The Double Bass

The double bass is the lowest and largest of the orchestral strings. It sounds an octave lower than written and is the only string instrument in the orchestra tuned in fourths. Its history is more tangled than that of the violin or the cello: it combines features of the viol family – sloping shoulders, a flat back, frets in earlier times – with those of the violin family, and for centuries numerous sizes, string numbers and tunings existed side by side. Today the double bass plays a leading part in a remarkable number of worlds: as the foundation of the symphony orchestra, as the rhythmic and harmonic engine of jazz, in rockabilly, bluegrass, tango and salsa, in folk and film music – and as a solo instrument that has produced virtuosos ever since Giovanni Bottesini.

1Names and classification

Besides Kontrabass, German also uses Bass, Bassgeige and colloquially Stehbass; in Austria and Bavaria you also hear Basserl, or Bassgeigen in folk music. Internationally: English double bass, and in jazz and pop upright bass, acoustic bass or string bass; Italian contrabbasso; French contrebasse; Spanish contrabajo; Russian kontrabas; Chinese 低音提琴 (dīyīn tíqín). The prefix “contra-” denotes the octave below the great octave.

The double bass is a bowed lute with four, five or – historically – three or six strings. It is the only orchestral string instrument tuned in fourths: fifths would demand impossible stretches on a fingerboard over a metre long. It is played standing or seated on a high stool, resting on the floor on an endpin.

2History

The violone family

Large bass instruments arose in the sixteenth century in both string families at once. The viol family had the violone (the great bass viol), with six strings and frets, in various sizes and tunings, sometimes an octave below the bass viol (the contrabass viol). The violin family had large basses of its own. The terms remained fluid for centuries: depending on time and place, “violone” could mean a large cello at 8′ pitch or a true contrabass instrument at 16′ – a perennial question of performance practice, in Bach and Handel for instance.

Early surviving instruments come from Brescia (Gasparo da Salò, Giovanni Paolo Maggini) and were mostly cut down and rebuilt later. Some of the most prized basses of all were made in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by violin makers such as the Amati family, Carlo Giuseppe Testore, Domenico Montagnana, Matteo Goffriller, Lorenzo Storioni and Giovanni Battista Rogeri; as far as is known, Stradivari built very few basses.

The Viennese violone and the Classical period

In Vienna in the second half of the eighteenth century a five-string fretted bass was widespread, tuned in the so-called Viennese tuning (usually F1–A1–D2–F♯2–A2). The triad in the upper strings made chords, arpeggios and passage-work in D major easier. For this instrument and for virtuosos such as Johannes Sperger, Friedrich Pischelberger and Joseph Kämpfer, a rich solo repertoire came into being: concertos by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Johann Baptist Vanhal, Franz Anton Hoffmeister, Antonio Zimmermann and Johannes Matthias Sperger (18 concertos), as well as Joseph Haydn’s lost double bass concerto. Mozart composed the concert aria “Per questa bella mano” K. 612 (1791) with obbligato double bass for Pischelberger. Today these works are mostly played in solo tuning on a four-string bass, often in specially adapted transpositions; some specialists use the Viennese tuning again.

