The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, bass violin or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed In music, a bow is moved across some part of a musical instrument, causing vibration which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones string instrument A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones. The most common string instruments in the string family are guitar, violin, viola, cello, double bass, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, and in the modern symphony orchestra An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus. The orchestra grew by accretion throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth. The double bass is a standard member of the string section of the symphony orchestra An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus. The orchestra grew by accretion throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth^[1] and smaller string ensembles^[2] in Western classical music Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times. The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common practice period. In addition, it is used in other genres such as jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th century American popular music. Its West African pedigree, 1950s-style blues Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created primarily within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads. The blues form ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues, and and rock and roll Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of the blues, country music and gospel music. Though elements of rock and roll can be heard in country records of the 1930s, and in blues records from the 1920s, rock and roll did not, rockabilly The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music (often called hillbilly music in the 1940s and 1950s) that contributed strongly to the style's development. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie woogie, and rhythm and blues. While there are notable exceptions,/psychobilly Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly, and gothabilly. Psychobilly is often characterized by lyrical references to science fiction, horror and exploitation films,, traditional country music Country music is a blend of traditional and popular musical forms traditionally found in the Southern United States and the Canadian Maritimes that evolved rapidly in the 1920s, bluegrass Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of country music. It has roots in Scottish, English, Welsh[citation needed] and Irish traditional music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of immigrants from the United Kingdom and Ireland , and African-Americans, particularly through genres such as jazz and blues. In, tango Tango is a style of syncopated ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, doublebass, and two bandoneons. Earlier forms of this ensemble sometimes included flute, and many types of folk music Folk music is a term for musical folklore which originated in the 19th century. It has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by word of mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. Since the middle of the 20th century, the term has also been.

The double bass is typically constructed from several types of wood, including maple for the back, spruce for the top, and ebony for the fingerboard. It is uncertain whether the instrument is a descendant of the viola da gamba The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late fifteenth century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Spanish vihuela (a guitarlike plucked string instrument). Some degree of developmental influence, if only in or of the violin, but it is traditionally aligned with the violin family. While the double bass is nearly identical in construction to other violin family instruments, it also embodies features found in the older viol A viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Spanish vihuela . Some degree of developmental influence, if only in playing posture, is credited to the Moorish family.

Like many other string instruments A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones. The most common string instruments in the string family are guitar, violin, viola, cello, double bass, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, and, the double bass is played either with a bow (arco) A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones. The most common string instruments in the string family are guitar, violin, viola, cello, double bass, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, and or by plucking the strings (pizzicato Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of stringed instrument). In orchestral repertoire and tango music, both arco and pizzicato are employed. In jazz, pizzicato is the norm, except for some solos and also occasional written parts in modern jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th century American popular music. Its West African pedigree that call for bowing. In most other genres, such as blues and rockabilly, the bass is plucked.

The double bass is a transposing instrument A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which written notes are read at a pitch different from concert pitch, which a non-transposing instrument, such as a piano, would play. On a transposing instrument, a concert C is written as a different note; the concert pitch that is played for a written C determines the key that an instrument and sounds one octave In music, an octave ( Play ) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. Using notes, this would be the same note up or down 12 semi-tones on the chromatic scale. For example, an A4 note would be one octave lower than an A5 note, and one octave higher than an A3 note. The octave relationship is a lower than notated.

History

The double bass is generally regarded as a modern descendant of the string family of instruments that originated in Europe in the 15th century, and as such it has been described as a "bass violin."^[3] Before the 20th century many double basses had only three strings, in contrast to the five to six strings typical of instruments in the string family or the four strings of instruments in the violin family. Some existing instruments, such as those by Gasparo da Salò Gasparo da Salò is the name given to Gasparo di Bertolotti, one of the earliest violin makers of which many and very detailed historical records (about 90 documents and 60 instruments) exist. His native village was Salò on Lake Garda, Italy. His father and uncle were clever violin players and involved in artistic works like restoration,, were converted from sixteenth-century six-string contrabass violoni The violone is a large, bowed musical instrument that can belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted instrument, and may have six, five, four, or even only three strings. The violone is also not always a contrabass instrument. In modern parlance, one usually tries to clarify the 'type' of violone by adding a.^[4]

The double bass's proportions are dissimilar to those of the violin and cello; for example, it is deeper (the distance from top to back is proportionally much greater than the violin). In addition, while the violin has bulging shoulders, most double basses have shoulders carved with a more acute slope, like members of the viol family. Many very old double basses have had their shoulders cut or sloped to aid playing with modern techniques. Before these modifications, the design of their shoulders was closer to instruments of the violin family.

