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The aim of this study is to discuss, from socio-cultural and music practice perspectives, the presence of the viola (guitar) in Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of the nineteenth century. This bibliographical study is based on literature about the musical life in Brazil from 1750 to 1850, and the study of period sources about the viola, particularly in relation to thorough bass and accompaniment. Issues that stand out from the socio-cultural analysis are the conflict between acceptance and prejudice in relation to the instrument and its performers, and the use of the instrument for music instruction. We consider, taking as a departure point the example given by the Arte de muzica (Anonymous, 1823), that the instrument was conceivably used during early musical instruction and that a simplified version of the rule of the octave, proposed by its author, might epitomize a confluence of oral and written practices of the period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]