To use the many interactive features of StudyBass, … In popular music genres, the instrument is usually played with amplification and almost exclusively played with the fingers, pizzicato style. Classical music uses the natural sound produced acoustically by the instrument, as does traditional bluegrass. The double bass as a solo instrument enjoyed a period of popularity during the 18th century and many of the most popular composers from that era wrote pieces for the double bass. The leading double bassists from the mid-to-late 18th century, such as Josef Kämpfer, Friedrich Pischelberger, and Johannes Mathias Sperger employed the "Viennese" tuning. If the double bass were to have a flat bridge, it would be impossible to bow the A and D strings individually. Online tuner for bass with microphone On this page your can tune your electric or acoustic bass guitar or a double bass, using the microphone of your device. His playing was known all the way from his homeland Italy to the Tsardom of Russia and he found a prominent place performing in concerts with the Philharmonic Society of London. The argument goes like this: The scherzo and trio from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony are famous orchestral excerpts, as is the recitative at the beginning of the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Well-known rockabilly bassists include Bill Black, Marshall Lytle (with Bill Haley & His Comets) and Lee Rocker (with 1980s-era rockabilly revivalists the Stray Cats). (I'm not proposing tuning the cello to the pitches of the double bass, just that the strings relative to each other are in 4ths, not 5ths.) [19] Many cobla bands in Catalonia still have players using traditional three-string double basses tuned A–D–G.[20]. Less expensive basses are typically constructed with laminated (plywood) tops, backs, and ribs, or are hybrid models produced with laminated backs and sides and carved solid wood tops. Violinists, on the other hand, tune their A string to the same frequency as the oboist's tuning note. Because an unamplified upright bass is generally the quietest instrument in a jazz band, many players of the 1920s and 1930s used the slap style, slapping and pulling the strings to produce a rhythmic "slap" sound against the fingerboard. In 1987 Lowell Liebermann wrote his Sonata for Contrabass and Piano Op. Geoff Chalmers. Larger works that incorporate the double bass include Beethoven's Septet in E♭ major, Op. doubling on cello). (1979), for soprano, percussion, and 30 double basses. In the first decade of the 21st century, new concerti include Frank Proto's "Nine Variants on Paganini" (2002), Kalevi Aho's Concerto (2005), John Harbison's Concerto for Bass Viol (2006), André Previn's Double Concerto for violin, double bass, and orchestra (2007) and John Woolrich's To the Silver Bow, for double bass, viola and strings (2014). Bassists who stand and bow sometimes set the endpin by aligning the first finger in either first or half position with eye level, although there is little standardization in this regard. Notably, Charles Mingus was a highly regarded composer as well as a bassist noted for his technical virtuosity and powerful sound. 131 in 1974. Share. Tune your 4-, 5- or 6-string bass to these bass tuning notes. Fellow Italian composer Franco Donatoni wrote a piece called Lem for contrabbasso in the same year. It is often made of leather and it attaches to the bridge and tailpiece with ties or straps. Geoff Chalmers. The leading figure of the double bass in the early 20th century was Serge Koussevitzky, best known as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, who popularized the double bass in modern times as a solo instrument. To ensure the bass is in tune, some bassists use an electronic tuner that indicates pitch on a small display. In classical solo playing the double bass is usually tuned a whole tone higher (F♯1–B1–E2–A2). In 1977 Dutch-Hungarian composer Geza Frid wrote a set of variations on The Elephant from Saint-Saëns' Le Carnaval des Animaux for scordatura Double Bass and string orchestra. Bassist Johann Hindle (1792–1862), who composed a concerto for the double bass, pioneered tuning the bass in fourths, which marked a turning point for the double bass and its role in solo works. The German composer Gerhard Stäbler wrote Co-wie Kobalt (1989–90), "...a music for double bass solo and grand orchestra". Laminated (plywood) basses, which are widely used in music schools, youth orchestras, and in popular and folk music settings (including rockabilly, psychobilly, blues, etc. When employing a bow, the player can either use it traditionally or strike the wood of the bow against the string. [48], Bluegrass bassist Mark Schatz, who teaches slap bass in his Intermediate Bluegrass Bass DVD acknowledges that slap bass "...has not been stylistically very predominant in the music I have recorded". 5; Ginastera's Variaciones Concertante; Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. The tenor clef is also used by composers for cello and low brass parts. Fusion virtuoso Stanley Clarke (born 1951) is notable for his dexterity on both the upright bass and the electric bass. Todd Phillips is another prominent bluegrass player. Sep 13, 2016. A quiver is an accessory for holding the bow. is often a required credential for people who wish to become a professor of double bass at a university or conservatory. Bassists such as Kim Nekroman and Geoff Kresge have developed the ability to play rapid slap bass that in effect turns the bass into a percussion instrument. Early pre-bluegrass traditional music was often accompanied by the cello. The upright bass is different from the acoustic bass guitar, which is a guitar-family instrument that is built like an acoustic guitar with a sturdier construction (although using the same E1–A1–D2–G2 tuning as the double bass). As well, there are a variety of other training