Dragonetti, Bottesini and the nineteenth century

• 1763–1846 Domenico Dragonetti (Venice, later London) shaped a generation. He played Beethoven’s Cello Sonata op. 5/2 on the bass and influenced the composer’s bass parts; he used a bow with a high frog (a forerunner of the “German” bow) and a three-string bass.
• 19th century In Italy, France and England the three-string bass (usually A1–D–G or G1–D–A) is widespread: loud and powerful, with thick gut strings. In Germany the four-string bass in E1–A1–D–G takes hold.
• 1821–1889 Giovanni Bottesini, the “Paganini of the double bass”, tours the world with a three-string Testore bass, composes concertos, fantasias and the Gran Duo concertante, and conducts the première of Verdi’s Aida (Cairo, 1871).
• 1874 Franz Simandl (Vienna) publishes his Neueste Methode des Kontrabass-Spiels, still used worldwide.
• 1902 Serge Koussevitzky, later chief conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, writes his Double Bass Concerto in F♯ minor op. 3.
• from about 1900–1920 The C extension (lengthening the E string down to C1) and five-string basses become established in large orchestras; from the 1940s and 50s steel strings displace gut.
• 1920s–1940s In jazz the double bass replaces the tuba as the bass instrument; from 1939 Jimmy Blanton revolutionises the playing with Duke Ellington.
• 1967 Gary Karr founds the International Society of Bassists (ISB).
• since 1970 François Rabbath, Franco Petracchi and Ludwig Streicher renew technique and teaching; composers write a substantial new solo repertoire.

3Body shapes

No other string instrument comes in so many outlines. The underlying principle stays the same: a spruce top, maple (or willow or poplar) back and ribs, a bass bar, a soundpost, a bridge and an ebony fingerboard.

Shape	Features	Notes
Gamba shape	sloping shoulders, a flat back with a break in the upper section, often without pronounced corners	the most common; easy access to the high positions
Violin shape	rounded shoulders, an arched back, corners	a full sound; many Italian and French basses
Busetto shape	no corners, a compact middle bout	an Italian tradition
Pear shape	narrow shoulders, a wide lower bout	rarer
Guitar shape	an outline like a guitar (no corners)	mainly a French tradition

Solid, hybrid and plywood

Construction	Features	Used for
Plywood (laminated)	all plates of layered wood; very robust and insensitive to climate	schools, jazz, rockabilly (a loud pizzicato punch), touring
Hybrid	a solid spruce top with laminated back and ribs	students to advanced players; a good compromise
Fully carved	all parts of solid wood, hand-made	orchestras and soloists; more sensitive to climate
Carbon, travel basses	a carbon body or a demountable construction (removable neck)	travelling, air travel

Particular features of the construction

• Machine heads instead of wooden pegs: because of the high string tension, the strings are tuned with worm-and-gear mechanisms.
• Adjustable bridge: many bridges have adjuster wheels for changing the string height – lower for jazz pizzicato and damp summers, higher for bowing and for winter.
• The break in the back: the flat back is angled in the upper section to make room for the neck; cross bars strengthen it.
• Endpin: of steel, wood, carbon or tungsten, usually with a replaceable rubber tip; angled endpins (such as the Laborie) change the angle of the instrument.
• Extension: mechanical extensions (with gates or “fingers”) or simple ones lengthen the E string beyond the nut down to C1.

4Dimensions and sizes

Guide dimensions for a 3/4 double bass (the usual adult size)

Dimension	Value
Overall height without endpin	about 180–190 cm
Body length	about 110–115 cm
Width, upper / lower bout	about 50–53 / 66–70 cm
Rib height	about 18–21 cm
String length	about 102–106 cm (up to 110 cm in some orchestras)
Bridge height	about 16–17 cm
Weight	about 9–13 kg

On the double bass, “3/4” and “4/4” are not standardised measurements but rough categories. The “4/4 bass” is a very large instrument and rare; the usual adult size is 3/4, with 5/8 or 1/2 for smaller players.

Sizes for children (guide values)

Size	String length (approx.)	Height of player (approx.)
1/10	70–75 cm	from 115 cm
1/8	76–80 cm	from 125 cm
1/4	86–90 cm	from 140 cm
1/2	94–98 cm	from 155 cm
5/8	98–102 cm	from 160 cm
3/4	102–106 cm	the standard for teenagers and adults

5Strings

Type	Construction	Sound and use
Gut	plain or wound	warm, rich in overtones, a “woody” pizzicato; Baroque, old-school jazz, rockabilly (slap)
Steel (rope or solid core)	wound with chrome steel, nickel or tungsten	powerful, focused, stable in tuning; the orchestral standard
Hybrid (steel with a soft winding)	a rope core with a “soft” winding, for example	long decay for jazz pizzicato while still taking the bow (the classic: Thomastik “Spirocore”)
Synthetic	a polymer core	gut-like, stable in tuning; classical and jazz
Solo strings	thinner	for solo tuning a tone higher; brilliant

Each bass string carries a tension of about 250–350 N, and together around 1,100–1,400 N (over 110 kg). A set of strings costs about €100–350 depending on the type; good strings often last a year or several under orchestral use.

