Viola (Brazil)

"Viola" is also the name of an musical instrument, usually resembling a 10 or 12-string steel guitar, that is used in Brazilian folk music.

Its origins are obscure, but folklorist Luís da Câmara Cascudo believes it to be an archaic form of the Arab alaud (al-luth) that elsewhere evolved into the modern guitar.

There are no standard construction sheets for Brazilian violas: they can vary wildly in size, shape, number of strings, string tuning and resonance power. The most common designs are the Viola Sertaneja (5 pairs of steel strings in a body similar to that of a smaller Spanish guitar) and the Viola Caipira (6 pairs of steel strings in a longer and narrower body). Viola Sertaneja is especially easy to play because the interval between strings is of a third, which means that any three strings clipped at the same position, or loose, will make a major chord; chords with the seventh minor can be formed also very easily.

Violas are present in nearly all Brazilian music forms, anywhere in the country (although it is declining in some places). It most often associated with Caipira Music (Brazilian country music), with some forms of North-Eastern music and with folkloric music. It was once used to play urban music, like choro, samba and maxixe, but has been replaced by the acoustic guitar.

Two of the greatest virtuosos of Brazilian viola are Zé Côco do Riachão (composer from Minas Gerais) and Almir Sater (successful singer-songwriter from Mato Grosso).

A National Association of Viola Players (Associação Nacional dos Violeiros) has been founded in 2004 and the Ministry of Culture has declared the preservation of the Viola tradition as of national interest.

External Links

Boa Música Brasileira in Portuguese