Double bass
From Free net encyclopedia
The double bass is the largest and lowest pitched bowed string instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. The double bass is often erroneously considered to be a member of the violin family of string instruments, even sometimes being referred to as "bass violin." It is used extensively in Western classical music as a standard member of the string section of symphony orchestras and smaller string ensembles. In addition to its use in classical music, it has been widely used in other genres such as jazz, blues, rock and roll, rockabilly, and bluegrass.
The instrument's standard English name, "double bass," comes from the instrument's Italian name contrabbasso (contrabass). Because it is approximately twice as large as the cello (the bass member of the violin family), and because the double bass was originally used to double the 'cello part an octave lower, it is properly called "double bass."
The double bass features many parts that are similar to other members of the violin family including a bridge, F-holes, a Tailpiece and a Scroll. Some basses have five strings; the additional string may be either an extra high string tuned to C or an extra low string tuned to B, which is more common in orchestral settings. In order for a double bass to have five strings, the instrument must be designed to handle the increased pressure on the top and neck caused by the additional string. In America, it is more common for a bass to have a C extension instead of a fifth string.
Origin
The double bass is generally regarded as the only modern descendant of the viola da gamba family of instruments, a family which originated in Europe in the 15th century, and is more properly described as a "bass viol."
The double bass is closest in construction to the violone (literally "large viol"), the largest and lowest member of the viola da gamba family. Unlike the violone, however, the fingerboard of the double bass is unfretted, and the double bass has fewer strings (the violone, like most viols, generally had six strings, although some specimens had five or four). Before the 20th century many double basses had only three strings, in contrast to the five to six strings typical of instruments in the viola da gamba family or the four strings of instruments in the violin family.
The double bass' proportions are dissimilar to those of the violin; for example, it is deeper (the distance from top to back is proportionally much greater than the violin). In addition, while the violin has bulging shoulders, most double basses have shoulders carved with a more acute slope, like members of the viola da gamba family. Many very old double basses have had their shoulders cut or sloped to aid playing with modern techniques; before these modifications the design of their shoulders was closer to instruments of the violin family.
The double bass is also the only modern bowed string instrument that is tuned in fourths (like viola da gambas), rather than fifths (see Tuning, below).
The issue of the instrument's exact lineage is still a matter of some debate, and the supposition that the double bass is a direct descendant of the viola da gamba family is an issue that has not been entirely resolved.
In his A New History of the Double Bass, Paul Brun asserts, with many references, that the double bass has origins as the true bass of the violin family. He states that, while the exterior of the double bass may resemble the viola da gamba, the internal construction of the double bass is nearly identical to that of other instruments in the violin family, and is very different from the internal structure of viols.
Terminology
The instrument's standard English name, "double bass," comes from the instrument's Italian name contrabbasso (contrabass). Because it is approximately twice as large as the cello (the bass member of the violin family), and because the double bass was originally used, in the Baroque and Classical periods, to double the cello part an octave lower, it is properly called "double bass."
The instrument is known by several other names (especially when used in folk, bluegrass, and jazz music), including string bass, upright bass, standup bass, bass fiddle, acoustic bass, bass viol, contrabass viol, bass violin, doghouse bass, dog-house, bull fiddle, hoss bass, and bunkhouse bass.
A person who plays this instrument is called a bassist, double bassist, double bass player, contrabassist, contrabass player, or simply "bass player."
Design
The design of the double bass, in contrast to the instruments in the violin family, has never been fully standardized.
In general there are three major approaches to the design outline shape of the double bass, these being violin, viol, and less common the busetto shape (and very rarely the guitar or pear shape). The back of the instrument can vary from being a round, carved back similar to that of the violin, or a flat and angled back similar to the viol family (with variations in between).
The double bass, unlike the rest of the violin family, still reflects influence and can be considered partly derived from the viol family of instruments, in particular the violone, the contrabass member of the viol family.
