Bass (musical instrument)

“ If the violin is the leader of the orchestra, the double bass is its foundation. To it is given the lowest part, on which both harmony and melody rest. The English term 'double bass' has probably been applied to the instrument because it often doubles in the lower octave the bass of the harmony, given to the bass voice, the violoncello, the bassoon, or some other instrument. ”

“ Very often a clarinet usurped the place of the flute. The bass viol was, however, the most popular instrument, and when, some years later, concerts began to be given, and musical societies formed, the bass viol was lugged about, notwithstanding its ponderous size, and duly performed its part in the accompaniment.
The bass viol shown in Figure 89 is an interesting one. It was made by Deacon Justin Hitchcock, and used by him in the choir of the Congregational Church, Deerfield, Mass., in 1778. Both it and the pitch-pipe used by him as leader of the choir are now resting silent in Memorial Hall. ”

“ The beautiful effect produced by a solo instrument accompanying a cantabile aria cannot be denied. In such cases the instruments used are generally the violin, viola, and 'cello, or the flute, oboe, Eng. horn, clar., bass clar., bassoon, horn and harp. The accompaniment is often contrapuntal or composed of polyphonic designs. The solo instrument either plays alone or as the leading melodic voice in the ensemble. In combination with the voice, or associated with some action on the stage, a solo instrument is a powerful expedient for musical characterisation. ”

“ The bow is for obvious reasons shorter and stouter than the violin bow.
The technique of the double bass presents certain difficulties inherent in an instrument of such large proportions. The stretches for the fingers are very great, almost double those required for the violoncello, and owing to the thickness of the strings great force is required to press them against the finger-board when they are vibrating. The performer plays standing owing to the great size of the instrument. ”

“ To this instrument are assigned normally the deepest bass parts of the score. Basses are mounted with three, four, or five strings. The four-string variety is most widely used, having almost completely supplanted the three-string instruments. In modern symphony orchestras the five-string bass is making rapid headway, its special advantage being the downward extension of its compass to low (16 foot) C—one octave below the C string of the cello. ”

“ The construction of the bass clarinet demands the greatest care. The bore should theoretically be strictly cylindrical throughout its length from mouthpiece to bell joint; the slightest deviation from mathematical accuracy, such as an undue widening of the bell from the point where it joins the body to the mouth of the bell, would tend to muffle the lower notes of the instrument and to destroy correct intonation. ”

“ Its four strings are tuned as follows the entire range of the instrument being from EE to a. In music written for double-bass the notes are always printed an octave higher than the tones are to sound: that is, when the bass-player sees the note he plays this being done to avoid leger lines. The tone of the bass is much heavier and [Pg 119] the instrument itself is much more clumsy to handle than the other members of the group, hence it is almost never used as a solo instrument but it is invaluable for reinforcing the bass part in orchestral music. ”

“ With the growing favour for simple chords, which were developed into the Continuo or Thorough Bass accompaniment, the bass strings—diapasons, as they were called—were added beneath the finger-board accordance to be tuned for basses as the player required. At last they were attached by the contrivance of a double neck to a higher peg-box, by which the Lute became a Theorbo. ”

“ Although the bass clarinet is made in A as well as in B flat, it has been found that, owing to its slowness of speech, no passages are likely to be written which require execution too rapid for convenient performance on the B flat instrument. One B flat bass clarinet is therefore all that is required in the symphony orchestra. ”

“ The good-looking man who plays upon the double-bass is equally prudent with regard to his trophies, which he has hung up around the post on which is pinned the score to which he looks for directions when it becomes necessary to bind together with string-music the pensive interchanges of the sax-horn and bassoon. ”

“ In the love scene of Berlioz's "Romeo and Juliet" symphony it is the violoncello which personifies the lover, and holds converse with the modest oboe.
The double-bass.
The patriarchal double-bass is known to all, and also its mission of providing the foundation for the harmonic structure of orchestral music. It sounds an octave lower than the music written for it, being what is called a transposing instrument of sixteen-foot tone. ”

“ The [198] sound is clear, deep, and sonorous, nothing at all like the dull and thick tone of the ordinary double–bass. The fingering is done by means of mechanism connected with keys at the lower end of the finger–board, which the performer, standing on a stool, easily reaches with the left hand, while with the right he draws a big bow across the strings. The use of this instrument must be reserved for the grander effects of harmony. It is like the sub–bass of the organ. ”

“ I mean your bass-viol, which grumbles in the bottom of the concert, and with a surly masculine sound strengthens the harmony, and tempers the sweetness of the several instruments that play along with it. The bass-viol is an instrument of a quite different nature to the trumpet, and may signify men of rough sense, and unpolished parts, who do not love to hear themselves talk, but sometimes break out with an agreeable bluntness, unexpected wit, and surly pleasantries, to the no small diversion of their friends and companions. ”

“ The basso continuo of certain organists, who have fallen asleep over their pedals, soon becomes an intolerable nuisance for the audience. We should go wild at a performance of a symphony in which the double-basses played uninterruptedly from the first note to the last. Plain-song itself, thus interpreted, loses its eloquence; although the apparent monotony of its design, closely confined within the limits of an octave, would, above all, seem to be better adapted than any other form of music to a continuous bass. ”

“ The quality of tone is less reedy in the bass clarinet than in the higher instruments. It resembles the bourdon stop on the organ, and in the lowest register, more especially, the tone is somewhat hollow and wanting in power although mellower than that of the bassoon. In the lowest octave the instrument speaks slowly and is chiefly used for sustained bass or melody notes; rapid passages are impossible. ”

