While lesser-known than its higher register relatives, the double bass is a member of the string orchestra. Towering at 75 inches, a full-size double bass is capable of producing a dark, heavy and weighted tone. Its sound capability along with its sheer size beg the question—how did the bass get to its current status? Through what trial and error did it develop its tone and shape? By examining the correct nomenclature, the role of the bass in early baroque orchestras, two inventions that radicalized bass playing, attempts at varying the number of strings, and its role in jazz, it is clear that the bass has filled a critical role in the string orchestra. Classifying the double bass as a part of the violin or viola families has been tricky. …show more content…
These adaptions would allow for the bass’s role to increase. First, in the 1650s, the overwound gut string entered the scene offering expanded agility in fingering and bowing. By reducing the size of its strings, the double bass was also able to become smaller without losing any of its crucial sound. In addition to the new strings, in 1778, violinmaker Carl Ludwig Bachmann from Berlin constructed a screw mechanism on the pegbox—thumb screws on the outside of the pegbox turn small metal cogwheels that can be adjusted with such precision that strings can be tuned to a nicety. These amended pegboxes soon replaced older models for easier …show more content…
In the mid-eighteenth century, three-stringed basses were most prevalent. This practice continued until the 19th century. By having three strings, the bass produced a more powerful, clearer, harder and assertive tone and timbre. The three-stringed double bass was either tuned as A1, D2, G2 or G1, D2, A2. As a result, its range in the lower register was smaller. From the 1830s onward, four-string double basses were reintroduced. Until the end of the century, both three and four stringed basses coexisted. However, then the four-stringed bass surged in popularity and overtook its predecessor. Unlike the three-stringed bass, the four-stringed bass featured a mellow, smoother and weaker sound. Appropriately, orchestras increased the number of double basses present to compensate for the lack of power. New low-pitched wind instruments (bass clarinet and contrabassoon) were employed to support the bass line. Regardless of its weak sound, the four-stringed bass had a larger range in the lower register. Finally, 20th century works began to require five-stringed double basses. The five strings allowed for the bass to have a range to B0. Nevertheless, this variation was harder to play because of its wider fingerboard. The double bass truly found its spotlight in jazz. In early jazz, the bass part was played by the tuba or the sousaphone. When the double bass appeared, it was