The violin, viola, and cello are tuned in fifths but the double bass is generally tuned in fourths to avoid too long a finger stretch (known as an "extension"). Other differences with the violin, viola and cello are the (sometimes) sloped shoulders of the instrument, the often angled back (both to allow easier access to the instrument, particularly in the upper range) and the near-universal use of machine heads for tuning. Image:Busettosolano.jpg Lack of standardisation in design means that one double bass can sound and look very different from another. To see some of the variations and construction approaches discussed above visit the websites quoted below.
Construction of the double bass
An important distinction between the double bass and other members of the violin family is the construction of the pegbox. While the violin, viola, and cello all use friction pegs for gross tuning adjustments, the double bass has machine heads. This development makes fine tuners unnecessary. At the base of the double bass is a metal spike called the endpin, which rests on the floor. This endpin is generally more robust than that of a cello's due to the greater mass of the instrument.
The soundpost and bass bar are components of the internal construction. The materials most often used are maple (back, neck, ribs), spruce (top), and ebony (fingerboard, tailpiece). The exception is basses sometimes used by blues, rockabilly, or bluegrass bassists, which have plywood-laminate tops and backs. All parts are glued together except the soundpost, bridge, nut and saddle, which are kept in place by string tension. The tuning machines are attached to the sides of the pegbox with wood screws. (The key on the tuning machine turns a worm, driving a worm gear that winds the string.)
Strings
Professional bass players with four-string basses sometimes have a low "C extension" which extends the lowest string down as far as low C, a note an octave below the lowest note on the cello (more rarely, this string may be tuned to a low B). The extension is an extra section of fingerboard mounted up over the head of the bass, which requires the player to reach back over the pegs to play, or use a mechanical lever system. Notes below low "E" appear regularly in bass parts in the Baroque and Classical eras, when the bass was typically doubling the cello part an octave below. As well, in the Romantic era and the 20th-century, composers such as Mahler and Prokofiev specifically requested notes below the low "E."
Historically, strings were made of gut, but since the 20th century steel has largely replaced gut due to its better playability. Gut strings are nowadays mostly used by individual players who prefer their tone. Some bassists who perform in baroque ensembles use gut strings to get a lighter, "warmer" tone that is more appropriate for music composed in the 1600s and early 1700s. In addition, bassists in rockabilly, traditional blues bands, and bluegrass groups often use gut strings, because they produce a "thumpy," darker tone when they are played pizzicato (plucked), which better approximates the sound heard on 1940s and 1950s recordings. Rockabilly and bluegrass bassists also prefer gut because it is much easier to perform the "slapping" upright bass style (in which the strings are percussively slapped and clicked against the fingerboard) with gut strings than with steel strings. (For more information on slapping, see the sections above on Playing styles, or below on Double bass in bluegrass music).
Gut strings are more vulnerable to changes of humidity and temperature, and they break much more easily than steel strings. The change from gut to steel has also affected to the instrument's playing technique over the last hundred years, because playing with steel strings allows the strings to be set up closer to the fingerboard, and, additionally, steel strings can be played in higher positions on the lower strings and still produce clear tone. The classic 19th century Franz Simandl method does not utilize the low E string in higher positions because with older gut strings set up high over the fingerboard, the tone was not clear in these higher positions. However, with modern steel strings, bassists can play with clear tone in higher positions on the low E and A strings, particularly when modern lighter-gauge, lower-tension steel strings (e.g. Corelli/Savarez strings) are used.
Tuning
Modern instruments are usually tuned (low to high) E-A-D-G. The lowest string is tuned to E (the same pitch as the lowest E on a modern piano, approx 41Hz), nearly 3 octaves below middle C ); and the highest string is tuned to G, an octave and a fourth below middle C (approx 98Hz).
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, by which time the four-stringed tuning mentioned above became almost universal. Much of the classical repertoire has notes that fall below the range of a standard double bass. Though unpopular with American concert bassists, many European bassists use a fifth string tuned to B three octaves below middle C. In America a key-operated extension that lengthens the E string to a C is frequently used instead of the fifth string. 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.