“ The notes of the lowest register, when played piano, sound weird and sometimes grotesque, and are sometimes used instead of the kettledrum; when played forte the tone is grand and full. The lowest octave is mainly used as a fundamental octave bass to ’cello, bassoon or trombone. ”

“ Double Basses by the great makers are rare and not effective in the orchestra: professional players usually choose old English ones, or modern ones by such makers as Fendt and Lott, who made the Double Bass a speciality.
Fiddle-making is so little practised as a trade in this country, that a short explanation of the process may be useful. ”

“ This enormous increase of pressure requires for the belly a proportionate addition of bearing-power, and this could only be given by strengthening the bass-bar, which has been done by giving it a slight additional depth at the centre, and adding considerably to its length. In consequence of this we hardly ever find in an old instrument the original bass-bar of the maker, just as rarely as the original sound-post or bridge, all of which, however, can be made as well by any experienced living violin-maker as by the original Stradivari or Amati. ”

“ The tough tympanum of a bass drum yields one sound, and the tom-tom may be a fine instrument for war or joy dances, but a delicately attuned violin quivers with more varied vibrations, and even the minor chords must satisfy some of its fibers. ”

“ The four kinds of wind instruments: flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons may be generally considered to be of equal power. The same cannot be said of instruments which fulfil a special purpose: piccolo, bass flute, Eng. horn, small clarinet, bass clarinet and double bassoon. Each of these instruments has four registers: low, middle, high and extremely high, each of which is characterised by certain differences of quality and power. It is difficult to define the exact limits of each register; adjacent registers almost blend together and the passage from one to another is scarcely noticeable. ”

“ Note. In widely-spaced harmony only the soprano and alto parts may be doubled in octaves. Duplicating the tenor part is to be avoided, as close writing is thereby produced, and doubling the bass part creates an effect of heaviness. The bass part should never mix with the others:-65-
On account of the distance between the bass and the three other parts, only partial duplication is possible. ”

“ Composer.”
The time had not yet come for the famous recitative passage of the basses in the Ninth Symphony. The same methods of bowing, etc., as are applied to the violin are applied to the double-bass, but without any attempt at great agility. Sordines, or mutes, are not used, because an effective mute for a double-bass would weigh about two pounds and would be very inconvenient to carry in the pocket. Harmonics can be produced from the double-bass, but they are strident and loud and have no musical utility. ”

“ The high, squeaking tones of the violins and flutes, and the growling ground bass of the bassoon are all that I can hear; they follow each other up and down in octaves, which tear the ear, until, at last, like one who is seized with a burning pain, I cry out involuntarily,
“What mad music! Those detestable octaves!”—Near me some one mutters.
“Cursed Fate! Here is another octave-hunter!” I look up and perceive now for the first time that imperceptibly to me a man has taken a place at the same table, who is looking intently at me, and from whom I cannot take my eyes away again. ”

“ Practical Thorough Bass is conversant with the manner of taking the several chords on an instrument, as prescribed by the figures placed over or under the bass part of a composition, and supposes a familiar acquaintance with the powers of these figures, a facility in taking the chords they indicate, and judgment in the various applications and effects of those chords in accompaniment. The Bass is that part of a concert which is the most heard ”

“ The bass-bar has to be cut and adjusted to meet the requirements of every violin; and only long experience can determine how long, how thick and exactly where the bass-bar should be made and placed. The fraction of a line makes all the difference in the world.
The bass-bar is the only member, or organ, of the violin’s body that has undergone any change since the days of Antonio Stradivari. Owing to the increased pitch (higher tuning) of the present time, the tension, or pull, of the strings equals eighty pounds! ”

“ If a very low bass found a note rather high, he may have howled it as he best could, or it would perhaps itself have cracked up into falsetto, or he will have gone down instinctively to the octave below, or remained where he was until the melody came again within his reach—ears being not yet critically cultivated. Even now, towards the end of the 19th century, it is not at all unusual to hear amongst a congregation basses singing the air of a hymn below the actual bass part, or soprani singing in the tenor-compass for convenience sake. ”

“ The bass (see accompanying figure) , besides having two keys, is distinguished from the others by a kind of small bolt, two of which slide in grooves and close the two holes that form the lowest notes of the instrument. ”

“ Never leave a bass string the slightest amount too sharp. As flatness is so obnoxious in the treble, just so is sharpness in the bass, so if there must be any variation in any bass tone let it be flat ”

“ The wood wind, for example, consists of flutes and oboes, which are purely soprano instruments, clarinets, which extended from upper bass to moderately high soprano, English horn, which has a tenor range, bass clarinet, which runs from deep bass up into treble, and bassoons, which comprise bass, baritone, and tenor registers. That organization of instruments is capable of independent performance, possessing, as it does, all the components of full and extended harmony and a wide variety of color. ”

“ Owing to its register—basso profondo + a still lower compass,—and its muffled resonance, the double bass is little capable of broad cantabile phrases and only in unison or in octaves with the 'cellos. In my own compositions there is no phrase of any importance given to the double bass without the support of 'cellos or bassoons.
Examples:
* No. 10. Legend of Kitesh 306. Double bass solo, doubled first by the double bassoon, later by the bassoon. This example affords an instance of the rare use of the alto clef (in the last few notes) . ”

“ The first and fourth of the six lateral holes are double, but those holes are stopped up with wax which have become useless through the player's habit of using the fingers of the right or left hand to cover the higher three holes. The bass flute shown in fig. 1 is the facsimile of an instrument in the Museo Civico of Verona. ”