A New History Of The Double Bass Paul Brun Pdf Reader
Keena Wiegert
Today's upright bass was not always tuned E,A,D,G as it is now. Still even now, there are some players that have different tunings. Some, (a few) tune their basses like a cello, with a low C, G, D and high A., but this is rare. Others, especially in European orchestras will play on 5 string basses with a low B string. More than 200 years ago though, there was a bevy of bass concertos written for the bass using the tuning, FADF#A. So many of these concertos were written in D or Eb Major.
Vienna was a huge musical center. The basses then were tuned FADF#A and with 5 strings. While one normally assumes that with many years of playing and instrument evolution of basses it is "better" today, in fact, these wonderful concertos written then were actually much easier to play on their original Vienna tuning than on our present way of tuning. The official name or the type of bass played then (in Vienna) was actually a Violone. (Vee-alone-y).
For those now familiar with traditional bass concertos by Dittersdorf, Vanhal or Sperger, playing them on basses tuned in fourths sometimes require adaptations to make them easier to play on today's basses, though one might think that it would be easier today. While the integral music (melodies) are retained, the original performance practices such as "easy" double stops can become pretty akward using today's common tunings. Another distinct characteristic often noticed by the Viennese tuned basses is that they tend to sound vibrant, 'open' and more resonant than the typical steel, 4 string basses.
Johann Matthias Sperger lived from 1750-1812. He was not only a 'bass' virtuoso, he was also a prolific composer who wrote as many as 18 bass concertos (with orchestral accompaniment), solo sonatas as well has duos and trios. Again, while there are mainly only a few of his works actually performed today, one major reason that there are not many editions to play today lends itself again to the tuning cross over which actually made them too hard to play or ruined the flow that the original tuning achieved.
Why are some concertos (like Dittersdorf) written in Eb?? It is because the orchestra woodwind instruments were geared and made to play in Eb. The basses were simply tuned up 1/2 step, 'solo' tuning. For those not completely familiar with solo tuning ideas...while the soloist played in D major on his bass, the actual sounding pitch was tuned to Eb. Tuning this way not only solved the most obvious writing and arranging problems with the rest of the orchestra then, it also gave the bass a kind of 'cello like' response and timbre that would make the instrument stand out more.
Even today, most bass recitals tend to be played with basses played in solo tuning. For the most part, solo tuning today consists of F#BEA. Solos strings today are slightly thinner (not usually too noticeable) but need to be a slightly thinner diameter and gauge so that the bass can tolerate the raised and higher tension that is added this way. Orchestra strings tuned up (as solo tuning) will not only be very tight to play on, but can actually damage the top of the instrument. Today, some players will actually specialize or perform music using the historic Viennese tuning.
In the present age, most all orchestra bass players use metal strings on their basses and the strings are far lower to the fingerboard than they were 200 years ago. Because of the much higher tensions achieved with the metal strings, they are loud, responsive and do not require as much vibration distance (oscillating string room) as the old, 'looser' set ups needed. Before reading about the history of bass tuning, I often wondered how any bass players in Mozart's day could ever manage something so difficult as his Symphony #35 (fourth movement) using their gut strings and played with a fast tempo. Only now do we realize that it might not have been such an incredibly impossible feat when using their Viennese tunings. In some respects, the passages could have been playable. On the other hand, Mozart's Symphony #35 is hard no matter when you were (are) alive!
More about the history and different tunings. If you would like to get into more about the historical evolution of the bass, it's body, tuning, construction and well, just everything about them, check out "A New History of the Double Bass" by Paul Brun. It is an incredibly interesting book and for anyone serious about the bass, it is a great reference tool packed with information.
This statement he makes is very interesting in the way that he is describing the period of time where we the bass was everywhere with size. There where multiples types of basses that where used for different genres of that time period. This is the same as today there are basses that have huge sound and powered that are great for orchestra but there are basses that have softer brighter sounds that are good for solo and chamber playing.