Solo tuning
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 "orchestral tuning." String tension differs so much between solo and orchestral tuning that a different set of strings is required. Therefore the strings are always labelled for either solo or orchestral. Sometimes published solo music is also arranged especially for either solo or orchestral tuning.
Tuning in fifths
A small number of bass players choose to tune their strings in fifths, like a cello but an octave lower (C-G-D-A low to high). This tuning is mostly used by jazz players, as the major tenth can be played easily without a position shift. Tuning in fifths can also make the instrument louder, because the strings have more common overtones, causing the strings to vibrate sympathetically.
Double bass players who tune their basses in fifths include Red Mitchell, Dennis Masuzzo, Silvio Dalla Torre, Joel Quarrington, and Larry Holloway.
Technique
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 player's 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. When standing, the bass's height is set (by adjusting the endpin) so that the player may easily place the right hand close to the bridge, either with the bow (arco) or plucking (pizzicato). The left hand is free to range along the strings, from about the player's eye level, down to the end of the fingerboard. While sitting, a tall stool (which is measured by the player's seam length) is used. The left foot rests on the stool rung. The right foot rests on the floor with the leg bent. The left edge of the bass rests upon the player's left knee, while the right edge of the bass rests between the right knee and thigh. Although the sitting position is often used by orchestral musicians for reasons of simple comfort or preference of technique, soloists often stand and extend the endpin higher than normal while also adopting a sloping stance over the shoulder of the instrument in order to more comfortably reach the upper register in high passages. As with other string instruments, the double bass is played with a bow (arco) or by plucking the strings (pizzicato).
Bows
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Violin, viola, and cello bows are generally variations on the same basic design but the double bass bow comes in two distinct forms. The "French" or "overhand" bow is similar in shape and implimentation to the bow used on the other members of the orchestral string instrument family, while the "German" or "Butler" bow is broader and shorter, and held with the right hand grasping the frog in a loose fist. The German bow is the older of the two designs. The French bow, often chosen by soloists due to its greater maneuverability, was not widely popular until its adoption by 19th-century virtuouso Giovanni Bottesini. Both bows are used by modern players, and the choice between the two is a matter of personal preference.
The German bow has a taller frog, and is held with the palm angled upwards, as used for the upright members of the viol family. When held in correct manner, the thumb rests on top of the stick. The index and middle fingers are held together and support the bow at the point where the frog meets the stick. Contrary to what some think, the ring finger just hangs and does absolutely nothing. The little finger supports the frog from underneath.
The bass bow is strung with white or black horsehair or a combination of black and white (known as "salt and pepper"), as opposed to the customary white horsehair used on the bows of other string instruments. The slightly rougher black hair is believed by some to "grab" the heavier strings better; similarly, some bassists and luthiers believe that it is easier to produce a smoother sound with the white variety.
In order to allow the hair to actually grip the string, string players use rosin on the hair of their bows. Bass rosin is generally softer and stickier than violin rosin, to give the greater adhesion to the strings, but players use a wide variety of rosins that very from quite hard (like violin rosin) to quite soft, depending on the weather, the humidity, and the skill and preference of the player.
The best stick material is pernambuco, but due to its scarcity and expense, other materials are used in less expensive bows nowadays. Less expensive student bows may be constructed of solid fiberglass, or of less valuable varieties of brazilwood. Snakewood and carbon fiber are also used in bows of a variety of different qualities. The frog of the bass bow is usually made out of ebony, although Snakewood is used by some lutheirs. The wire wrapping is gold or silver in quality bows, and the hair is usually horsehair. Some of the lowest-quality student bows feature synthetic fiberglass "hair". Double bass bows vary in length, but average around 24" (70 cm).