The double bass is the only modern bowed string instrument that is tuned in fourths (like a viol), rather than fifths "Fifths" is the nickname given to the String Quartet in D minor, Op. 76 No. 2, by Franz Josef Haydn. For the "Circle of Fifths" concept in music theory, see Circle of fifths (see Tuning, below). The issue of the instrument's exact lineage is still a matter of some debate, and the supposition that the double bass is a direct descendant of the viol A viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Spanish vihuela . Some degree of developmental influence, if only in playing posture, is credited to the Moorish family is one that has not been entirely resolved.

In his A New History of the Double Bass, Paul Brun asserts, with many references, that the double bass has origins as the true bass of the violin family The Violin family of musical instruments was developed in Italy in the sixteenth century. The violin family consists of the violin, viola, cello, double bass and Octobass. He states that, while the exterior of the double bass may resemble the viola da gamba, the internal construction of the double bass is nearly identical to instruments in the violin family The Violin family of musical instruments was developed in Italy in the sixteenth century. The violin family consists of the violin, viola, cello, double bass and Octobass, and very different from the internal structure of viols.^[5]

Terminology

A person who plays this instrument is called a bassist, double bassist, double bass player, contrabassist, contrabass player, or bass player. The names contrabass and double bass refer the instrument's range and use in the contra octave below the cello, also called the 16' octave relative to the church organ.^[6] The terms for the instrument among classical performers are contrabass (which comes from the instrument's Italian name, contrabbasso), string bass (to distinguish it from a brass bass instrument in a concert band), or simply bass.

In jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th century American popular music. Its West African pedigree and other genre musicians outside of classical music commonly call it the upright bass or acoustic bass to distinguish it from the electric bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb (either by plucking, slapping, popping, tapping, or thumping), or by using a plectrum. In folk Folk music is a term for musical folklore which originated in the 19th century. It has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by word of mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. Since the middle of the 20th century, the term has also been and bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of country music. It has roots in Scottish, English, Welsh[citation needed] and Irish traditional music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of immigrants from the United Kingdom and Ireland , and African-Americans, particularly through genres such as jazz and blues. In, the instrument is also referred to as a bass fiddle or bass violin (or more rarely as doghouse bass or bull fiddle). Other colourful nicknames are found in other languages; in Hungarian, for instance, the double bass is sometimes called nagy bőgő, which roughly translates as "big crier", referring to its large voice.

Design

In general there are two major approaches to the design outline shape of the double bass, these being the violin form, and the viol da gamba form. A third less common design called the busetto shape can also be found, as can the even more rare guitar or pear shape. The back of the instrument can vary from being a round, carved back similar to that of the violin, or a flat and angled back similar to the viol family.

The double bass features many parts that are similar to members of the violin family including a bridge, f-holes A sound hole is an opening in the upper sounding board of a stringed musical instrument, a tailpiece The tailpiece, found on many musical instruments of the string instrument family, anchors the tail end of the strings, the end opposite the scroll or headstock, a scroll A scroll is the decoratively carved end of the neck of certain stringed instruments, mainly members of the violin family. The scroll is typically carved in the shape of a volute according to a canonical pattern, although some violins are adorned with carved heads, human and animal. The quality of a scroll is one of the things used to judge the and a sound post In a string instrument, the sound post is a small dowel inside the instrument under the treble end of the bridge, spanning the space between the top and back plates and held in place by friction. It serves as a structural support for an archtop instrument, transfers sound from the top plate to the back plate and alters the tone of the instrument. Unlike the rest of the violin family, the double bass still reflects influence and can be considered partly derived from the viol A viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Spanish vihuela . Some degree of developmental influence, if only in playing posture, is credited to the Moorish family of instruments, in particular the violone The violone is a large, bowed musical instrument that can belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted instrument, and may have six, five, four, or even only three strings. The violone is also not always a contrabass instrument. In modern parlance, one usually tries to clarify the 'type' of violone by adding a, the bass member of the viol family.