6Tuning, range and notation

Tuning	Strings	Used for
Orchestral tuning	E1 – A1 – D2 – G2	the standard in classical music, jazz and pop
With C extension	C1 – A1 – D2 – G2 (the E string extended)	large orchestras (Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler and Strauss call for notes below E)
Five-string	B0 – E1 – A1 – D2 – G2 (or C1 …)	widespread in German and Austrian orchestras
Solo tuning	F♯1 – B1 – E2 – A2	the solo repertoire; with thinner solo strings and a more brilliant sound
Tuning in fifths	C1 – G1 – D2 – A2	a few specialists (Red Mitchell, Joel Quarrington); a wider range, demanding stretches
Viennese tuning	(F1) – A1 – D2 – F♯2 – A2	historical, the Viennese Classical period

The bass is written in the bass clef an octave above its sounding pitch; this allowed cello and bass parts to be printed together in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. For high positions the tenor and treble clefs are used; in older solo editions the octave in the treble clef sometimes differs from today’s convention – a frequent trap that good editions point out. Solo parts in solo tuning are usually written transposed (a tone below their sounding pitch).

7Acoustics

The lowest note of the standard bass, E1, vibrates at 41.2 Hz, the C1 of the extension at 32.7 Hz and the B0 of a five-string at 30.9 Hz – at the lower limit of what is perceived as pitch. The body can radiate such frequencies only weakly: its air resonance (A0) lies at about 55–70 Hz and the main body resonances at about 60–130 Hz. Below that, radiation falls off steeply.

That we nevertheless hear low bass notes clearly rests on the phenomenon of the residual pitch (the missing fundamental): the ear reconstructs the fundamental frequency from the spacing of the overtones, which the bass radiates strongly. A tone rich in overtones and clearly articulated therefore matters more than sheer depth – and that is why the combination with the cellos an octave higher carries so well in the orchestra.

The pizzicato note consists of a strong attack (the sound of the finger on the string) and a long or short sustain, which depends on the type of string, the string height and the body. Jazz bassists choose strings, bridge height and instrument specifically for that sustain.

8The bow: German or French

The double bass has two equally valid types of bow – something unique among the string instruments.

	German bow (Butler bow)	French bow
Origin	derived from the viol and the Dragonetti bow	derived from the cello bow (Bottesini)
Frog	tall and wide, the hand grips it from below (underhand)	flat, held as on the cello (overhand)
Length, weight (approx.)	74–78 cm, 130–160 g	70–73 cm, 125–145 g
Where it is used	Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, parts of the USA	France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, much of the USA
Strengths	power from the weight of the arm, stamina, a dense tone, little fatigue	agility, fine bow strokes, closeness to cello technique

Both bows lead to the highest level; the choice usually follows the teacher’s tradition and the anatomy of the hand. Double bass rosin is much softer and stickier than violin rosin (brands such as Pops, Nyman, Carlsson and Kolstein) and has to be kept out of the heat, or it melts.

9Posture

The bass is played standing or sitting on a high stool (about 70–80 cm). Standing, the bass leans back slightly against the stomach and left hip, with the left knee supporting the back of the rib. The endpin is usually set so that the index finger in the first (half) position is at about eye or forehead height and the bow can move comfortably between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge. Seated, the bass rests against the left thigh or between the knees, with the right foot on the floor and the left on the stool rail.

