What Does A $37 Viola Sound Like?

There are a ton of super cheap violins and violas on eBay. I’ve always been really curious about them: what you can expect for those kind of bargain basement prices? To find out, I ordered a couple of violas–one of them was just 37 bucks! Today we’re going to unbox them and hear what they sound like.

Here are the instruments I bought:

The cheaper one (the price has now increased to $49):

Slightly more expensive one.

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How to Hold the Violin

Introduction to the Violin

If you’re a beginner who is curious about the violin and its family, we have answers for you! The violin is an ancient musical instrument that mystifies and lends itself to fantasy like no other. The violin produces a shimmery, brilliant and resonant sound when the strings of the instrument are pulled by the hair of a bow. The strings can either be played this way, arco (with the bow) or by pizzicato (plucking of the string).

The violin is the highest tuned instrument in the strings family, but shares nearly the same tuning as the other three instruments : the viola, the cello, and the double-bass.

All of these instruments are constructed from wood, and then finished with an oily substance known as varnish. The varnish gives the violin its shiny texture, and often accentuates the natural flame of the wood, giving the finished violin a beautiful and shiny appearance.

The violin was originally designed to emulate, and is often compared to, the human voice. Both the human voice and the vibrating strings of the violin are full of rich overtones and traditionally are played in combination with vibrato. Both are highly soloistic instruments. The violin is a lifelong companion to the player. While fundamentally it can be one of the hardest to begin learning, once you start to get the hang of playing, there is so much to be learned and fun to be had.