How do you change viola sheet music to violin music?

Question

My mom bought me a viola book on accident and i want to learn whats in there but i dont know if i can. Also, she cant return it for the the correct book. If you can explain how to change it that would be awesome.

Answer 1

The alto clef signature can be transposed.

The alto clef signature indicates that the center line of the staff is Middle C.  

You can use this link to transpose the accidentals and sharps & flats to treble clef:

http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/musi...

Answer 2

The alto clef places middle C on the middle line of the staff - so, the bottom line is F.

The order of the lines on the staff, from bottom to top, is F - A - C - E - G.

On the treble clef, however, the lines are E - G - B - D - F.

It's fairly easy to sight-transpose, if you read it as though it is treble clef, but move all the notes up one - for example, where the note is an A in treble clef, play a B one octave down.  When it's a B, play a C one octave down.  When it's a C, play a D one octave down ... etc.

The only problem with attempting to play a viola song on a violin is that the viola has a C string - so if any of the notes in the sheet music go beneath a G, you won't be able to play it on violin, as it has no C string.