DOUBLE BASS

Double bass and bow. Click on the audio icon beneath the art to hear the sound of a double also called contrabass, string bass, bass, bass viol, bass fiddle, or bull fiddle, French contrebasse, German Kontrabass, stringed musical instrument, the lowest-pitched member of the violin family, sounding an octave lower than the cello. It has two basic designsone shaped like a viol (or viola da gamba) and the other like a violinbut there are other designs, such as that of a guitar. It varies considerably in size, the largest normally being under 6 feet (1.8 metres) in total length. The body itself, without the neck, may be up to 4.5 feet (1.4 metres) for a full-size instrument, about 3.8 feet (1.15 metres) for a three-quarter size, and only slightly larger than a cello for the small chamber bass, or bassetto. A double bass is usually strung with four heavy strings pitched E1A1DG; a fifth string is occasionally addedin jazz band basses, at the top of the register to allow high notes to be played more easily; in symphony orchestra basses, below the E string, tuned to C. Many basses, rather than having a fifth string, lower the compass by an extension to the E string that runs along the scroll at the end of the neck. The string is either provided with keys that sound E, D, D, and C or clamped to sound E when the lower notes are not needed. Two styles of bass bow are currently used: the short and narrow French bow (like a violin bow), held palm downward, and the broader German bow (like a viol bow), held palm upward. The double bass is also played pizzicato (by plucking with the fingers)occasionally in symphonic orchestras and almost always in jazz and dance bands. Forms of the double bass date from the late 15th or early 16th century and were in common use by the 18th. Ludwig van Beethoven and later composers gave the bass increased importance in the symphony orchestra. Beethoven's friend Domenico Dragonetti and the conductor Serge Koussevitzky, both skilled bassists, composed concertos for the instrument. In jazz ensembles the bass forms part of the rhythm section and is also used as a melody instrument.