Practical problems of double bass playing
The principal logistical difficulty facing a double bass player is the sheer weight and bulk of the instrument itself. It takes considerable finger strength to hold the strings to the fingerboard tight enough to prevent them from buzzing or squeaking. These issues, combined with the sensitivity of the instrument to changes in the environment (common in all wooden instruments) and the relative fragility of the wooden body make the instrument more difficult to transport safely in typical motor vehicles. Airlines are usually not prepared to handle such an item properly, but it is possible to purchase a fiberglass trunk to transport the bass on an airplane. However, professional orchestral double bass players often get extra pay to assist them to transport their instrument; this is called "carting" or "cartage fees."
Recently, violin/viol family instruments (including double basses) made of carbon-fiber laminates have become available. These instruments are supposedly nearly impervious to changes in heat and humidity and extremely resilient to the rough handling that occurs during transport. However, the sound quality of a carbon-fiber bass is generally thought to be far inferior to that of a wooden instument.
In the past, students interested in the double bass were often started on violin and later moved to the bass when they grew large enough to handle a 1/2 or 1/4 sized instrument. Today, with 1/8th and even 1/16th sized instruments available, children between the ages of 8 and 10 are usually able to begin playing on such instruments. This contrasts with smaller instruments like violin, which can be started by children aged 5 or even younger.
Playing styles
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. While playing in thumb position, the little finger is not used because its range is inefficient.
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 "false" 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.
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.
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.
Slam Stewart, a jazz bassist in the 1940s, took solos in which he bowed the bass and sang along an octave above. 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.
Difficulties in sound and performance of the instrument include projection and intonation. 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, although changes in modern playing technique have reduced this problem. Decreased playing dexterity is due to the instrument's longer and thicker strings and inertia. Vibrating the large strings of the bass takes more effort than vibrating 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 unfretted 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.
Sound characteristics
The sound and tone of the double bass is distinctive, quite different from that of the fretted bass guitar and is preferred by many musicians especially in the realm of jazz music. The main difference in sound comes from the double bass instrument being stopped by the finger and the fretted bass guitar being stopped with the aid of frets.
Bass guitars do not need a hollow body or sound holes for sound to be produced since they are always amplified, so they are often made of a solid slab of wood. The double bass does not sustain notes when plucked the way a bass guitar does. Some say that the double bass has a deeper sound when compared to the bass guitar.
Classical double bass repertoire
In European classical music, the double bass has been primarily used to provide a solid but more or less simple bass line. Few solo works have been written for the instrument by better known composers, though there are several examples and exceptions; one of these is the Mozart aria "Per questa bella mano" (By this beautiful hand), K. 612, for bass voice, double bass, and orchestra, featuring the double bass as an obbligato.
The double bass enjoyed a brief period of being a popular solo instrument in 18th century Vienna and because of that many works from that time period came into being. It is known that Joseph Haydn wrote a concerto for double bass, Hob. VIIc 1, which has now been lost. It was written for Johann Georg Schwenda, an outstanding double bassist at Esteháza. Remaining evidence of his regard for the instrument can be found in solo passages he wrote for it in the trios of the minuets in his symphonies numbers 6, 7 and 8 (Le Matin, Le Midi and Le Soir). All were probably written for the player Friedrich Pichelberger, teacher of Johannes Sperger. Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf wrote two concertos for double bass and a Sinfonia Concertante for viola, double bass, and orchestra. Johann Baptist Vanhal also composed a concerto for the double bass which remains standard repertoire today.
Bass soloists are rare but not unheard of. Domenico Dragonetti, perhaps the first soloist of note, was a friend of Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven. On one occasion, Dragonetti played through Beethoven's Cello Sonata, Op. 5, no. 2, with the composer at piano. It is said that, after Dragonetti played the piece for Beethoven, Beethoven got up from the piano and embraced Dragonetti. Dragonetti influenced Beethoven to write more difficult bass parts which still remain as some of the most challenging bass parts written in the orchestral literature. Dragonetti wrote a large number of works for the double bass which include 10 concertos and various pieces for double bass and piano.
