short instrument by increasing rib height or increasing width.  Yet there comes a point where lack of proportion in these elements leads to reduction in efficiency and balance in tone.  More is not better if it is not working efficiently as part of the whole system.  This is where this project was a big experiment.  I made my best guess, based on my years of experience, how much each of these things could be compromised and maintain an overall balance.

 

Visually, while the viola is noticeably non-symmetrical, the overall design maintains classic design principles and details. The prototype of this experimental model was constructed in March of 2006, and was set up and evaluated in the fall of that year.

 

This experiment turned out to be a wonderful success: the viola sounds great. It is available to try here at the studio in West Brattleboro. For photos and more information about Opus 573, 15” Gaspar da Salo Cut-away Viola, click here.