Viola Extractor

How to extract the viola from a song

1. Upload the song. MP3, WAV, M4A or FLAC, up to 10 minutes. You sign in with Google the first time.
2. Press Extract the viola. The button shows the price first: 1 credit for each minute of music. New accounts get 5 credits. Most jobs take 1 to 3 minutes.
3. Listen and download. Two reels appear: Viola and Without the viola. Click one to hear it alone, then download it as an MP3 at 320 kbps.

A failed job is refunded.

What the viola does

The viola is the middle voice of the string family, a little bigger than a violin and tuned lower. It rarely gets the tune. It fills in the harmony, plays inner lines and adds warmth under the violins. You hear that in string quartets, in orchestral arrangements, in folk groups and in pop records with a string section.

Because it is an inner voice, it is one of the harder instruments to hear in a finished mix. A separate file makes it audible.

Who needs it

• Viola players learning an inner part that is buried in the recording.
• Composition and arranging students studying voice leading between the violins and cellos.
• Producers who want to rebalance a string section.
• Ensemble players who need the other parts to play along with, using Without the viola.

Viola or violin?

Expect some crossover. A viola and a violin playing close together can look like one sound to a model, so the Viola file may carry a little violin, and the reverse. The viola sounds darker and a touch nasal compared with the violin. Try the Violin Extractor on the same song and compare. For the cello register, see the Cello Extractor. For the full section, use the Bowed Strings Extractor.