programs such as classical summer camps and orchestral, opera, or chamber music training festivals, which give students the opportunity to play a wide range of music. Because these do not have wider fingerboards, some players find them more difficult to finger and bow. Some contemporary composers specify highly specialized scordatura (intentionally changing the tuning of the open strings). The fingerboard is made of ebony on high-quality instruments; on less expensive student instruments, other woods may be used and then painted or stained black (a process called "ebonizing"). Players use a third type of mute, a heavy rubber practice mute, to practice quietly without disturbing others (e.g., in a hotel room). In classical training, the majority of the instruction for the right hand focuses on the production of bowing tone; little time is spent studying the varieties of pizzicato tone. In classical pedagogy, almost all of the focus is on performing with the bow and producing a good bowed tone; there is little work done on developing significant pizzicato skills. In contrast, in genres that mainly or exclusively use pizzicato (plucking), such as jazz and blues, a great deal of time and effort is focused on learning the varieties of different pizzicato styles used for music of different styles of tempi. While tuning mechanisms generally differ from the higher-pitched orchestral stringed instruments, some basses have non-functional, ornamental tuning pegs projecting from the side of the pegbox, in imitation of the tuning pegs on a cello or violin. Double Bass Tuner. 3 (1997). i put on a new bass drum head list night and now using both bass drums after getting a second drum set earlier in the month. Holland also recorded an album with the representative title Music from Two Basses (1971) on which he plays with Barre Phillips while he sometimes switches to cello. [43] Scott LaFaro influenced a generation of musicians by liberating the bass from contrapuntal "walking" behind soloists instead favoring interactive, conversational melodies. Some bassists argue that the slightly rougher black hair "grabs" the heavier, lower strings better. 2 in B; Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Mendelssohn's Symphony No. The metal cylinder has a screw and a nut that fastens the device to the string. In addition, the double bass sections of some orchestras perform as an ensemble, such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Lower Wacker Consort. [citation needed]. The hinged or removable neck makes the instrument smaller when it is packed for transportation. Eddie Gómez and George Mraz, who played with Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson, respectively, and are both acknowledged to have furthered expectations of pizzicato fluency and melodic phrasing. Because the acoustic bass is a non-fretted instrument, any string vibration due to plucking or bowing will cause an audible sound due to the strings vibrating against the fingerboard near to the fingered position. The double bass, then often referred to as the Violone, used different tunings from region to region. 41.1K subscribers. One type of travel bass has a much smaller body than normal, while still retaining all of the features needed for playing. 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. I want to learn double bass but I don't have the budget to buy an instrument yet; however, I do have an old cello lying around. The upper range a virtuoso solo player can achieve using natural and artificial harmonics is hard to define, as it depends on the skill of the particular player. [8] Before these modifications, the design of their shoulders was closer to instruments of the violin family. In some cases, the low E and A are wound in silver, to give them added mass. This is the same as the standard tuning of a bass guitar and is one octave lower than the four lowest-pitched strings of standard guitar tuning. Another important performer in this period, Bertram Turetzky, commissioned and premiered more than 300 double bass works. To accommodate the additional fifth string, the fingerboard is usually slightly widened, and the top slightly thicker, to handle the increased tension. Many people achieved this on a six-string violone by restringing it with double bass strings making the tuning B0–E1–A1–D2–G2–C3. A bridge on a professional bassist's instrument may be ornately carved by a luthier. In jazz and jump blues, bassists are required to play rapid pizzicato walking basslines for extended periods. The Double Bass has suffered a host of different tunings over the past 300 years. While bassists such as Jack Cook slap bass on the occasional faster "Clinch Mountain Boys song", bassists such as Gene Libbea, Missy Raines, Jenny Keel, and Barry Bales [rarely] slap bass. In a jazz program, these courses focus on the different eras of jazz history. Common rhythms in bluegrass bass playing involve (with some exceptions) plucking on beats 1 and 3 in 44 time; beats 1 and 2 in 24 time, and on the downbeat in 34 time (waltz time). As well, the low E-strings used during the 19th century were thick cords made of gut, which were difficult to tune and play. The "Viennese tuning" (A1–D2–F♯2–A2) was popular, and in some cases a fifth string or even sixth string was added (F1–A1–D2–F♯2–A2). Bassists may apply more rosin in works for large orchestra (e.g., Brahms symphonies) than for delicate chamber works. Part of the regular maintenance of a bow is having the bow "rehaired" by a luthier with fresh horsehair and having the leather and wire wrapping replaced. In addition, while the violin has bulging shoulders, most double basses have shoulders carved with a more acute slope, like members of the viol family. These sizes do not reflect the size relative to a full size, or ​4⁄4 bass; a ​1⁄2 bass is not half the length of a ​4⁄4 bass, but is only about 15% smaller. In the 1990s, improvements in pickups and amplifier designs for electro-acoustic horizontal and upright basses made it easier for bassists to get a good, clear amplified tone from an acoustic instrument. Notable slap style bass players, whose use of the technique was often highly syncopated and virtuosic, sometimes interpolated two, three, four, or more slaps in between notes of the bass line. "He brought a completely different way of thinking about and playing bluegrass.