Johannes Matthias Sperger was a bass player in Haydn's orchestra at the Esterhazy Palace and was considered one of the finest bass players in his time playing for many European courts. In addition to being a virutoso, Sperger also composed a large number of compositions, many of which include the double bass. Among his compositions include 18 concertos, sonatas, and string symphonies.
Giovanni Bottesini, a 19th century virtuoso on the instrument, was sometimes called the Paganini of the double bass. He wrote a number of concert pieces for the instrument, including 2 concertos for the double bass and various pieces for double bass and piano. In addition to being a double bass player he studied composition with Verdi and gave the premiere of his opera Aida in Cairo in 1871. Other compositions include 7 operas, 11 string quartets, an oratorio The Garden of Olivet, a Requiem, and a double concerto entitled Gran Duo Concertante.
Later pieces with solo parts for the bass include a duo for cello and double bass by Gioacchino Rossini. Popular with bassists is Niccolo Paganini's Fantasy on a Theme by Rossini, a 20th-century trancription of the violin original. The famous Trout Quintet by Franz Schubert added the double bass to the traditional piano quartet, creating an ensemble consisting of all four members of the bowed string family plus piano. Antonín Dvořák wrote a much less well known quintet in which the standard string quartet is augmented by adding a double bass. Other pieces written for string quintets with a double bass added onto a string quartet exist by Darius Milhaud, Murray Adaskin, Giovanni Bottesini, Domenico Dragonetti, and Edgar Meyer. Probably the most famous classical piece featuring double bass is "The Elephant" from Camille Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals. Also worthy of note is the passage which begins the third movement of Gustav Mahler's 1st symphony where a solo double bass quotes a minor key version of the children's song "Frere Jacques."
In the 20th century the bass has been somewhat better served in classical music, although it is still only rarely used as a solo instrument. One of the very few double bass concertos is by Serge Koussevitzky (better known as a conductor), a piece written in 1905. Koussevitzky's classmate while studying with Oskar Fried, Reinhold Glière, composed four short pieces for double bass and piano (Intermezzo, Op. 9.1, Tarantella, Op. 9.2, Preladium, Op. 32.1, and Scherzo, Op. 32.2). The Estonian composer Eduard Tubin wrote a concerto for double bass in 1948. Other works for double bass and orchestra include Gunther Schuller's Concerto (1962), Hans Werner Henze's Concerto (1966), Einojuhani Rautavaara's Angel Of Dusk (1980), Gian-Carlo Menotti's Concerto (1983), and Christopher Rouse's Concerto (1985). Other pieces to feature the instrument include Luciano Berio's Psy (1989), for solo bass; Composition II (1973) by Galina Ustvolskaya, for eight double basses, drum and piano; and a sonata for double bass and piano by Paul Hindemith (who also wrote a number of other pieces for unusual solo instruments). Additionally, in recent years there has been a rise in works for solo double bass. From 1975-1976, Theraps for solo double bass was composed by Iannis Xenakis. Other composers that have written for solo double bass include Christian Wolff, Hans Werner Henze, Emil Tabakov, Vincent Persichetti, Henrik Hellstenius, Hans Fryba, Ase Hedstrom, Tom Johnson, Arne Nordheim, and Asmund Feidje.
Over the last thirty years or so players such as Bertram Turetzky and Gary Karr have commissioned a large number of new works. Player and composer Edgar Meyer has written 2 concertos for solo double bass and a double concerto for double bass and cello for the instrument and had made arrangements of Bach's unaccompanied cello suites. Meyer also includes the double bass in the majority of his chamber music compositions. Many publication companies run by bass players have come into being in the last few decades to get new music out to double bassists. Player and teacher Rodney Slatford, via his company Yorke Edition, has done much to publish both old and new music for the double bass. Frank Proto, former bassist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, has published a large number of his own compositions via his company Liben Music that mostly incorporate the double bass as well as new editions of classic double bass repertoire. George Vance, noted teacher and author of "Progressive Repertoire for Double Bass", provides numerous publications from his company Slava Publishing.
