Double bass

Double bass is the biggest and lowest-pitched string instrument in the contemporary symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). The double bass has a structure that is quite similar to that of the cello.

The bass is also utilised in a variety of other genres, including jazz, 1950s-style blues and rock & roll, rockabilly, psychobilly, traditional country music, bluegrass, tango, and folk music.

A transposing instrument, the bass is usually notated one octave higher than it is tuned in order to prevent unnecessary ledger lines below the staff of the music. Unlike other bowed string instruments, the double bass is the only one that is tuned in fourths (like a bass guitar or viola), rather than fifths, with strings that are typically tuned to E1, A1, D2, and G2. All other bowed chordophones, on the other hand, are tuned to perfect fifths.

The precise ancestry of the instrument is still up for dispute, with experts split on whether the bass is descended from the viol or the violin families.

Various extended techniques are used to play the double bass, including using a bow (arco), plucking the strings (pizzicato), and a variety of bowing methods. Both arco and pizzicato are used in symphonic repertoire, as well as in tango music. Pizzicato is the most common style of playing in jazz, blues, and rockabilly. Classical music and jazz, as well as traditional bluegrass, make advantage of the natural sound generated acoustically by the instrument. The double bass is frequently amplified in genres such as funk, blues, reggae, and other related music.