![\"IMG_6812\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_6812.jpg?resize=580%2C435\")
<\/p>\nI’m a big fan of viola jokes. I don’t find them in the least bit offensive. Why? They’re mostly made up by violists, for one. They’re also based in a rather checkered early history of the instrument and its proponents. They have a basic sense of truth to them, and they’re also not at all mean-spirited. What I do find offensive are people who are very offended in a ‘holier-than-thou’ way by viola jokes. Please grow a sense of humor! Or not, you can do as you like.<\/p>\n
Anyway, I digress. We just got done with two performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, and whichever wag was on the front stand of the orchestra that used the rental parts before we got them had a healthy sense of violist humor:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It’s a visual joke akin to the famous viola joke when the violist asks the pianist how she learned to trill so quickly. The pianist replies that she didn’t understand what the violist is talking about. The violist sings the opening to\u00a0F\u00fcr Elise<\/em>. *rim shot*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’m a big fan of viola jokes. I don’t find them in the least bit offensive. Why? They’re mostly made up by violists, for one. They’re also based in a rather checkered early history of the instrument and its proponents. They have a basic sense of truth to them, and they’re also not at all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,22],"tags":[169,3660,3755],"class_list":["post-14102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-orchestra-world","category-viola","tag-mahler","tag-viola","tag-viola-jokes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-3Fs","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13934,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2015\/11\/09\/one-violist-in-manhattan\/","url_meta":{"origin":14102,"position":0},"title":"one violist in manhattan","author":"Charles Noble","date":"November 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Viola shaming. When will the madness end? #endviolajokes https:\/\/youtu.be\/g2lZPPhbHZY ;-)","rel":"","context":"In "video"","block_context":{"text":"video","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/video\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/g2lZPPhbHZY\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2792,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/07\/01\/odds-and-ends-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":14102,"position":1},"title":"odds and ends","author":"Charles Noble","date":"July 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The day's final glow from Bastyr dormitory. Photo: \u00c2\u00a9 Charles Noble Tonight was the final faculty chamber concert of the 2009 Max Aronoff Viola Institute, a string camp that I started along with University of Puget Sound viola faculty Joyce Ram\u00c3\u00a9e back in 1990.\u00c2\u00a0 It was a great concert on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_1374","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/IMG_1374-400x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21103,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2021\/02\/16\/john-oliver-is-a-violist\/","url_meta":{"origin":14102,"position":2},"title":"john oliver is a violist!","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"[Go to 1:35 in the video if you don't care which Muppet John Oliver is.] https:\/\/youtu.be\/LRk7WR4MjUA?t=95 We take our heroes where we find them. \"do you have the sexual confidence to play the viola?\"\u2013 Stephen Colbert \"for those of you who don't know, the viola is like the violin, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "television"","block_context":{"text":"television","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/television\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/LRk7WR4MjUA\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":74,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2006\/09\/06\/the-william-primrose-legacy-contd\/","url_meta":{"origin":14102,"position":3},"title":"the william primrose legacy (cont’d)","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"If you're into hearing state-of-the-art viola playing, look no further than the newly-released second solo album of William Primrose transcriptions played by Roberto Diaz and pianist Robert Koenig. Diaz's first CD was a collection of works by Henri Vieuxtemps, also with pianist Robert Koenig. The Vieuxtemps CD was performed on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5503,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/10\/30\/priceless-viola-moment\/","url_meta":{"origin":14102,"position":4},"title":"priceless viola moment","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Tonight we had one of those rare moments that is hilarious and will love on in viola section lore for years to come.\u00a0 At the dress rehearsal this morning, Jo\u00ebl, our principal, decided to have some fun with a melody in the Tchaikovsky First Symphony that is played by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "fun"","block_context":{"text":"fun","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/fun\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3864,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/01\/21\/viola-fanfare-but-hardly-common\/","url_meta":{"origin":14102,"position":5},"title":"viola fanfare (but hardly common)","author":"Charles Noble","date":"January 21, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Violist Sam Bergman, of the Minnesota Orchestra (and fellow BBB - Bratsche Blogging Brother) made this arrangement of Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man for a Minnesota Orchestra function. \u00a0I kind of like it - it might be something we should do here in Oregon...","rel":"","context":"In "bloggers"","block_context":{"text":"bloggers","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/bloggers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14102\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}