For pizzicato the right forearm rests loosely on the rib or floats free, with the thumb supported on the edge of the fingerboard. Because of the size of the instrument, using the body economically is decisive: the left hand should not clamp but transfer the weight of the arm through the fingers into the string; the thumb behind the neck is there for orientation, not counter-pressure.

10Left-hand technique

Fingering systems

System	Principle	Features
Simandl (1-2-4)	in the neck positions the hand spans a whole tone; stopping is done with the first, second and fourth fingers (the third and fourth together)	the worldwide standard; stable intonation and strength
Italian / Petracchi (1-2-3-4)	all four fingers, with the hand extended, even in the low positions	a greater reach and fewer shifts; requires suitable hands
Rabbath (pivot)	the hand “turns” around the thumb as a pivot; the fingerboard is divided into six large positions	fewer shifts and a new logic of fingering; influential worldwide
Thumb position	from about the midpoint of the string (the octave harmonic) the thumb rests on the string	for high passages and the solo repertoire; the first, second and third fingers are used

Positions are counted differently in different traditions: Simandl begins with the half position and counts I, II, II½, III, III½ and so on; Italian and French schools number them differently. In lessons and in printed music it is therefore worth checking which system is being used.

Intonation and vibrato

The distances are large (a semitone in the first position is about 6 cm) and the pitch is low – intonation has to be controlled by ear, often using overtones and harmonics as reference points. The vibrato is slower and narrower than on the cello; in jazz pizzicato it is used sparingly.

Harmonics

The long string yields many harmonics that speak easily – up to the eighth or tenth partial. Bottesini and later virtuosos used them for glittering cantilenas in the extreme high register.

11Bowing technique

The bow strokes are those of the other strings (see violin): détaché, legato, martelé, spiccato, tremolo, sul ponticello, col legno. Because the strings are so massive, the double bass needs a prepared, early attack: the bow “catches” the string before the note sounds. In the orchestra that means starting deliberately a fraction before the conductor’s beat, so that the low note is perceived at the same moment as the other parts. Bouncing strokes lie lower down the bow than on the violin and cello.

12Pizzicato, walking bass and slap

Pizzicato technique

In the orchestra the string is usually plucked with one finger (often the index) near the end of the fingerboard. In jazz, techniques using two fingers alternately, or the side of the index finger using the weight of the arm (the “Ray Brown” stroke), have become established: the finger is drawn sideways across the string so that it vibrates parallel to the fingerboard and rings on. Modern jazz bassists such as Scott LaFaro and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen developed guitar-like fluency with a low action and two- or three-finger technique.

Walking bass

The walking bass is a line of continuous crotchets that makes the chord progression of a piece audible and carries the swing pulse at the same time. The basic rules:

1. The root usually falls on the first beat of a new chord.
2. Beats 2 and 3 use chord tones (third, fifth, seventh) or scale notes.
3. Beat 4 is an approach note: chromatic from below or above, or the dominant of the next root.
4. The line should make melodic sense, change register and direction, and hold the tempo without pushing or dragging.

Besides the walking bass there is the two-feel (minims on 1 and 3, typical of ballads and of heads), pedal points, ostinatos and, in modal jazz, freer forms.

Slap

In slap playing, the right hand pulls the string far enough for it to snap back onto the fingerboard, then strikes the strings with the flat of the hand. That produces a percussive click between the notes – a kind of built-in drum kit. The technique comes from New Orleans jazz of the 1920s (Pops Foster, Wellman Braud) and is now the trademark of rockabilly and psychobilly (Bill Black with Elvis Presley, Lee Rocker, Kim Nekroman). There are single, double and triple slaps. Gut strings or soft synthetic strings with a high action make the technique easier.

13The double bass in the orchestra

Depending on the repertoire the symphony orchestra uses 4 to 8 double basses (Wagner asks for 8), the chamber orchestra 1 to 3. Up to the Viennese Classical period, bass and cello mostly play the same part an octave apart; Beethoven increasingly gives the bass a part of its own (the storm in the fourth movement of the Sixth Symphony, the recitatives in the finale of the Ninth). In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the basses gain colours of their own: divided passages, harmonics, solos.

