Viola jokes are
joke
A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laughter, laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with ...
s that are directed towards
viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
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, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
s and viola players, thought to have originated in the 18th century. Violas at the time were mainly used for relatively easy parts and as
accompaniment, rather than as solo instruments; violists were generally low-paid and of lower social standing.
A story from Italy in the early 1700s is thought to be the origin of many viola jokes:
The violinist Francesco Geminiani arrived in London in 1714, one of the many expatriate musicians who settled in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries ... As a young man Geminiani was appointed head of the orchestra in Naples, where according to English music historian Charles Burney he was "so wild and unsteady a timist, that instead of regulating and conducting the band, he threw it into confusion", and was demoted to playing the viola.
Viola jokes take many different forms, some only understandable by musicians and those acquainted with musical terms, others requiring no specialist musical knowledge. Some jokes make fun of the viola itself while others make fun of violists, while some jokes are directed in the opposite direction: jokes about musicians who tell viola jokes.
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See also
*
Drummer jokes
Drummer jokes are jokes that are directed at drummers and percussionists, often impugning their musicianship or intelligence. They have circulated since the early 20th century; a 1930 article in the magazine ''The Ludwig Drummer'' referred to the ...
References
Further reading
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eprinted: *
*
External links
Violajoke.com , Viola Joke generatorViola Jokes , Viola Central* Viola jokes
* https://www.public.asu.edu/~schuring/Misc./Viola.html
* https://bachtrack.com/feature-jokes-viola-month-september-2019
Professional humor
Joke cycles
Humor in classical music
Violas
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