Modern playing styles [ edit ] A mid-sized bass amp used to amplify a double bass at a small jazz gig

time. The bass also maintains the chord progression and harmony. The Engelhardt-Link (formerly Kay) brands of plywood laminate basses have long been popular choices for bluegrass bassists. Most bluegrass bassists use the 3⁄ 4 size bass, but the full-size and 5⁄ 8 size basses are also used. Some contemporary composers specify highly specialized scordatura (intentionally changing the tuning of the open strings). Changing the pitch of the open strings makes different notes available as pedal points and harmonics. I use this - [url="http://www.djmmusic.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=SIS14-BK"]http://www.djmmusic.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=SIS14-BK[/url] A number of other bassists, such as Ray Brown, Slam Stewart and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, were central to the history of jazz. Stewart, who was popular with the beboppers, played his solos with a bow combined with octave humming. Notably, Charles Mingus was a highly regarded composer as well as a bassist noted for his technical virtuosity and powerful sound. [46] Scott LaFaro influenced a generation of musicians by liberating the bass from contrapuntal "walking" behind soloists instead favoring interactive, conversational melodies. [47] Since the commercial availability of bass amplifiers in the 1950s, jazz bassists have used amplification to augment the natural volume of the instrument.

The purpose of buying or owning an item is so much important that it influences the buyer's choices in the market. Same for bass stands, the purpose may be to have a type that can be used at home to practice, play, and enjoy the amazing sounds of a double bass without having to take the stand for concerts or to have a portable stand that can be taken to almost all places. Many adults take up a musical instrument, frequently it’s when their children are a bit older and you have time to do something for yourself, or you’re an adult who would like to re-start. If it’s something you’re passionate about and can invest time in every day (even if it’s just 15 minutes) why not? Owing to their relatively small diameters, the strings themselves do not move much air and therefore cannot produce much sound on their own. The vibrational energy of the strings must somehow be transferred to the surrounding air. From the 1960s through the end of the century Gary Karr was the leading proponent of the double bass as a solo instrument and was active in commissioning or having hundreds of new works and concerti written especially for him. Karr was given Koussevitzky's famous solo double bass by Olga Koussevitsky and played it in concerts around the world for 40 years before, in turn, giving the instrument to the International Society of Bassists for talented soloists to use in concert. Another important performer in this period, Bertram Turetzky, commissioned and premiered more than 300 double bass works.

If you are an adult beginner, you may know how to read a little bit of music already. If your child is about to start music lessons, they may not know - and that’s okay! The double bass eventually evolved to fit the needs of orchestras that required lower notes and a louder sound. The leading double bassists from the mid-to-late 18th century, such as Josef Kämpfer, Friedrich Pischelberger, and Johannes Mathias Sperger employed the "Viennese" tuning. Bassist Johann Hindle (1792–1862), who composed a concerto for the double bass, pioneered tuning the bass in fourths, which marked a turning point for the double bass and its role in solo works. Bassist Domenico Dragonetti was a prominent musical figure and an acquaintance of Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven. His playing was known all the way from his homeland Italy to the Tsardom of Russia and he found a prominent place performing in concerts with the Philharmonic Society of London. Beethoven's friendship with Dragonetti may have inspired him to write difficult, separate parts for the double bass in his symphonies, such as the impressive passages in the third movement of the Fifth Symphony, the second movement of the Seventh Symphony, and last movement of the Ninth Symphony. These parts do not double the cello part. quote name='james_guitar' post='1235136' date='May 18 2011, 02:42 AM']It seems that most of the double bass stands I have come across online are also for Cello and and it is hard to assess what the quality is like based upon pictures alone. Having had my reaonably okay DB stand go missing after a gig a recently, I am on the hunt for a high quality stand that is ideal for both home and live and won't run the risk of my bass falling off and breaking (already been there; not a pretty topic). The double bass as a solo instrument enjoyed a period of popularity during the 18th century and many of the most popular composers from that era wrote pieces for the double bass. The double bass, then often referred to as the Violone, used different tunings from region to region. The "Viennese tuning" (A 1–D 2–F ♯ 2–A 2) was popular, and in some cases a fifth string or even sixth string was added (F 1–A 1–D 2–F ♯ 2–A 2). [29] The popularity of the instrument is documented in Leopold Mozart's second edition of his Violinschule, where he writes "One can bring forth difficult passages easier with the five-string violone, and I heard unusually beautiful performances of concertos, trios, solos, etc." Beginning around 1890, the early New Orleans jazz ensemble (which played a mixture of marches, ragtime, and Dixieland) was initially a marching band with a tuba or sousaphone (or occasionally bass saxophone) supplying the bass line. As the music moved into bars and brothels, the upright bass gradually replaced these wind instruments around the 1920s. [44] Many early bassists doubled on both the brass bass ( tuba) and string bass, as the instruments were then often referred to. Bassists played improvised "walking" bass lines—scale- and arpeggio-based lines that outlined the chord progression.The Italian bass virtuoso Domenico Dragonetti helped to encourage composers to give more difficult parts for his instrument. Tuning [ edit ] Regular tuning [ edit ] Double bass player Vivien Garry playing a show in New York City in 1947 Bridge & soundpost - these parts of the double bass must be included, as they are crucial for creating sound. If they have been fitted correctly, you’ll get a clear tone from the instrument.

