

As a member of the violin-family of instruments, the construction of the upright bass is quite different from that of the acoustic bass guitar, as the latter is a derivative of the electric bass guitar, and usually built like a larger and sturdier variant of an acoustic guitar. In folk and bluegrass music, the instrument is also referred to as a "bass fiddle" or "bass violin" (or more rarely as "doghouse bass" or "bull fiddle"

In jazz, blues, rockabilly and other genres outside of classical music, this instrument is commonly called the upright bass, standup bass or acoustic bass to distinguish it from the (usually electric) bass guitar. The terms for the instrument among classical performers are contrabass (which comes from the instrument's Italian name, contrabbasso), string bass (to distinguish it from brass bass instruments in a concert band, such as tubas), or simply bass. The names contrabass and double bass refer to the instrument's range and use one octave lower than the cello (i.e. Terminology Jazz bassist Ron Carter pictured playing with his Quartet at "Altes Pfandhaus" in CologneĪ person who plays this instrument is called a "bassist", "double bassist", "double bass player", "contrabassist", "contrabass player" or "bass player". In funk, blues, reggae, and related genres, the double bass is often amplified. Classical music and jazz use the natural sound produced acoustically by the instrument, as does traditional bluegrass. In jazz, blues, and rockabilly, pizzicato is the norm. In orchestral repertoire and tango music, both arco and pizzicato are employed. The double bass is played with a bow (arco), or by plucking the strings ( pizzicato), or via a variety of extended techniques. The instrument's exact lineage is still a matter of some debate, with scholars divided on whether the bass is derived from the viol or the violin family. The double bass is the only modern bowed string instrument that is tuned in fourths (like a bass guitar, viol, or the first four strings of a standard guitar), rather than fifths, with strings usually tuned to E 1, A 1, D 2 and G 2. The bass is used in a range of other genres, such as jazz, blues, rock and roll, rockabilly, country music, bluegrass, tango and folk music.īeing a transposing instrument, the bass is typically notated one octave higher than tuned to avoid excessive ledger lines below the staff. The bass is a standard member of the orchestra's string section, along with violins, viola, and cello, as well as the concert band, and is featured in concertos, solo, and chamber music in Western classical music.

Similar in structure to the cello, it has four, although occasionally five, strings. The double bass ( / ˈ d ʌ b əl b eɪ s/), also known simply as the bass ( / b eɪ s/), amongst other names, is the largest and, therefore, lowest-pitched chordophone in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Sample of a double bass playing pizzicato. Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French-style bowīass, upright bass, string bass, acoustic bass, acoustic string bass, contrabass, contrabass viol, bass viol, bass violin, standup bass, bull fiddle, doghouse bass, and bass fiddle
