Angry Violist #1

angry.violist@yahoo.com

I must first admit that up until I sat down to write this review I thought this zine was called “Angry Violinist”. What a fool I was! Though to be honest, I’m not even really sure what a viola looks like.

But let’s ignore all that (and the existence of Google image search), because this is actually a cool zine that doesn’t require any knowledge of violas, violins, or any other stringed instrument. Sure knowing how to play one might help you gain more knowledge from this zine, but there’re plenty of reasons to read it even if you can’t play any musical instrument.

The first piece here is one I found really interesting, it talks about the rigidity of learning violin (and other traditional instruments), and how many/most teachers of these instruments believe you should play only classical music. I find classical instruments really bizarre in that people who play them frequently seem to only play music written hundreds of years ago.

There’s also info on Transylvanian folk viola playing, how to bow your guitar (amazing, but really went way over my non-musically inclined head), the fact that bows are apparently made from horse hair (the poor horses...), and a list of rebellious string players to inspire you to use your instrument in new and exciting ways.