CPC Ministries (short for Cuerdas para Cristo) is dedicated to producing professional violinists and cellists for the music ministry in God's Kingdom. We strive for them to know God intimately through praise, worship, and prayer. We want to facilitate their participation with the rest of the band and give them a larger role in all styles of music using both acoustic and electric violins and cellos with all sorts of effects pedals and bowing techniques. We also want them to know how to minister spiritually with their instruments to believers and unbelievers alike and in this way expand God's Kingdom.

What about viola and double bass?

The viola and violin look quite similar. So what exactly are the differences between them? The viola is a bit larger, and instead of having the high E string, it has a low C string. Therefore the viola can play a bit lower than the violin and not quite as high in pitch. Also, reading sheet music is very different for a violist. It's written with what's called the alto clef which is rare and takes a lot of getting used to.

I have no plans on teaching specifically viola in CPC Ministries for 3 reasons: Firstly, much less people are interested in learning it. Secondly, if a violin student wants to learn it, he can take it up with little to no trouble since the technique is almost completely the same as the violin. With regards to reading the sheet music for viola, I can show him the principles of reading in the confusing alto clef or we can easily develop more practical ways to read and write music for the viola. However, the third and most important reason is that electric violins and even some acoustic violins are available with 5 strings meaning that they have the high E string and the low C string. So a 5-string violin is like a violin and viola combined. This is why I believe that in the context of modern music, the viola will probably be considered obsolete if it isn't already. 

The double bass has a register that is the same as the 4-string bass guitar. This low register is important for all kinds of music, but the double bass is a very large instrument and is probably a bit more unwieldy compared to the cello or bass guitar. Certain techniques on the cello are either much more difficult or impossible on the double bass due to its size. Therefore I'll probably use a cello that is designed to be tuned an octave lower than a regular cello. This "bass cello" would have a range very similar to the 5-string bass guitar. (For those musically inclined, the bass cello's lowest string would be the C that is just one semitone above the bass guitar's B string). I haven't ruled out the double bass entirely, but I think there are more practical options.

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