Viola reach too short in high positions

January 21, 2026, 3:36 PM · There is a technique to reach all positions in the case of a person with small hands. If you watch any international competition with a junior division you'll see all the young prodigies making use of it. Alternatively, consider an ergonomic viola, with a cutaway.

January 21, 2026, 4:06 PM · I think Cotton's lattee suggestion is a good one.

January 21, 2026, 6:10 PM · I suggest getting Cotton's lattee with soy milk.

On a more serious note, the problem with letting go of your thumb on the bout or the neck is that you fear dropping your instrument, and that fear is very paralyzing. You mentioned that you play restless, and it's maybe a little counterintuitive to use an SR with the viola but not the violin, but I'm going to suggest that you try that. I realize it SHOULD be possible to do this without the SR, but it's about what works for you.

January 21, 2026, 6:40 PM · Excuse me while I go "Whoa." Eighth position and above? I have played some of the great viola pieces, and I have never had a need to go anywhere 8th position. I cannot imagine why anyone would want to be up that high.
I use a 15.5 inch viola, and I have small hands. I don't know if I have ever gone higher than 5th position. No need to in any of my playing. While I am sure that the suggestions made by the previous posters are useful, I am just having a lot of trouble imagining how this is relevant to most of us violists.
I welcome any comment about when 8th position or above might be useful.

January 21, 2026, 7:01 PM · I have a tiny violist (barely over 5 foot) who plays a viola with very large bouts. She has struggled with this as well, but like all small violists, she has learned how to do it. She does have to sometimes bring her thumb completely around. She also brings her whole hand kind of up and over if that makes sense.

If you cannot balance the viola without the thumb, I would suggest working on your setup until you can find a way to balance the viola. It's really very hard to play the viola without a shoulder rest -- not the same as violin.

And Tom, my daughter is 16 and currently has two pieces that go above 8th position, so it definitely happens!

Edited: January 21, 2026, 8:32 PM · Do you play with almost nothing or do you have a piece of foam or equivalent for a shoulder rest? I'm slightly over 5" and comfortably play both violin and viola, and while I have not needed to play above like 5th position or thereabouts on viola because my viola activities have largely been in the ensemble sphere, I have definitely experimented with reaching the highest positions for fun and I definitely can't play up there without having my thumb on the side of the fingerboard. Even on the violin I have to bring my thumb to the side of the fingerboard when playing very high up on the G string (which does of course happen in violin solo repertoire) but not necessarily on the E string. BTW I do play with a shoulder rest on both violin and viola, and for me I can't really imagine playing completely without one long-term because I don't find it comfortable, but I could theoretically see myself being pretty comfortable with a piece of foam or something similar (though I'm very happy with my setup so I don't need to change it).

January 21, 2026, 9:17 PM · I bring my thumb up alongside the fingerboard (I actually do it some on violin also) and that's how I teach it. I don't use a shoulder rest on viola, but do use two thin cosmetic sponges (Shar sells them in a two pack) held on with a rubber band. This gives me just enough friction and balance. I have seen players bring their thumb alongside the bout of the viola, but then it's harder to reach the lower strings in position (I also have a wide bout viola, so that doesn't work for me).

January 21, 2026, 10:56 PM · I'm primarily a violist, I play a 15.75" viola, and my hands are even smaller than yours (7.8" span, 2.3" pinky).

Above 7th position, I rarely use my fourth finger at all, because my thrid finger can reach farther. At that point I'm not really thinking about positions, because I'm more-or-less leading with the third finger and letting the other fingers follow. Beyond the E above the treble clef, my thumb goes completely out to the bout.

I do not think it would be possible for me to play viola without a shoulder rest. (I'm able to play violin without one, but still prefer to use one.) For me, the main purpose of the shoulder rest is to tilt the viola enough to allow my fingers to reach notes on the C string or in high positions.

January 22, 2026, 12:29 AM · The first time I had to play a bunch of high stuff on the viola was when I was in an orchestra and we performed Copland's "Billy the Kid." I swear half the part was in treble clef.

January 22, 2026, 4:25 AM · Kathryn I play restless on the violin too, so I sympathize, but the answer to your specific question really is to use a shoulder rest.

Edited: January 22, 2026, 5:35 AM · I don't want to teach grandma to suck eggs, but it's not just about stretch.
I can stretch 8 1/2" on a ruler, but that's not very musical.
When I did the 3-octave F scale with my violin teacher, she taught me hand-shaping technique and didn't let me put my thumb on the bout. I can just about get the G above too.

But viola is trickier. I wouldn't like to try more than G over 3 octaves on my 15 1/2, but that's from pizzicato on the sofa. Clearly I should take it off the wall more often and practise scales.

Edited: January 22, 2026, 1:01 PM · @Andrew - I can get to the F on a three octave scale pretty well and maybe G, but after that, I am pretty much toast. Every once in while I get some piece that goes up briefly to B or C above that G, and I don't do that at all well.

January 22, 2026, 7:05 AM · My ex was 5’3” with small-ish hands, and played a rather imposing Erdesz viola. I couldn’t tell you what her exact technique was, but she was a first rate professional until her back blew out. There were times it seemed she was scrambling around a miniature horizontal cello. All possible if you are willing to be creative.

January 22, 2026, 2:48 PM · Thanks all, these replies are helpful!

I will experiment with the shoulder rest.

I also appreciate the reinforcement from several of you that these are not "positions of normal use" for viola. :) However, the 3-oct scales that use them are apparently standard audition fare by the middle tier of at least one of our local youth orchestras...