Double bass

The double bass is widely considered to be the largest and lowest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments. In reality, however, it is not. It is the only modern descendant of the viola da gamba family of instruments, a family which originated in the 15th century. Members of the viola da gamba family can be characterized most easily by the sloping shoulders (as opposed to the bulging shoulders of the violin).It resembles the other members of the family, but is much larger and has slight differences in shape. The instrument is known by several other names (especially when used in folk, bluegrass, Western and jazz music), including contrabass, string bass, upright bass, standup bass, acoustic bass, bass viol, bass violin, doghouse bass, dog-house, bull fiddle, hoss bass, and bunkhouse bass. A person who plays this instrument is called a double-bassist or contrabassist.

Double bass bow

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There are two kinds of bows used in double bass playing: German and French. They are different in both design and playing technique. The French bow is a heavier and shorter version of the bow used by the modern violin family, and held in almost the same way, with the palm facing down. The index, middle, and ring fingers rest over the top of the stick and the thumb grasps the frog. Unlike the rest of the violin family, where the pinky rests on top of the stick, the pinky on the French bow rests on the side of the frog with the other fingers. The German bow has a much larger frog and is held with the palm angled upwards, as used for the upright members of the viol family. Note: THE PICTURE EXAMPLE OF THE GERMAN BOW HOLD IS WRONG. When held the correct way, the thumb rests on top of the stick. The index and middle fingers are held together and support where the frog meets the stick. Contrary to what most people think, the ring finger just hangs and does absolutley nothing. The pinky supports the other side of the frog from underneath.

Related Topics:
Violin family - Viol

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The bass bow is strung with white or black horse hair or a combination of black and white. (known as salt and pepper) as opposed to the customary white horse hair used for the string family. The slightly rougher black hair is of use for more effective articulation of the string.

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In order to help better grip the string, string players use rosin on their bows. Bass rosin is frequently difficult to find, but the most popular type of bass rosin is a Pops rosin, a company located in Houston, Texas. Find Pops rosin here.

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