Viola Lessons

Ed Motter-Vlahakos has been teaching for 20 years and offers viola lessons in Clear Lake, Texas, for children and adults, focusing on technical mastery, reading and improvisation in a variety of styles including symphonic music, traditional Irish fiddle, bluegrass, sacred, middle-eastern, and jazz. Ed is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, and many of his previous students have placed highly in the UIL Region competition and gone on to perform in the both the State Orchestra and professionally. To inquire about viola lessons in Clear Lake, Texas at Nassau Bay Music Lessons, please contact us with any scheduling or other questions you may have.

Although slightly larger and producing a deeper, richer tone than its cousin, the violin, many consider the viola to be a comparatively difficult musical instrument to learn, due to the many technical hurdles which must be overcome to excel. When playing a note on the piano, for instance, merely touching the key produces a clear note, perfectly in tune, with no further manipulation needed by the musician. However when performing the same feat on a viola one must be constantly aware not only of the weight, angle, and velocity of the bow, but also that the fingers of the left hand are in precise placement producing good tone and intonation. Add to this the frustration sometimes inherent in learning to read Alto clef, and you raise the difficulty level even further. The mind and body must be in absolute unison, a carefully choreographed ballet between the performer and the instrument to play even the simplest of passages with any measure of beauty and grace. For these reasons, viola is sometimes chosen as a beginner instrument for larger children, and after the many hours necessary to perfect their craft the student may unwittingly discover not only the boundless joy inherent in the unfettered creation of music but also some substantial degree of discipline in themselves.