The double bass also differs from members of the violin family in that the shoulders are (sometimes) sloped, the back is often angled (both to allow easier access to the instrument, particularly in the upper range), and machine tuners are always fitted. Lack of standardization in design means that one double bass can sound and look very different from another.

Construction

The double bass is closest in construction to violins, but has some notable similarities to the violone (literally "large viol"), the largest and lowest member of the viola da gamba family. Unlike the violone, however, the fingerboard of the double bass is unfretted A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck. On most modern western instruments, frets are metal strips inserted into the fingerboard. On historical instruments and some non-European instruments, pieces of string tied around the neck serve as frets, and the double bass has fewer strings (the violone, like most viols, generally had six strings, although some specimens had five or four).

An important distinction between the double bass and other members of the violin family is the construction of the pegbox A pegbox is the part of certain stringed musical instruments that houses the tuning pegs. While the violin, viola The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello, and cello all use friction pegs A tuning peg is used to hold a string in the pegbox of a stringed instrument. It may be made of ebony, rosewood, boxwood or other material. Some tuning pegs are ornamented with shell, metal, or plastic inlays, beads or rings for gross tuning adjustments, the double bass has metal machine heads. The key on the tuning machine turns a metal "worm", which drives a worm gear A worm drive is a gear arrangement in which a worm meshes with a worm gear (which is similar in appearance to a spur gear, and is also called a worm wheel). The terminology is often confused by imprecise use of the term worm gear to refer to the worm, the worm gear, or the worm drive as a unit that winds the string. While this development makes fine tuners unnecessary, a very small number of bassists use them nevertheless. At the base of the double bass is a metal rod with a spiked end called the endpin, which rests on the floor. This endpin The endpin or spike is the component of a cello or double bass that makes contact with the floor. It is made of metal, or in some cases wood or carbon fiber, and is extensible from the bottom of the instrument, and secured with a thumbscrew. Most bass clarinets and contrabassoons also have a similar fixture is generally more robust than that of a cello, because of the greater mass of the double bass.

The soundpost and bass bar are components of the internal construction. The materials most often used are maple (back, neck, ribs), spruce (top), and ebony (fingerboard, tailpiece). Exceptions to this include less-expensive basses that have laminated A laminate is a material that can be constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. The process of creating a laminate is lamination, which in common parlance refers to the placing of something between layers of plastic and glueing them with heat and/or pressure, usually with an adhesive. However, in electrical engineering, (plywood Plywood is a type of manufactured wood made from thin sheets of wood. The layers are glued together so that adjacent plies have their wood grain at right angles to each other for greater strength. There are usually an odd number of plies, as the asymmetry makes the board less prone to warping) tops, backs, and ribs, and some newer mid-range basses made of willow Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Most species are known as willow, but some narrow-leaved shrub species are called osier, and some broader-leaved species are referred to as sallow . Some. These basses are resistant to changes in heat and humidity, which can cause cracks in spruce tops. Plywood laminate basses, which are used in music schools, youth orchestras, and in popular and folk music settings, are very resistant to humidity and heat, as well to the physical abuse they are apt to encounter in a school environment (or, for blues and folk musicians, to the hazards of touring and performing in bars).

All the parts of a double bass are glued together, except the soundpost, bridge and tailpiece, which are held in place by string tension, although the soundpost usually remains in place when the instrument's strings are loosened or removed. The metal tuning machines are attached to the sides of the pegbox with metal screws. While tuning mechanisms generally differ from the higher-pitched orchestral stringed instruments, some basses have non-functional, ornamental tuning pegs projecting from the side of the pegbox, in imitation of the tuning pegs on a cello or violin.

Famous double bass makers come from around the world and often represent varied national characteristics. The most highly sought (and expensive) instruments come from Italy and include basses made by Giovanni Paulo Maggini, Gaspar da Salo, the Testore family (Carlo Antonio, Carlo Giuseppe, Gennaro, Giovanni, Paulo Antonio), Celestino Puolotti, and Matteo Gofriller. French and English basses are also sought by players of the highest caliber.

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