I think it is important to know Because the bass and cello where build around the same time that when it came to giving them a name was hard. why is this because in the time of the development of these instruments they where meant to play the same role on an ensemble. That is why you see the bass double the cello in earlier music it is to give it a lower octave.
Due to the history of the double bass and the bass being played in fifths to have the lower octave there where many pieces that had lower then an E. This brought problems when the shift to fourths began. This is where we get the invention of the extension. The extension and the modern day five string bass where both in developed at the same time around 1880.
This devise in many ways had had many advancements in the short amount of time it has been around and has allowed more basses to be able to play the lower notes without having to have to basses that has four and five strings.
1From the second half of the 18th century, there was a general shift from four to three strings nearly everywhere in Europe. Only the Germans were using our modern, E A d g system of tuning then. The Italians and the English adopted the A d g system of tuning, while the tuning G d a was retained by the French.
The reason why they started to move to three strings is because the taxations the C string had on the left hand in fifths. There was also a benefit to sound though as there was less pressure being put on the bass. This aloud the lower end of the bass to be really powerful and big while keeping the higher range a delicacy.
Some notable virtuosic bassist that made an impact in the bass world who played on there string basses where: Dragonetti and Bottesini who both played on three strings in 4ths. There where no notable bassist of that time period who played in fifth tuning. By 1840 three strings had diminished and the standard tuning moved to four strings tunned in fourths.
The history of the double bass is an extraordinary mystery. In my research to learn more about this instrument I have run into many instances of biased research. This instrument is the last instrument to be developed of the violin family. The historical evidence that has been passed down and viewed by many research and scholars has not been passed down correctly. Teachers and players of this instrument lack the historical knowledge and teach what has been passed down from their teachers. This leads to many young players lacking the ability to have the freedom to experiment and work in the different ways the double bass has been played since its creation. The Tuning of the double bass has changed immensely throughout the course of history.
One tuning that we hear about but not used much is Viennese tuning F, A, D, F#, A with five strings. This was developed during the classical period between 1760-1812. There are three famous bass concertos that were written for this tuning: Dittersdorf, Vanhal, and Sperger. Motzart also wrote many of his works for viennese tuning which is why in most cases does not work well for bassists tuned in fourths or fifths.
There are many discussions and debates on tuning of the double bass but in reality not one tuning is more powerful then the other. why do I say this, each tuning of the bass was performed in a certain time period and place in the world. With these double bassist need to ultimately be knowledge able of all tunings and be able to perform in different tunings for different styles of music. This is not for reasons of historic factor but also for the ease of playing the music of that time period.
The bass is a standard member of the orchestra's string section, along with violins, violas, and cellos,[3] as well as the concert band, and is featured in concertos, solo, and chamber music in Western classical music.[4] The bass is used in a range of other genres, such as jazz, blues, rock and roll, rockabilly, country music, bluegrass, tango, folk music and certain types of film and video game soundtracks.
Being a transposing instrument, the bass is typically notated one octave higher than tuned to avoid excessive ledger lines below the staff. The double bass is the only modern bowed string instrument that is tuned in fourths[5] (like a bass guitar, viol, or the first four strings of a standard guitar), rather than fifths, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2.
The double bass is played with a bow (arco), or by plucking the strings (pizzicato), or via a variety of extended techniques. In orchestral repertoire and tango music, both arco and pizzicato are employed. In jazz, blues, and rockabilly, pizzicato is the norm. Classical music and jazz use the natural sound produced acoustically by the instrument, as does traditional bluegrass. In funk, blues, reggae, and related genres, the double bass is often amplified.
A person who plays this instrument is called a "bassist", "double bassist", "double bass player", "contrabassist", "contrabass player" or "bass player". The names contrabass and double bass refer (respectively) to the instrument's range, and to its use one octave lower than the cello (i.e. the cello part was the main bass line, and the "double bass" originally played a copy of the cello part; only later was it given an independent part).[6][7] 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.
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