The Bass Bar Double Bass Stand

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Traditionally, double bassists stood to play solo and sat to play in the orchestra or opera pit. Now, it is unusual for a player to be equally proficient in both positions, so some soloists sit (as with Joel Quarrington, Jeff Bradetich, Thierry Barbé, and others) and some orchestral bassists stand. Five-string basses, in which the lowest string is normally B 0, may use either a two semitone extension, providing a low A, or the very rare low G extension. If you’re an adult learner, you may only want to buy an instrument once, and buy well. If your budget allows for this, it is a great place for starting and continuing to develop your musical skills. For this, we recommend browsing our intermediate and advanced level double basses. This level will mean you have an excellent double bass that helps with your development, as it produces a lovely, clear tone and is very easy to work with. Many independent schools opt to have a strings immersion programme in Grade 1 or 2, and it works extremely well for them. When I taught in independent schools most of my beginners were in Grade 1, but there the groups were no bigger than two students in a lesson. time (waltz time). Bluegrass bass lines are usually simple, typically staying on the root and fifth of each chord throughout most of a song. There are two main exceptions to this rule. Bluegrass bassists often do a diatonic walkup or walkdown, in which they play every beat of a bar for one or two bars, typically when there is a chord change. In addition, if a bass player is given a solo, they may play a walking bass line with a note on every beat or play a pentatonic scale-influenced bassline.

Jazz bass players are expected to improvise an accompaniment line or solo for a given chord progression. They are also expected to know the rhythmic patterns that are appropriate for different styles (e.g., Afro-Cuban). Bassists playing in a big band must also be able to read written-out bass lines, as some arrangements have written bass parts.

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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. [ citation needed] Bowed notes in the lowest register of the instrument produce a dark, heavy, mighty, or even menacing effect, when played with a fortissimo dynamic; however, the same low pitches played with a delicate pianissimo can create a sonorous, mellow accompaniment line. Classical bass students learn all of the different bow articulations used by other string section players (e.g., violin and cello), such as détaché, legato, staccato, sforzato, martelé ("hammered"-style), sul ponticello, sul tasto, tremolo, spiccato and sautillé. Some of these articulations can be combined; for example, the combination of sul ponticello and tremolo can produce eerie, ghostly sounds. Classical bass players do play pizzicato parts in orchestra, but these parts generally require simple notes (quarter notes, half notes, whole notes), rather than rapid passages. A quiver is an accessory for holding the bow. It is often made of leather and it attaches to the bridge and tailpiece with ties or straps. It is used to hold the bow while a player plays pizzicato parts.

Built by Erwin Lustenberger in 2006, the largest double-bass to ever be constructed was called an Octobass and was over 18-feet tall and 7-feet wide! In his A New History of the Double Bass, Paul Brun asserts 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 instruments in the violin family, and very different from the internal structure of viols. [14]Most “full size” double basses that you see, especially in orchestral settings, are actually 3/4 size! Adults mostly play on 3/4 double basses, unless their hands are much larger. Then they might use a 7/8 or even an actual 4/4, but most “gigging” bassists would use 3/4 for convenience. Larger sizes are more the requirements of a very strong bassist with big hands working in a symphony orchestra. View our size guide to measure yourself or your child at home, or drop in to Simply for Strings to be assisted by one of our bass-playing staff.