Chords for Instrument: Double Bass

[N] _ _ [Gm] _ _ _ _ _ _
[Bb] _ _ [A] _ _ [G] _ _ _ [C] _
[Bb] _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ [G] [D] My name is Michael [Db] Fuller, and I'm a member of the [Bb] Philharmonia Orchestra [D] Double Bass Section.
_ The double [Bb] bass is the largest and the lowest of all the string instruments.
It's made of wood [Eb] and
has four [N] strings.
_ [Ebm] The bass is also [A] unique in that it has its [Db] origins not only from the violin family,
[Bm] but also from the viola da gamba [Bb] family, [Eb] which was used [A] primarily during the Renaissance and
Baroque [N] era.
_ This hybrid history [C] expresses itself in [F] many ways and also makes the [G] double bass
fascinating in that it is the least [B] uniform and standardized of all the string family.
_ _ Basses
have [D] had different shapes, [C] _ sizes, _ bows, tunings, and numbers of [Ab] strings throughout the [Bb] instrument's
history.
This bass has four strings, and they are E, [E] _ _
_ A, _ [A] _ _ _
[D] D, _ _ and [G] G. _ _
_ _ _ The bass is [Eb] tuned in intervals of
fourths, which is [Bb] unlike [Ab] the violin, viola, and cello, which are tuned in [N] fifths.
[C] This [Ab] tuning comes from
the [Bb] gamba [C] family, and it's also the [B] same as the four bottom strings [A] of the guitar, only [N] an octave
lower.
_ [Bb] In addition to that, [Eb] this up here [C] [Gbm] is called an extension, [B] which allows the bass to [Bb] go down to
a low C.
[N] _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Bb] That's a full octave below the lowest note of a [C] cello. _ _
Some [D] basses, instead of an extension,
have a low fifth [A] string to reach the bottom notes, and in [D] centuries past, even three-string basses
were common.
Another unusual thing about the [A] bass is that [Bb] two different types of bows [A] are used by
players around the world.
This type I have here _ is known as the French bow, and it is held with an
overhand grip.
[C] This is like [A] the rest of the violin [N] family, _ [Ab] but there are [A] also many players [Ab] who use
what's called the German bow, which is held [A] underhand and has its origins again from the
family.
_ [D] As you might imagine from the names, these bows [A] have certain connections historically
[D] with different countries.
[N] _ _ [Bb] The German bow is the dominant bow grip [Abm] used by players in Germany,
[Bb] Austria, and [Gm] many places in Eastern Europe, [A] while [Ab] the French bow has been historically [G] more common
in places like France, [A] the Netherlands, [G] and Great Britain, [Bb] although these [A] days there are many [B] fine
French and German bow [Ab] players in the [N] UK.
_ _ [C] Also in America, it's [D] mixed with the big [Db] French and German
bow schools of playing, [A]
and I'm told [Eb] that in Russia, if you study in St.
Petersburg, you'll
play German bow, [Ab] and in Moscow, [G] you're likely to play French.
_ The double bass in the orchestra is
played [Bb] arco, with the bow, _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
and [F] pizzicato, [B] plucking the strings like [G] this. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ Here's a passage from
Berlioz's Symphony [Bb] Fantastique, where the phrase first appears as arco, [Ab] and then shortly after as
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Bb] _
_ _ _ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ pizzicato.
Pizzicato reminds [D] us that the bass is also used in genres such as jazz and bluegrass.
[Bb] It's the same instrument, [A] only the setup [G] might be a little different depending on the style,
like for example using different types of strings.
_ Sometimes people ask me,
why is it called the double [Bb] bass?
In fact, this same instrument has many different names.
[D] It's
also known [Bb] as the contrabass, [Ab] the upright bass, [Bb] the acoustic bass, the string bass,
and [A] my personal favorite, the bowl fiddle.