Double bass in jazz
The bass is one of the most prominent instruments in jazz. The early jazz ensemble (from about 1890) was initially a marching band with tuba (or occasionally bass saxophone) supplying the bass line. As the music moved into bars, clubs, and brothels, the double bass gradually replaced these wind instruments. Initially playing 2 or 4 beats to a bar, the walking bass line was an early melodic, harmonic invention that is still evolving today. Because an unamplified double 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 so that they make a rhythmic "slap" sound against the fingerboard. The slap style cuts through the sound of a band better than simply plucking the strings.
With nearly every major change in the evolution of jazz, double bass players have contributed in an important way. Examples include swing era players such as Ray Brown and Jimmy Blanton, who played with Duke Ellington and Oscar Peterson. All were famous for their ability to swing and drive a big band along, often without amplification, in addition to being great small ensemble players.
The "cool" style of jazz has been influenced and extended by players such as Scott LaFaro, a refined and stunning technical and musical virtuosity, and Percy Heath, who played in an unforgettably solid but swinging manner and whose solos were melodically graceful and poetic. One must not forget the great Paul Chambers who worked on the Kind of Blue album with Miles Davis, one of the most influential albums in the history of jazz.
Free jazz was embraced and extended by the composer/bassist Charles Mingus (who also contributed to hard bop) with his intense musical expression of dark emotional states. An interesting contrast could be drawn with Charlie Haden who often took solos that could be compared to a musical version of cubism, with an underlying and intricate sense of phrasing and timing that is on a close par with Indian classical music.
Jazz-rock was the style of players such as Stanley Clarke and Miroslav Vitouš, and, although both of these players used electric bass, they did not neglect the double bass, incorporating bowed and pizzicato solos that showed Spanish and classical influence. These players also continued to raise the bar of technical virtuosity on the double bass, performing extended solos that fused complex rhythms, intricate rapid lines, and fluid melodic expression.
Double bass in bluegrass music
The string bass is the most commonly-used bass instrument in bluegrass music. Most bluegrass bassists use the 3/4 size bass. The Englehardt or Kay brands of basses have long been popular choices for bluegrass bassists. Less frequently, the full and 5/8 size basses are used. The upright bass is almost always plucked in bluegrass music, though some modern bluegrass bassists have also used a bow.
The bluegrass bass is responsible for keeping time in the polyrhythmic conditions of the bluegrass tune, enhancing the flow of the music with tasteful fills and runs. Most important is the steady beat, whether fast, slow, in 4/4 time, 2/4 or 3/4 time.
Early pre-bluegrass music was often accompanied by the cello, which was bowed as often as plucked. Some contemporary bluegrass bands favor the electric bass, but it has a different musical quality than the plucked upright bass. The upright bass gives energy and drive to the music with its percussive, woody tone.
"Slapping" is a widely-used bluegrass playing technique. When upright players play in the "slapping" style, they combine regular plucking with slapping or pulling the strings so that they percussively hit the fingerboard. To the uninitiated, it sounds like the bass player is simultaneously playing a bassline and playing a snare drum. In the simplest uses of slapping, bassists will slap in between plucked notes to add to the pulse of the song. In the hands of a virtuoso picker, slapping can involve exciting sequences of rapid double and even triple slaps interspersed with regular plucking. Like other bassists that use the slapping style (such as rockabilly or 1920s-era jazz revivalists), bluegrass musicians sometimes use gut strings.
Common rhythms in bluegrass bass playing involve (with some exceptions) plucking on beats 1 and 3 in 4/4 time; beats 1 and 2 in 2/4 time, and beats 1 and 3 and in 3/4 time (waltz time). Bluegrass bass lines are usually extremely simple, typically staying on the root and fifth of each chord throughout much of a song. There are two main exceptions to this "rule". Bluegrass bassists often do a scalar "walkup" or "walkdown" in which they play every beat of a bar for one or two bars, typically when there is a prominent chord change. In addition, if a bass player is given a solo, they may do a "walking bass line," which involves playing scale notes on every beat of the bar, so that the quarter notes fluidly connect the chords of the song. Even though bluegrass bass lines may be relatively simple from a technical point of view, there is a great deal to learn about how to play bass tastefully and in a stylistically appropriate way for all of the different types of songs in the bluegrass style.
