Looking for the best last-minute holiday gift ideas for a violist in your life?

Finding gift ideas can be stressful, especially if you don’t come from a viola or even musical background yourself.

In this post, we’ll offer several ideas for last-minute holiday gifts that will make a violist in your life smile.

Let’s jump in!

1. tonebase Viola subscription

There are few gifts better than those that unlock new abilities for aspiring violists.

This said, educational tools for learning or improving on the viola go a long way to truly benefit the viola player in your life.

There are lots of options to choose from in this regard, but when searching for the best viola learning tool, it’s important to look for qualities such as quality of education, ease of access, engaging content, etc.

For these reasons, we highly recommend a membership to tonebase Viola.

tonebase Viola is an online course platform featuring exclusive viola courses from Juilliard professors, GRAMMY winners, and other world-renowned musicians. It comes with access to a highly supportive online community, and an opportunity to interact with iconic violists through weekly live event invitations.

This is an excellent gift that is sure to make any violist’s holiday, be it a birthday, Christmas, or others.

2. Sheet music books of their favorite composer

Violists love really digging into the music of their favorite composers, and this is why sheet music books can be an excellent gift option.

Now you might not know their favorite viola composers, and that’s totally fine! Find an opportunity to ask them who their favorite composers are without hinting at anything, and using this information, you can head over to Amazon or other online sheet music retailers to start your search.

They might mention names like Bach, Walton, Hindemith, Berlioz, Bartók, or Brahms, amongst others.

Try a quick google search for “complete viola works by [composer name] sheet music”, and you’ll find exactly the book you’re looking for.

3. Chin rests

Know a violist who is struggling to find a comfortable playing position?

Playing the viola can be physically challenging - an uncomfortable chin rest can make it very hard to practice comfortably and effectively.

For this reason, a well-fitted chin rest can be a great gift idea. It provides enough support and comfort to the violist, so they can freely practice without strain.

Just make sure you purchase a chin rest for violists, not violinists.

4. Books on the most historic violists

Now not all violists are big readers, so you use your best judgement on this one, but if the violist in your life likes books, this could be a good option.

There are lots of excellent books on some of the most important violists of all time, names such as Lionel Tertis, William Primrose, Yuri Bashmet, Nobuko Imai, and Tabea Zimmermann.

This is an excellent opportunity to gift your violist the opportunity to really “nerd-out” on some of the most important names in the history of the viola.

Here are a few recommendations for violists:

• My Viola and I by Lionel Tertis
• Playing the Viola: Conversations with William Primrose
• The Primrose Legacy: The Art of Viola Playing
• Viola for Virtuosos: History and Influence of Leading Violists

5. Tuners

Violists are constantly fighting to stay in tune during a performance, especially since their instruments react heavily to external temperatures.

A clip on tuner is a very thoughtful gift that is very practical in its nature, and shows them that you wish them the best in their performances.

Most of the top clip-on tuners on Amazon will do, so read the reviews and see that they have to say.

Conclusion

From this list you should be able to find a suitable gift for the violist in your life, be it something a bit more practical, like the tonebase subscription and sheet music, or more fun, like the books.

If you’d like to purchase the tonebase membership, there is currently a 40% sale happening right now, which you can access here.

Happy holidays!