They're all names for the same [N] instrument. _
There
are even different [Bb] theories about how the term double bass came about. _
[C] Some scholars say it's
because in the Baroque [D] era, we would literally double the left hand of the keyboard [Ab] instrument,
and an octave below the cello [G] when we played together.
_ But some say it's called the double
bass simply [Bb] because it's roughly twice the size of [G] a cello.
_ _ Another thing people always ask me is,
when did you get tired of hauling that thing around?
[C] _ And the answer is, well, _ one of the nice
things about having a job in [A] an orchestra like the Philharmonia is that we get to put our basses
away in [Bb] hardshell cases.
[B] They're different colors so we can tell [Abm] whose is whose.
And then [A] our
excellent transport department takes them [G] wherever we need to go. _ _
_ [N] _ _ _ But I have certainly [Bb] hauled my bass
around quite a bit, especially [Ab] when I was studying in New York and I would take it on the subway all
the time.
That is one thing I [Bb] do not miss.
[G] _
What is the [Am] bass's role in the [Eb] orchestra?
[F] The bass
[D] primarily provides a rhythmic and harmonic foundation.
It's the fundamental [A] tone that the
rest of the music is built on top of.
[Eb]
And a good double bass section can propel the music forward,
[Ab] ground it rhythmically, [Bb] and make the whole [A] orchestra sound richer, warmer, and more resonant.
[Eb] How do composers use the double [Bb] bass?
Well, going back to this idea [F] of doubling the cello an octave
lower, [Dbm] you'll find in classical symphonies by [Ab] Haydn, Mozart, and [Bb] Beethoven that the cello and
bass part are often almost identical.
_ [Cm] As we move into the 19th century and beyond, composers [A] start
to use the [C] bass in a more individually expressive way.
[Eb] _ One of the greatest bass excerpts is from
Verdi's [Ab] opera Othello.
In this [Dm] passage, Verdi [Bb] has written for [A] the bass section completely on its own
and uses it in a pivotal moment in [N] the opera.
_ _ Othello [A] has become convinced that his wife has
been unfaithful to him, and as we play, he resolves [Ab] to do the [N] unthinkable.
_ _ [D] I believe Verdi uses the
bass here to express [B] the deepest, darkest emotions [Ab] that Othello is experiencing, _ _ and that he felt
that the [G] sonority of the double bass was [Eb] the best way to evoke [N] this. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Abm] _ _ _ [B] _ _
[Db] _ _ _ _ [B] _ _ _ _
[G] _ [N] _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [B] _ [E] _ _ _ [A] _ _
_ _ _ [Ab] _ _ _ [N] _ _
_ [E] _ _ [Ab] _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ [Eb] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Ebm] _ _
_ _ [E] _ _ _ [B] _ _ _
_ [Bb] _ _ _ [B] _ _ [Ab] _ _
_ _ [E] _ _ _ [Ab] _ _ [Eb] _
_ _ _ _ [N] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ _ _
_ [F] _ _ [B] _ _ _ [Bb] _ _
_ [Eb] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Db] _ _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Db] _ _
_ [B] _ _ [N] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Eb] _ _ _ _ _ [B] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ [E] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Db] _
_ [B] _ _ _ _ [Ab] _ [Abm] _ _
_ _ [Gbm] _ _ [Db] _ _ _ _
[B] _ [Dbm] _ _ [G] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Ab] _
_ [N] _ _ [Gm] _ _ If [Bb] you've enjoyed learning [Gm] about the instruments in the orchestra, why not [E] try our iPad [Eb] app, The [G] Orchestra,
[Bb] featuring Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra.
_ Fully interactive [Dm] video playback lets
[Ab] you view the orchestra from all angles, and the [D] revolutionary beat map shows you who is playing
when.
_ _ _ [Gm] _ _ Follow along with synchronized scores, [G] hear the inside scoop in audio commentaries, and get a
360 [E] degree view [D] of all the instruments.
_ Available for download in the App Store on iTunes. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _