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 in popular music

For much of the history of popular music (especially rock music), the double bass was an integral part of pop lineups. However, it faced inherent problems. For one, it was forced to compete with louder horn instruments (and later amplified electric guitars.) For another, the double bass' size created inherent problems. In 1951, Leo Fender independently released his Precision Bass, the first commercially successful bass guitar; his invention soon made the upright bass functionally obsolete in popular music. Scott Owen of The Living End is the most famous double bassist playing in a punk rock band. Also, double bass is favored over the electric bass guitar in many rockabilly and psychobilly bands.

Related Topics:
Popular music - Rock music - Electric guitar - Leo Fender - Precision Bass - Bass guitar - The Living End - Punk rock - Rockabilly - Psychobilly

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~