The fact "A viola is to a violin as an alto is to a soprano." is illustrated with the story: 1. Musical instruments and voices come in several pitch ranges from low to high frequency, 2. In the violin family, from lowest to highest, these are: 3. Bass Viol, Cello, Viola, and violin.  4. The size of the instruments also vary with the Bass Viol being the largest 5. and the Violin being the smallest.