Because of its body size and low tuning, the double bass is one of the quietest stringed instruments in any orchestral lineup. A typical double bass stands around 180cm (6 feet) from scroll to endpin. Whereas the traditional "full-size" ( 4⁄ 4 size) bass stands 74.8 inches, the more common 3⁄ 4 size bass (which has become the most widely used size in the modern era, even among orchestral players) stands 71.6 inches from scroll to endpin. [9] [10] Other sizes are also available, such as a 1⁄ 2 size or 1⁄ 4 size, which serve to accommodate a player's height and hand size. These names of the sizes do not reflect the true size relative to a "full size" bass; a 1⁄ 2 bass is not half the length of a 4⁄ 4 bass, but is only about 15% smaller. [11] Traditionally, the double bass is a transposing instrument. Since much of the double bass's range lies below the standard bass clef, it is notated an octave higher than it sounds to avoid having to use excessive ledger lines below the staff. Thus, when double bass players and cellists are playing from a combined bass-cello part, as used in many Mozart and Haydn symphonies, they will play in octaves, with the basses one octave below the cellos. This transposition applies even when bass players are reading the tenor and treble clef (which are used in solo playing and some orchestral parts). The tenor clef is also used by composers for cello and low brass parts. The use of tenor or treble clef avoids excessive ledger lines above the staff when notating the instrument's upper range. Other notation traditions exist. Italian solo music is typically written at the sounding pitch, and the "old" German method sounded an octave below where notation except in the treble clef, where the music was written at pitch.Reinhold Glière wrote an Intermezzo and Tarantella for double bass and piano, Op.9, No.1 and No.2 and a Praeludium and Scherzo for double bass and piano, Op.32 No.1 and No.2. Paul Hindemith wrote a rhythmically challenging Double Bass Sonata in 1949. Frank Proto wrote his Sonata "1963" for Double Bass and Piano. In the Soviet Union, Mieczysław Weinberg wrote his Sonata No.1 for double bass solo in 1971. Giacinto Scelsi wrote two double bass pieces called Nuits in 1972, and then in 1976, he wrote Maknongan, a piece for any low-voiced instrument, such as double bass, contrabassoon, or tuba. Vincent Persichetti wrote solo works—which he called "Parables"—for many instruments. He wrote Parable XVII for Double Bass, Op.131 in 1974. Sofia Gubaidulina penned a Sonata for double bass and piano in 1975. In 1976 American minimalist composer Tom Johnson wrote "Failing – a very difficult piece for solo string bass" in which the player has to perform an extremely virtuosic solo on the bass whilst simultaneously reciting a text which says how very difficult the piece is and how unlikely he or she is to successfully complete the performance without making a mistake.