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.

Technique

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The player stands or sits and holds the instrument upright, slightly tilted toward him or her. While standing, the bottom edge of the bass rests in between the players' left thigh and pelvis. The bass is supported by the left leg and not the left hand. Because of this, the left hand is free to move up and down the fingerboard freely. When standing, the index finger of the player is equal to the players eye level when the index finger is in first position. While sitting, a tall stool (which is measured by the players' seam length) is used. The left foot rests on the stool rung. The left foot rests on the floor with the leg bent. The bottom edge of the bass rests in between the players' right thigh and pelvis. In the sitting position, the double bass player looks similar to a cello player. At the base of the double bass is a 'spike', called the endpin, which rests on the floor. As with other string instruments, the double bass is played with a bow (arco) or by plucking the strings (pizzicato).

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Modern instruments are usually tuned (low to high) E-A-D-G, with the upper G being an octave and a fourth below middle C (approx 98Hz), and the E almost 3 octaves below middle C (the bottom E on a modern piano, approx 41Hz). A variety of tunings and numbers of strings were used on a variety of confusingly-named instruments through the sixteenth to the early twentieth centuries, when the four-stringed tuning above became almost universal. Since the range of the double bass lies largely below the standard bass clef, it is notated an octave higher (hence sounding an octave lower than written). This transposition applies even when reading the tenor clef and treble clef, which are used for the instrument's extreme upper range.

Related Topics:
Middle C - Hz - Piano - Bass clef - Tenor clef - Treble clef

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In classical solo playing the double bass is usually tuned a whole tone higher (F#-B-E-A). This higher tuning is called "solo tuning," whereas the regular tuning is known as "orchestra tuning." String tension differs so much between solo and orchestra tuning that a different set of strings is required. Therefore the strings are always labelled for either solo or orchestra. Sometimes published solo music is also arranged especially for either solo or orchestra tuning.

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When playing the extreme upper range of the instrument (above the G below middle C), the player will shift his hand out from behind the neck and flatten it out, using the side of his thumb as a finger. This technique is called thumb position and is also a technique used on the cello. Note that, while playing in thumb position, the pinky is not used because its range is inefficient.

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Two advanced techniques should also be mentioned that extend the harmonic and textural range of the instrument. These being the use of natural harmonics (a technique often used by Giovanni Bottesini) and sometimes even stopped harmonics where the thumb stops the note and the octave or other harmonic is activated by lightly touching the string at the relative node point.

Related Topics:
Harmonics - Giovanni Bottesini

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In popular music genres, the instrument is usually played with amplification and almost exclusively played with a form of pizzicato where the sides of the fingers are used in preference to the tips of the fingers.

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In traditional jazz, swing, and some other styles of music, it is sometimes played in the slap style. This is a vigorous version of pizzicato where the strings are "slapped" against the fingerboard between the main notes of the bass line. The main notes are either played normally or by pulling the string away from the fingerboard and releasing it so that it bounces off the fingerboard, producing a distinctive percussive attack in addition to the expected pitch. Notable slap style bass players have included Bill Johnson, Wellman Braud, Pops Foster, and Milt Hinton, whose use of the technique was often highly syncopated and virtuosic, sometimes interpolating two, three, four, or more slaps in between notes of the bass line. Slap Style had an important influence on electric bass guitar players who from about 1970 developed a technique called Slap and Pop, where the thumb of the plucking hand is used to hit the string, making a slapping sound but still allowing the note to ring, and the index or middle finger of the plucking hand is used to pull the string back so it hits the fretboard, achieving the pop sound described above.

Related Topics:
Bill Johnson - Wellman Braud - Pops Foster - Milt Hinton - Electric bass guitar

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Slam Stewart, a jazz bassist in the 1940s, took solos in which he bowed the bass and sang along in octave harmony. He used a German bow so he could play pizzicato with the sides of his fingers and still hold the bow. Charles Mingus is another notable jazz bassist, regarded as one of the foremost virtuosi of the instrument in the genre.

Related Topics:
Slam Stewart - 1940s - Charles Mingus

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Difficulties in sound and performance of the instrument include projection. Despite the size of the instrument, it is relatively quiet, primarily due to the fact that its range is so low. When writing solo passages for the instruments, composers take extreme care in their orchestration. Dexterity is also an issue, as the instrument cannot play nearly as quickly as a violin can (It should be noted that this is an issue that has greatly improved due to modern technique). This is due to the size of the strings. Inertia tells us that it takes more effort to vibrate the large strings of the bass than it does to vibrate the tiny strings of a violin. Therefore, composers tend to shy away from giving the bass extremely fast passages or large jumps in range. Intonation, as with all string instruments, is arguably the biggest difficulty to overcome in mastering the instrument. Because of the size of the instrument, the positions for the fingers are much further apart than they would be on a violin.

Related Topics:
Orchestration - Violin - Inertia - String instruments

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Additionally, some rockabilly and rock bassists have taken advantage of the large size of the double bass by balancing themselves, or "surfing" upon the instrument as a trick during performances. (Note this is a visual entertainment technique and can seriously damage an instrument if it is not robust enough to withstand the treatment)

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