What are the differences between string material for a Viola / Violin and should you change string material to suit different venues? I have seen amazon listings and Fiddlerman.com listings for steel strings, silver strings and was unsure as to why i would want, IMHO , durable steel over malleable silver? I'm reading sheet music for Viola to get ready for when I start learning in earnest. I played French Horn in high school and now at 40 I want to take up Viola. I want the right sound and the right strings for that sound. Is there some chart or discussion that I am just missing as to which is which?
Regulars
Welcome Chusordie. I'm no expert but I do know that steel strings have more problems, especially for beginners. I have had good success with Helicore and DAddari strings. There are those here that have a better ability to explain the differences. In the mean time check out this: The problem with Steel Core Strings from http://fiddlerman.com
Steel strings are not that flexible thus sensitive to intonation issues. For example when they get stretched just slightly your open strings are out of tune which happens just from playing. Also, when you draw the bow across the strings a bit harder, the strings get tight enough to raise the pitch.
Basically you have two types of strings. Steel core and synthetic core. The silver is just the material used for the winding on some strings and is better for some finger types such as mine. I have acidy finger moisture.
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