Brief History of the String Bass
Created | Updated Dec 18, 2004
The true bass to be a member of the viol family isn’t the modern bass, but its ancestor, the violone, which is the largest member of the viol family. The violon da gamba might have originated from the violone; it was an eight-foot tall, five-stringed monster, and was tuned DD EE AA D G, and though it was tuned similarly to the modern bass, it’s considered an odd bass instrument for any era. In a drawing by Praetorius, the neck appeared fretted. However, around 1800 the frets were removed, and the underhand bowing was left alone.
The Germans created the double bass by the shape of a viol, carrying on the tradition of the sloping shoulders and a flat back. However, the Italians constructed their basses with violin corners and curved backs; they were much larger than the German styled basses. Around 1602, Gasparo da Salò is credited with making two Italian models, which were both larger than the standard modern models.
During the early Baroque era the bass was an occasional instrument, appearing every now and again. It’s immense size repressed its use in every building larger than a church, but not smaller. The bass line was naturally doubled by a violone or cello. At the edge of extinction, a thinner string was developed and it was far easier to finger and bow; bass makers could downsize it without doing away with the ultra-deep octave that was demanded by opera composers.
Domenico Dragonetti—the first bass virtuoso—brought it to popularity and was responsible for its permanent spot in the orchestra. Not long after his death, the bass line was freed from the cello part. Soon after Dragonetti was Giovanni Bottesini, who expanded the bass technique to extreme limits. Bottesini was also the first virtuoso to use the “French” bow style.
Today more music than any other period has been written for the double bass, by cotemporary composers, rock stars, and Jazz musicians.
The Germans created the double bass by the shape of a viol, carrying on the tradition of the sloping shoulders and a flat back. However, the Italians constructed their basses with violin corners and curved backs; they were much larger than the German styled basses. Around 1602, Gasparo da Salò is credited with making two Italian models, which were both larger than the standard modern models.
During the early Baroque era the bass was an occasional instrument, appearing every now and again. It’s immense size repressed its use in every building larger than a church, but not smaller. The bass line was naturally doubled by a violone or cello. At the edge of extinction, a thinner string was developed and it was far easier to finger and bow; bass makers could downsize it without doing away with the ultra-deep octave that was demanded by opera composers.
Domenico Dragonetti—the first bass virtuoso—brought it to popularity and was responsible for its permanent spot in the orchestra. Not long after his death, the bass line was freed from the cello part. Soon after Dragonetti was Giovanni Bottesini, who expanded the bass technique to extreme limits. Bottesini was also the first virtuoso to use the “French” bow style.
Today more music than any other period has been written for the double bass, by cotemporary composers, rock stars, and Jazz musicians.
