# Violin, viola, cello, or bass, which string instrument should you play?

Source: https://arcosounds.com/guides/choosing-a-string-instrument
Updated: 2026-08-23

**Short answer.** Choose by the sound you want to make, not by which instrument is easiest, all four take about the same effort in the first year. Violin has the tightest finger spacing and most of the melody, viola adds alto clef and sits in the harmony, cello is the most physically comfortable and the most versatile as a solo instrument, and double bass is the most in demand in every ensemble you will ever join.

## Start with the sound

People switch instruments for many reasons, but almost nobody who chose by sound regrets it, and almost everybody who chose by supposed difficulty does. Listen to a solo recording of each, a Bach partita for violin, a Brahms viola sonata, the Elgar cello concerto, a Bottesini bass piece, and notice which one you keep replaying. That reaction is more predictive of whether you will still be practising in three years than any comparison of technical demands.


## The four instruments compared

|  | Violin | Viola | Cello | Double bass |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tuning | G3 D4 A4 E5 | C3 G3 D4 A4 | C2 G2 D3 A3 | E1 A1 D2 G2 |
| Clef | Treble | Alto (+ treble) | Bass (+ tenor, treble) | Bass, sounds 8vb |
| Held | Under the chin | Under the chin | Seated, between knees | Standing or high stool |
| Finger spacing | Tightest | Wide | Wide, needs extensions | Widest, one whole step per position |
| Role | Mostly melody | Inner harmony | Bass line and melody | Harmonic foundation |
| Competition | High | Low | Moderate | Very low |


## Violin

The violin carries most of the melody in orchestral and chamber music and has by far the largest solo repertoire. It is also the smallest, which cuts both ways: it is portable and cheap to rent, but the finger spacing is tight enough that a small placement error is audibly out of tune. The physical setup, the instrument balanced between chin and collarbone with the left hand free, is the least natural of the four and takes real time to become comfortable.

Choose violin if you want to play the tune, if you are drawn to the solo repertoire, or if you are young enough that the small size is an advantage. Be aware that it is also the most crowded field: every youth orchestra has more violinists than it needs.


## Viola

The viola is tuned a fifth below the violin and reads alto clef, which is the single thing that makes it feel different rather than merely bigger. Its sound is darker and less penetrating, and it lives in the middle of the texture, which means fewer tunes and more harmonic responsibility. Violists who enjoy the instrument tend to enjoy exactly that, being the part that makes the chord work.

The practical argument for viola is demand. Almost every orchestra, quartet, and school programme is short of violists, so a competent violist gets playing opportunities that a violinist of the same standard would have to compete hard for. The learning curve is comparable to the violin, plus a few months to make alto clef automatic.


## Cello

The cello is the most physically comfortable of the four to hold: you sit, the instrument rests against you, and both arms hang naturally. That makes the first weeks less frustrating than the violin's. The trade is left-hand geometry, the string is long enough that a half step is a hand movement rather than a fingertip one, so cellists shift and extend far more than violinists do, and read in three clefs rather than one.

It has a large and beloved solo repertoire, an unambiguous role in every chamber ensemble, and a range that covers both bass line and melody. The practical downsides are size and cost: a full-size cello does not fit in a bicycle basket, and instruments and cases are more expensive than their violin equivalents.


## Double bass

The double bass is a different instrument from the other three in more than size. It is tuned in fourths, uses its own fingering system, sounds an octave below what is written, and has a foot in both classical and jazz worlds, the only orchestral string instrument with a serious second career. Physically it demands attention to posture from day one, since a badly set-up bassist accumulates real injuries.

It is also the fastest route into ensemble playing. Bassists are perpetually scarce, the early orchestral parts are approachable, and a beginner who can hold a steady line is genuinely useful to a group within months. Most school programmes supply the instrument, which removes the main practical barrier.


## The difficulty question, answered honestly

There is no easy one. All four are fretless, which means every note must be placed by ear and by feel; all four require a bow arm, which is the genuinely hard part of string playing and is common to all of them; and all four take roughly three to six months of consistent daily practice before simple pieces sound good.

The differences are in where the difficulty sits. Violin concentrates it in intonation precision and holding position. Viola adds a clef. Cello moves it into shifting and clef changes. Bass moves it into constant position changes and physical scale. Pick the one whose sound you want; the work is comparable either way.

> **Switching later is normal**, Bow technique and reading transfer almost completely between the four. Violinists move to viola all the time, and cellists to bass. Choosing one now does not close the others off.


## Practical considerations

- Size: violins, violas, and cellos come in fractional sizes for children. A correctly sized instrument matters more than a good one, an oversized instrument builds bad habits and can cause injury.
- Rent before buying. Rental programmes are inexpensive, usually apply payments toward a purchase, and let a growing student move up sizes without a loss.
- Budget for the bow and the setup, not only the instrument. A mediocre instrument with a good bow and a proper setup sounds better than an expensive one with neither.
- Space and transport: a cello needs a car or a very determined walk; a double bass usually lives at school.
- If you are joining a school orchestra, ask which sections are short. Turning up as the viola or bass the programme needs is a much better first year than being the twelfth violin.

## Frequently asked

**Which string instrument is easiest for a beginner?**
None is meaningfully easier, all four are fretless and all four require a bow arm, which is the hardest common element. The cello is the most physically comfortable to hold in the first weeks, and the double bass is the fastest route into ensemble playing, but the total first-year workload is similar across the family.

**Is viola harder than violin?**
Not harder, but different. The viola's wider string spacing is more forgiving of small intonation errors, while its extra weight and alto clef are new demands. A violinist switching to viola usually needs a few months for the clef to become automatic; a complete beginner faces a comparable workload on either.

**Which string instrument is most in demand?**
Viola and double bass, by a wide margin. Almost every orchestra, quartet, and school programme has more violinists than it needs and fewer violists and bassists than it wants, so competent players on those instruments get playing opportunities much earlier.

**Can an adult start learning a string instrument?**
Yes. Adults learn differently from children, faster conceptually, slower physically, and the main adjustment is patience with the physical side. Adult beginners who practise twenty to thirty minutes most days typically play simple pieces within three to four months.

Canonical source: https://arcosounds.com/guides/choosing-a-string-instrument