Well-known solo passages	Work
the trio of the scherzo	Beethoven, Symphony no. 5
the recitative	Beethoven, Symphony no. 9, fourth movement
the opening of Act 4 (basses alone)	Verdi, Otello
“Frère Jacques” in the minor	Mahler, Symphony no. 1, third movement (solo double bass)
“The Elephant”	Saint-Saëns, The Carnival of the Animals
the Romance	Prokofiev, Lieutenant Kijé
the duet with trombone	Stravinsky, Pulcinella, “Vivo”
the double bass variation	Britten, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

Typical audition excerpts: Mozart, Symphonies nos 35, 39 and 40; Beethoven, Symphonies nos 5 and 9; Brahms, Symphony no. 2; Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Richard Strauss, Ein Heldenleben and Don Juan; Mahler, Symphony no. 2; Verdi, Otello; Schubert, Symphony no. 9.

14Teaching, methods and studies

Teacher / work	Contribution
Franz Simandl: Neueste Methode des Kontrabass-Spiels	the 1-2-4 system, the standard work; also 30 Studies
Édouard Nanny: Méthode complète	the French school, studies and arrangements
Isaia Billè: Nuovo metodo	the Italian school, an extensive series of studies
Ludwig Streicher: Mein Musizieren auf dem Kontrabass (5 vols)	the Viennese school, the German bow, the solo repertoire
François Rabbath: Nouvelle technique de la contrebasse	the pivot technique and six positions
Franco Petracchi: Simplified Higher Technique	thumb position and Italian fingerings
Wiktor Storch, Jaroslav Hrabě, Josef Kail	studies (including the Storch-Hrabě 57 Studies)
Rufus Reid: The Evolving Bassist; Ray Brown: Bass Method	the standard works for jazz bass
George Vance: Progressive Repertoire; the “Yorke” methods; the Suzuki Bass School	early teaching and children’s lessons

15Solo repertoire

Classical and early Romantic

Composer	Work
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf	Concertos nos 1 and 2 in E major (today usually no. 2 in solo tuning); Sinfonia concertante for viola and double bass
Johann Baptist Vanhal	Concerto in D major (the standard audition concerto)
Johannes Matthias Sperger	18 concertos, sonatas, quartets
Franz Anton Hoffmeister	Concertos nos 1–3, solo quartets
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	“Per questa bella mano” K. 612 (a bass aria with obbligato double bass)
Domenico Dragonetti	solos and waltzes; the Concerto in A major attributed to him is probably by Édouard Nanny

Romantic

Composer	Work
Giovanni Bottesini	Concertos no. 1 in F♯ minor and no. 2 in B minor; Gran Duo concertante (with violin); Elegia; Tarantella; Passione amorosa; fantasias on operas (La Sonnambula, Lucia di Lammermoor)
Serge Koussevitzky	Concerto in F♯ minor op. 3 (1902); Valse miniature; Chanson triste
Reinhold Glière	Four Pieces (Prelude, Scherzo, Intermezzo, Tarantella)
Adolf Mišek	Sonatas nos 1–3
František Hertl	Sonata; Four Pieces
Henry Eccles, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Marcello	baroque sonatas in arrangement (the Eccles in G minor is a standard teaching work)

The twentieth and twenty-first centuries

Composer	Work
Paul Hindemith	Sonata (1949)
Eduard Tubin	Double Bass Concerto (1948)
Lars-Erik Larsson	Concertino op. 45/11
Nino Rota	Divertimento concertante (1968–73)
Hans Werner Henze	Double Bass Concerto (1966, for Gary Karr)
Gunther Schuller	Concerto (1968)
Luciano Berio	Sequenza XIVb (an arrangement of the cello Sequenza)
Giacinto Scelsi	Nuits, Maknongan
Iannis Xenakis	Theraps (1975/76), Entretiens
Frank Proto, Teppo Hauta-aho, Edgar Meyer	concertos and solo works between classical music, jazz and bluegrass
John Harbison, Peter Maxwell Davies, Jan Sandström	concertos

