DOUBLE BASS (Fr. contrebasse; Ger. Kontrabass, Gross Bass Geige; Ital. contrabasso, violone)

This article appears in Volume V08, Page 440 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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DOUBLE BASS (Fr. contrebasse; Ger. Kontrabass, Gross Bass Geige; Ital. contrabasso, violone) , the largest member of the modern family of stringed instruments played with a bow, known as the violin family, and the lowest in pitch. The

double

bass differs slightly in construction from the other members of the family in that it has slanting shoulders (one of the features of the viola da gamba, see VIOLIN); that is to say that where the belly is joined by the neck and

finger

FINGER

-board, it has a decided point, whereas in the violin, viola and violoncello, the

finger

FINGER

-board is at right-angles to the

horizontal

HORIZONTAL

part of a wide curve. It is probable that the shoulders of the

double

bass were made drooping for the sake of additional strength of construction on account of the strain caused by the tension of the strings. The double bass was formerly made with a flat backanother characteristic of the viol familywhereas now the back is as often found arched as flat. The bow :s for obvious reasons shorter and stouter than the violin bow.
The technique of the double bass presents certain difficulties inherent in an

instrument

INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

of such large proportions. The stretches for the fingers are very great, almost double those required for the violoncello, and owing to the thickness of the strings great force is required to press them against the finger-board when they are vibrating. The performer plays

standing

STANDING

owing to the great size of the

instrument

INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

.
The double bass sometimes has three strings tuned in England
and Italy in fourths; ~~=1 in France and Germany
to fifths. 8-~= Owing to the scoring of modern
composers, however, it was found necessary to adopt an accordance of four strings in order to obtain the additional lower notes
required, although this entails the sacrifice of beauty of tone, the three-stringed instrument being more sonorous. Some orchestras make a compromise dividing the double basses intotwo equal sections of three and four-stringed basses. The four strings are tuned
in fourths: = Mr A. C. White, finding that
an additional lower compass was required, first tuned his double
1 The real sounds are an octave lower.
bass with three strings to '' -- afterwards adding
3 a x
a fourth

string

STRING

, the lower D. By this accordance the third and fourth strings gain additional power and clearness from the fact that the first and second, being their octaves higher, vibrate in sympathy, obviating the necessity of making the 'cello play in octaves with the double basses to increase the tone when the lowest register is used. In order to obtain equal sonority on his double bass with four strings, Mr White2 found it necessary to have a wider bridge measuring about 5 in., so that the distance between the strings should remain the same as on a double bass with three strings, thus allowing plenty of room for vibration. The neck was also widened in proportion. A five-stringed double bass was sometimes
used in Germany tuned either to _ B` or to
ate but such instruments have been almost
superseded by those with four strings. A somewhat larger double bass with five strings by Karl Otho of

Leipzig

LEIPZIG

was introduced between 188o and 1890 with the following accordance:
The practical compass of the double bass extends from
t (real sounds) with all chromatic intervals. In order
8va

bassa

BASSA

.
to avoid using numerous ledger lines the music is written an octave higher. The quality of tone is very powerful but somewhat rough, and varies greatly in its gradations. The notes of the lowest register, when played piano, sound weird and sometimes grotesque, and are some-times used instead of the kettledrum; when played forte the tone is grand and full. The lowest octave is mainly used as a fundamental octave bass to 'cello, bassoon or trombone. The tone of the pizzicato is full and rich owing to the slowness of the vibrations, and it changes character according to the harmonies which lie above it: with a chord of the diminished seventh above it, for instance, the pizzicato sounds like a menace, but with the common chord calm and majestic. Both natural and artificial harmonics are possible on the double bass, the former being the best; but they are seldom used in orchestral works. As an instance of their use may be cited the scene by the Nile at the beginning of the third act of Verdi's Aida, where harmonics are indicated for both 'cellos and double basses.
The technical capabilities of the double bass are necessarily some-what more limited than those of the violoncello.

Quick

QUICK

passages, though possible, are seldom written for it; they cannot sound clear owing to the time required for the strings to vibrate. An excellent effect is produced by what is known as the intermittent tremolo: owing to the elasticity of the bow, it rebounds several times on the strings when a single blow is sharply struck, forming a

series

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

of short tremolos. The double bass is the foundation of the whole orchestra and therefore of great importance; it plays the lowest part, often, as its name indicates, only doubling the 'cello part an octave lower. It is only since the beginning of the 19th century that an independent voice has occasionally been allotted to it, as in the Scherzo of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in C minor:

End of Article: DOUBLE BASS (Fr. contrebasse; Ger. Kontrabass, Gross Bass Geige; Ital. contrabasso, violone)

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