If you look at my three-string chord viola, you can discover three very characteristic differences in comparison with the normal four-string viola:

1) The three-string viola has only three strings fixed to G-D-A (like the upper three strings of the four-string viola) but the A string is physically the same as the G one, and is fixed an octave bellow the normal viola's A. 2) The viola's bridge is flattened to allow all the three strings to unison. (Sometimes I place some plastic material, like plasticine, behind the bridge to soften the viola's voice.) 3) Since the three-string viola is a chord instrument we have to use not a normal viola stick but a shorter, stronger one (for example the one fourth cello stick).

On the photo you can see how I hold the instrument

Designed by Robert Szlizs (C)1998 szlizs@salamon.sk