Chamber music

Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A major, the “Trout” D 667; Dvořák’s String Quintet in G major op. 77; Rossini’s six Sonate a quattro (two violins, cello and double bass) and the Duetto for cello and double bass; Beethoven’s Septet op. 20; Schubert’s Octet in F major D 803; Onslow’s string quintets with double bass; Prokofiev’s Quintet op. 39; Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale.

16The double bass in jazz

No instrument has shaped the jazz rhythm section more. The early New Orleans bands used tuba or double bass; with better recording technology and the even “four beat” of the swing era, the double bass took over from about 1930.

Era	Bass players	Contribution
New Orleans, Chicago	Pops Foster, Wellman Braud, Steve Brown	slap technique, the two-beat
Swing	Walter Page (Count Basie), Milt Hinton, Jimmy Blanton (Duke Ellington)	the continuous walking bass; Blanton makes the bass a solo instrument
Bebop, hard bop	Oscar Pettiford, Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Percy Heath, Sam Jones	harmonically dense lines, bowed solos (Chambers)
Modern jazz	Charles Mingus, Scott LaFaro, Ron Carter, Charlie Haden, Jimmy Garrison, Gary Peacock	interplay (the Bill Evans Trio), composition, free forms
Europe	Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (Denmark), Eberhard Weber (Germany, ECM, electric upright), Miroslav Vitouš (Czechia), Dave Holland (England), Renaud Garcia-Fons (France)	a voice of their own
The present day	Christian McBride, John Patitucci, Esperanza Spalding, Avishai Cohen, Linda May Han Oh, Larry Grenadier, Dieter Ilg	virtuosity, composition, singing

With more than 2,000 recordings, Ron Carter is considered one of the most recorded jazz bassists in history. In jazz the double bass is almost always amplified with a pickup or a microphone.

17The double bass in other styles and cultures

Style / region	Role and technique	Names
Rockabilly, psychobilly	slap bass as a rhythm instrument	Bill Black, Lee Rocker (Stray Cats), Kim Nekroman
Bluegrass, country	root and fifth alternating on 1 and 3, a strong pizzicato	Edgar Meyer, Missy Raines, Todd Phillips
Tango	part of the orquesta típica; percussion on the body and strings (chicharra, golpe) and striking arrastre figures	Kicho Díaz, Pablo Aslan
Cuban music, salsa	the syncopated tumbao; the root often on the “and” of 2 and on 4, with beat 1 left open	Israel “Cachao” López (co-founder of the mambo and of the descarga), Orlando “Cachaíto” López
Alpine folk music	the bass in Stubenmusik and dance music, often with three strings	–
Eastern Europe, klezmer, Roma music	bowed or plucked bass in the band; alternating basses	–
North India, world music	fusion projects with tabla and sitar	Renaud Garcia-Fons, Dave Holland
Pop, singer-songwriter	acoustic bass in unplugged line-ups and jazz-pop	Esperanza Spalding, Norah Jones’s band

18Amplification, pickups and the electric upright

System	Principle	Advantages and disadvantages
Piezo in the bridge wings	pressure sensors in the wings of the bridge	strong and resistant to feedback, very widespread; sometimes an “artificial” sound
Piezo under the bridge foot	picks up the vibration of the top	more natural, but more prone to feedback
Magnetic pickup	at the end of the fingerboard (steel strings only)	very resistant to feedback, close to an electric bass
Microphone (clip-on or on a stand)	acoustic pick-up	the most natural sound and the studio standard; difficult on loud stages
Combinations	piezo and microphone mixed through a preamp	the professional standard on jazz stages

Electric upright basses have a narrow solid or skeletal body, the string length and fingerboard of a double bass, and built-in pickups (makers include NS Design, Yamaha, and Eminence with its demountable acoustic travel bass). They are light, resistant to feedback and easy to transport. Bass amplifiers with a neutral sound or acoustic amplifiers are used with them; a high-pass filter against feedback and floor noise is worth having.

