Viola jokes are
joke
A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with dialogue, ...
s that are directed towards
viola
The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
s and viola players, thought to have originated in the 18th century. Violas at the time were mainly used for relatively easy parts and as
accompaniment
Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of m ...
, rather than as solo instruments; violists were generally low-paid and of lower social standing.
A story from Italy in the early 1700s is thought to be the origin of many viola jokes:
The violinist Francesco Geminiani
Francesco Xaverio Geminiani (baptised 5 December 1687 – 17 September 1762) was an Italian violinist, composer, and music theorist. BBC Radio 3 once described him as "now largely forgotten, but in his time considered almost a musical god, deem ...
arrived in London in 1714, one of the many expatriate musicians who settled in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries ... As a young man Geminiani was appointed head of the orchestra in Naples, where according to English music historian Charles Burney
Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicis ...
he was "so wild and unsteady a timist, that instead of regulating and conducting the band, he threw it into confusion", and was demoted to playing the viola.
Viola jokes take many different forms, some only understandable by musicians and those acquainted with musical terms, others requiring no specialist musical knowledge. Some jokes make fun of the viola itself while others make fun of violists, while some jokes are directed in the opposite direction: jokes about musicians who tell viola jokes.
Examples of viola jokes, past and modern include:
* "How can you tell if a viola player is playing out of tune? The bow is moving."
*:This joke resembles a common joke: "How can you tell if a politician is lying? - His lips are moving"
* "What's the difference between a viola player and a pizza? A pizza can feed a family of four."
* "What's the difference between a viola and a coffin? Coffins have dead people on the inside."
* "What is the only thing a violinist can do better than a viola player? Play the viola.”
* "What do you call a forgotten violin? A viola."
* "How is the
minor second
A semitone, also called a minor second, half step, or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically.
It is defined as the interval between ...
defined? Two viola players play in
unison
Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...
.”
*:Explanation: Minor second is the smallest
musical interval
In music theory, an interval is a difference in pitch (music), pitch between two sounds. An interval may be described as horizontal, linear, or melodic if it refers to successively sounding tones, such as two adjacent pitches in a melody, and v ...
in Western music. When two notes with this interval are played simultaneously, this usually represents a
dissonance. The joke is that the violists are off pitch, and when playing in unison, produce a minor second instead.
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See also
*
Drummer jokes
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums.
Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...
References
Further reading
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eprinted: *
*
External links
Violajoke.com , Viola Joke generatorViola Jokes , Viola Central* Viola jokes
* https://www.public.asu.edu/~schuring/Misc./Viola.html
* https://bachtrack.com/feature-jokes-viola-month-september-2019
Professional humor
Joke cycles
Humor in classical music
Violas
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