Cedric Rainwater, bassist for Bill Monroe and later Flatt and Scruggs, helped to define the bluegrass sound with his characteristic root and fifth approach where the 1 and 3 beats are emphasized, as well as his incorporation the walking bass style, where each beat in 4/4 time is plucked, going up and down the major and Mixolydian (flat VII) scales.
Notable bass players in contemporary bluegrass music:
Double bass in popular music
Image:Bill Haley and the Comets.jpg The double bass was an integral part of pop lineups in the 1950s ranging from Bill Haley and the Comets to Elvis Presley. This is due to the jazz, R&B, country and bluegrass roots of 1950s rock and roll. Image:Beatlessullivantogether.jpg
However, double bass players using their instruments in these contexts faced inherent problems. They were forced to compete with louder horn instruments (and later amplified electric guitars), making bass parts difficult to hear. The double bass is difficult to amplify in loud concert venue settings, because it can be prone to feedback "howls". The double bass is large and awkward to transport, which also created transportation problems for touring bands.
In 1951, Leo Fender independently released his Precision Bass, the first commercially successful electric bass guitar. The electric bass was easily amplified with its built-in pickups, easily portable (less than a foot longer than an electric guitar), and easier to play in tune, thanks to the metal frets. In the 1960s and 1970s bands were playing at louder volumes and performing in larger venues. The electric bass was able to provide the huge, highly-amplified stadium-filling bass tone that the pop and rock music of this era demanded, and the double bass receded from the limelight of the popular music scene.
The upright bass began making a modest comeback in popular music in the mid-1980s, in part due to a renewed interest in earlier forms of rock and country music. The rockabilly revival led by the chart-topping Stray Cats made upright basses "hip" again. 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. Popular bands such as Barenaked Ladies and Soul Coughing decided to anchor their sound with an upright bass instead of an electric bass. A trend for "unplugged" performances further helped to enhance the public's interest in the upright bass and acoustic bass guitars.
The double bass is also favored over the electric bass guitar in many rockabilly and psychobilly bands. Scott Owen of The Living End is an example of a double bassist playing in a punk rock band. Even in the early 2000s, the upright bass continued its comeback, with psychobilly groups such as Tiger Army and the Horrorpops using the upright bass.
Double bassists
Notable classical double bass players of historical importance
- Domenico Dragonetti (1763-1846) Virtuoso, composer, conductor
- Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889) Virtuoso, composer, conductor
- Franz Simandl (1840-1912) Virtuoso, composer
- Edouard Nanny (1872-1943) Virtuoso, composer
- Serge Koussevitzky (1874-1951) Conductor, virtuoso, composer
Lists of notable double bassists
- See List of contemporary classical double bass players
- See List of jazz bassists, which includes both double bass and electric bass players.
- See List of double bass players in other popular genres
See also
References and external links
- Rockabillybass.com.
- BassPlaza.com.
- Double Bass and Violone Internet Archive
- Site about Electric Upright Basses (EUB)
- Bob Gollihur's Bass site.
- Double Bass Guide.
- The Online Journal of Bass Research
- An online store strictly for the double bass.
- Chord finder for bass and other four-string instruments
- Website with much information on playing techniques, tuning systems, the "New Dutch School", the Bassetto and other topics
- The BassCast - A podcast for musicians who play the double bass.
- The Canotto Upright Acoustic Bass - A short article on a Savart style upright.
- The Contrabass Shoppe
- World of basses
- Stefan Johann krattenmacher Instrument builderbg:Контрабас
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