19Leading double bass players (classical)

Period	Names
18th century	Johannes Matthias Sperger, Friedrich Pischelberger, Joseph Kämpfer
19th century	Domenico Dragonetti, Giovanni Bottesini, Franz Simandl, Édouard Nanny, Serge Koussevitzky
20th century	Ludwig Streicher, Gary Karr, François Rabbath, Franco Petracchi, Klaus Stoll, Rodion Azarkhin, Jorma Katrama
The present day	Božo Paradžik, Edgar Meyer, Rinat Ibragimov, Catalin Rotaru, Ödön Rácz, Roman Patkoló, Dominik Wagner, Nabil Shehata (also a conductor)

20Training and competitions

The double bass is taught at every conservatoire, with separate courses for classical music and jazz. The International Society of Bassists holds large conventions and a solo competition. Other important competitions: the Giovanni Bottesini International Double Bass Competition (Crema), the International Johann Matthias Sperger Competition (Germany), the ARD International Music Competition (Munich, which includes double bass at irregular intervals), the double bass category of the Concours de Genève, and the German youth competition “Jugend musiziert”. For jazz bassists, conservatoire competitions and youth jazz orchestras are important stepping stones.

21Buying and costs

Category	Guide price (new)	Notes
Renting a student bass	about €40–70 a month	sensible until full size is reached
Plywood bass	about €1,500–3,500	robust; a good set-up matters more than the type of wood
Hybrid	about €3,000–7,000	a solid top
Fully carved, workshop or master instrument	about €7,000–30,000	orchestral and solo instruments
Historic instruments	from about €20,000 to well over €250,000	Italian basses of the 17th and 18th centuries
Bow	about €150–600 (student), €1,500–10,000 (professional)	German or French
Pickup, amplifier	about €150–600 and €300–1,500	for jazz and band work
Bag / flight case	about €150–500 / €1,500–3,000	a flight case is needed if the bass travels as luggage

22Transport

Transport is the biggest practical challenge. What works: a well-padded bag with rucksack straps and a wheel (a “bass wheel” fitted over the endpin or attached to the lower bout); in the car, an estate with the passenger seat folded down and the bass secured front upwards; for flights, a hard-shell flight case (often over 30 kg in total and classed as outsize baggage) or a demountable travel bass. Many professionals hire a bass locally when touring. On the train, a space in the multi-purpose area is the best bet.

23Care and maintenance

• Climate: the large, often flat plates react strongly to humidity; 40–60 % is ideal. Use a humidifier in winter and adjust the bridge as needed in summer.
• Rosin should be wiped off the strings and the top after playing; do not leave double bass rosin in the sun.
• Putting the bass down: never rest it on the bridge or lean it against a wall; always lay it on its side on the bass bar side, or put it in a stand.
• Bridge and soundpost should be checked regularly; have the machine heads lightly oiled when needed.
• Workshop: an annual check; have cracks in the back and loose back bars dealt with at once.

24Learning the double bass

Stage	Content
The first weeks	posture (standing or on a stool), endpin height, holding the bow, open strings, pizzicato, simple bass lines to play along with
Year 1	the half and first to second positions, the bass clef, one-octave scales, détaché, first ensemble playing
Years 2–3	positions up to III–IV, shifting, two-octave scales, youth orchestra; optionally the first walking bass lines
Years 4–5	the intermediate positions, vibrato, harmonics, the Eccles sonata, the Capuzzi concerto; in jazz: chord symbols, two-feel and walking bass, playing in a band
Advanced	thumb position, solo tuning, Dittersdorf and Vanhal, Bottesini, orchestral excerpts; in jazz: solos, transcriptions, improvisation

Double bass players are in demand in almost every ensemble: youth orchestras, chamber music, big bands, jazz combos, folk and pop bands. That versatility makes the bass one of the most sociable instruments there is.