[47]. The double bass is sometimes confusingly called the violone, bass violin or bass viol. In addition to being an upright bassist, he wrote dozens of R&B hits and worked as a producer. The materials most often used in double bass construction for fully carved basses (the type used by professional orchestra bassists and soloists) are maple (back, neck, ribs), spruce (top), and ebony (fingerboard, tailpiece). Free Lessons Library. The upper limit of this range is extended a great deal for 20th- and 21st-century orchestral parts (e.g., Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé Suite (c.1933) bass solo, which calls for notes as high as D4 and E♭4). [51], The upright bass remained an integral part of pop lineups throughout the 1950s, as the new genre of rock and roll was built largely upon the model of rhythm and blues, with strong elements also derived from jazz, country, and bluegrass. Solo tuning strings are generally thinner than regular strings. Schatz states that he would be "... more likely to use it [slap] in a live situation than on a recording—for a solo or to punctuate a particular place in a song or tune where I wouldn't be obliterating someone's solo". Prior to the mid-20th century,[citation needed] double bass strings were usually made of catgut but, since that time, steel has largely replaced it, because steel strings hold their pitch better and yield more volume when played with the bow. "Historical and Practical Considerations for the Tuning of Double Bass Instruments in Fourths" – p.228–229, Hume, Christopher. This is a vigorous version of pizzicato where the strings are "slapped" against the fingerboard between the main notes of the bass line, producing a snare drum-like percussive sound. This transposition applies even when bass players are reading the tenor and treble clef (which are used in solo playing and some orchestral parts). The bass is a standard member of the orchestra's string section,[2] as well as the concert band, and is featured in concertos, solo, and chamber music in Western classical music. The cost of good hard cases–several thousand US dollars–and the high airline fees for shipping them tend to limit their use to touring professionals. Changing the pitch of the open strings makes different notes available as pedal points and harmonics. In English, the instrument is sometimes called a bull fiddle.[14]. The use of amplification allows the player to have more control over the tone of the instrument, because amplifiers have equalization controls that allow the bassist to accentuate certain frequencies (often the bass frequencies) while de-accentuating some frequencies (often the high frequencies, so that there is less finger noise). Lauren Pierce teaches the best way to tune a double bass. The hair is usually horsehair. While orchestral bass solos are somewhat rare, there are some notable examples. Throughout classical repertoire, there are notes that fall below the range of a standard double bass. Classical training methods vary by country: many of the major European countries are associated with specific methods (e.g., the Edouard Nanny method in France or the Franz Simandl method in Germany). Most bassists use soft cases, referred to as gig bags, to protect the instrument during transport. He wrote Parable XVII for Double Bass, Op. A small number of bass players tune their strings in fifths, like a cello but an octave lower (C1–G1–D2–A2 low to high). Double Bass Tuning All Default Guitar Bass Guitar Ukulele Banjo Mandolin Mandola Balalaika Bouzouki Bandurria Cavaquinho Charango Cuatro Vihuela Violin Fiddle Viola Cello Double Bass. This enables the bassist to raise or lower the height of the strings to accommodate changing humidity or temperature conditions. Mid- and higher-register melodies are typically played with more vibrato. The first step to getting most performance jobs is by playing at an audition. In the Romantic era and the 20th century, composers such as Wagner, Mahler, Busoni and Prokofiev also requested notes below the low E. There are several methods for making these notes available to the player. The late Jeff Sarli, a blues upright bassist, said that "Starting in the 1950s, they began to reset the necks on basses for steel strings. Or the player may employ a five-string instrument, with the additional lower string tuned to C, or (more commonly in modern times) B, three octaves and a semitone below middle C. Several major European orchestras use basses with a fifth string.[21]. Five-string instruments have an additional string, typically tuned to a low B below the E string (B0). 1, Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije Suite. Some bassists find it helpful to use harmonics when they tune. Smaller orchestras may have four double basses, and in exceptional cases, bass sections may have as many as ten members. [50], In the early 1950s, the upright bass was the standard bass instrument in the emerging style of rock and roll music, Marshall Lytle of Bill Haley & His Comets being but one example. software for plucked string instruments – The resulting pitches will sound one octave above the open strings. 31 Horn Signal, and No. Geoff Chalmers. The amount used generally depends on the type of music being performed as well as the personal preferences of the player. A very small number of expensive basses for professionals have adjustable fingerboards, in which a screw mechanism can be used to raise or lower the fingerboard height.