What's a Viola?

Commonly confused with a violin, a viola is more of an alto (or mid range) instrument.  Along with being generally bigger than its smaller cousin, It also shares 3 strings in common with the violin and copies the cello with adding a low "C" string.

Generally used to fill out orchestrations, it has a more mellow range of tone without a lot of the violin's stridency.  Many of the concepts of how to hold, finger and bow are the same, but the music for it is rendered in the Alto Clef (not a lot of instruments play from this clef), and even less musicians can read the music.

Viola players are usually in demand, so musicians choosing to play this intrument will usually have an easier time finding paying jobs (and of course there are always LOTS of volunteer ones).