25The double bass at Cuxhaven Music School

We teach the double bass both classically with the bow and plucked for jazz and pop – for children on small instruments as well as for teenagers and adults. Our teachers advise on instruments to borrow, on size, bow type and transport, and bring bass players into our ensembles early on. Anyone who later moves to the electric bass, or plays both, benefits from the ear, timing and understanding of harmony gained here. Related pages: cello and violin.

26Frequently asked questions

At what age can you start the double bass?

With small instruments (1/10 or 1/8) from about seven to ten. Many people also begin as teenagers or adults – you can get going quickly, because simple bass lines work in an ensemble early on.

Standing or sitting?

Both are common. Standing you are more mobile and have more weight in the bow; sitting is less tiring. Many bassists switch depending on the piece.

German or French bow?

Both lead to the highest level. The choice depends on the teacher’s tradition and on the anatomy of your hand.

Why does the double bass sound an octave lower than written?

It keeps the notes readable in the bass clef without many ledger lines, and lets cello and bass read the same part.

What is the difference between double bass and electric bass?

The tuning and note names are the same. The double bass is an acoustic bowed instrument without frets, played with a bow or plucked, with a longer string length; the electric bass is an electric plucked instrument with frets, played through an amplifier.

How do I transport the bass by car?

In an estate car with the passenger seat folded down, scroll forward, front facing up, well padded and secured. Many small cars are simply not big enough.

Which strings for jazz and classical playing?

Classical playing mostly uses steel strings for a strong bowed sound, jazz prefers strings with long pizzicato sustain, or gut. There are all-round strings that do both.

27Glossary

Busetto

An Italian body shape without corners.

C extension

An extension of the E string down to C1 beyond the nut.

German bow

A bow with a tall frog, held underhand.

French bow

A bow held as on the cello (overhand).

Gamba shape

A body with sloping shoulders and a flat back.

Pivot

Rabbath’s technique, in which the hand turns around the thumb.

Residual pitch

A fundamental reconstructed by the ear from the overtones.

Simandl system

Fingering with the first, second and fourth fingers; one whole tone per position.

Slap

A percussive technique in which the string snaps against the fingerboard.

Solo tuning

Tuning a whole tone higher, with solo strings.

Bridge adjusters

Wheels for changing the string height.

Tumbao

The syncopated bass line of Cuban music.

Two-feel

Bass accompaniment in minims.

Violone

The historic term for large bass instruments.

Walking bass

A jazz bass line in continuous crotchets.

Viennese tuning

The historic tuning F1–A1–D2–F♯2–A2.

28Sources and further reading

• Alfred Planyavsky: Geschichte des Kontrabasses. Hans Schneider, Tutzing 1970, 2nd edn 1984.
• Paul Brun: A New History of the Double Bass. Paul Brun Productions, Villeneuve d’Ascq 2000.
• Raymond Elgar: Introduction to the Double Bass. Published by the author, 1960.
• Franz Simandl: Neueste Methode des Kontrabass-Spiels. Vienna.
• François Rabbath: Nouvelle technique de la contrebasse. Leduc, Paris.
• Ludwig Streicher: Mein Musizieren auf dem Kontrabass. Doblinger, Vienna.
• Ray Brown: Bass Method. Hal Leonard; Rufus Reid: The Evolving Bassist. Myriad.
• Chris Jisi (ed.): The Jazz Bass Book. Backbeat Books.
• International Society of Bassists: the journal Bass World.
• Article “Kontrabass” in: MGG; “Double bass” in: Grove Music Online.

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Last updated: September 2026 · Musikpedia editorial team, Cuxhaven Music School