The tenor viol was the ancestor of our modern viola. It was the oldest of the viol family. It was very large and very hard to play, because it was so difficult to hold comfortably. But the instrument was too important to be sacrificed to the convenience of the player and the latter had to get along with it as well as he could; for, in the general plan of Mediæval Music, the tenor always sang, or sustained, the melody, or _cantus_. The need for a more manageable instrument to play the leading melody is one of the reasons that brought about the creation of the _little violin_ which was destined to sing soprano. But at the time we are talking about there was no violin. This great, big, awkward tenor viol was called _Violino_! Then when the instrument-makers developed the little instrument that we call _violin_, they gave it the name _violino piccolo_, or little violin. The newcomer was really the little tenor viol! Both _violino_ (or tenor) and its small companion, _violino piccolo_, were made in great numbers in Lombardy, whence they were sent to the wealthy houses throughout Europe. The makers, as we have seen, began to improve the _violino piccolo_ to get more tone out of it. They also tried for sweetness; and the beautiful violin came into being to charm the world. In the meantime, _violinos_ were made in two sizes—tenor and alto. After a time these two instruments were combined into one. Then the great, big, awkward tenor viol disappeared and the viola took its place. Therefore the viola is sometimes referred to as the alto and sometimes as the tenor. Both names are correct. The viola has been made in many sizes, from the huge instruments by Gasparo di Salò to instruments not much larger than the modern violin. The standard size is now about one-seventh larger than the ordinary violin. Fine violas are rare. Those by Maggini, of which not a dozen exist, are especially valued. They are of a very high model: the corners short; the purfling double; the sound-holes short, wide, upright, under-cut on the inner edge and placed higher than on his violins; the wood is fine; and the varnish is golden brown. A viola often has “sleepy places,” where the notes sound muffled; and it is also apt to have the dreaded “wolf.”[10] It is often said that the viola is too large to be held like a violin and too small to be held like a violoncello. So it might be described as a half-and-half way instrument between the two. [Illustration: VIOLA D’AMORE, WITH “FLAMING-SWORD” SOUND-HOLES] Music for the viola is written in the Alto, or C, Clef (on the third line). The highest notes are, however, written in the Treble, Violin, Soprano, or G, Clef.