The bass is also known as the double bass or the doghouse, and it is both the largest as well as the lowest pitch instrument in the violin family. Just like the violin, the double bass instrument evolved from the viol in Europe.

Fine bass models are made out of solid spruce wood for the front of the instrument, solid maple wood for the back, the sides and the neck of the instrument and either boxwood, rosewood or ebony wood for the tailpiece, the fingerboard and the tuning pegs. Both the front of the instrument and the back of the instrument are carved into a shape that is similar to a shallow bowl. The front and the back plates of this instrument have to confirm to an exact specification for thickness in order for the instrument to perform the way that it was created to.

Carved solid wood types of instruments typically are capable of creating a richer tone, but they also tend to be significantly more expensive in comparison to instruments with carved spruce tops and sides and backs that are made using a high quality plywood that has been molded into the appropriate shape. There are also bass instruments that are even less expensive in cost, and these are instruments that entirely consist of a high grade plywood material that has been molded into the appropriate shape.

Bass strings are typically made out of fine metal wire that has been wrapped around either silk or a polymer thread. The string type for each bass is going to depend on whatever music the bassist is interested in playing. The strings are responsible for fastening to a tailpiece, and then they pass over the bridge, which is a carved piece of good that is typically made from a very dense type of maple. Then the strings pass over the nut, a raised part of the fingerboard located at the instrument's scroll, or head. From there, the strings next pass into the instrument's peg box and this is where the strings are tuned by way of either wooden pegs or metal screws.

The full size bass is approximately 5 feet tall, and it has four strings, which are numbered from one to four. The first string is the string that is the furthest from the person playing the instrument. There are also 5 string and 5 string varieties of the stand up bass which were develop to expand the number of different notes that a bassist can reasonably play using their instrument. Bassists use their right hand in order to pluck at and to bow the strings. In jazz and bluegrass music, the bass is used almost exclusively by way of plucking rather than bowing. It is up to the player whether they pluck or bow the strings, but both choices do have an impact on the music that results.

Photo Credits: Benoît Derrier

Originally posted 2009-10-05 03:02:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Categories:

Acoustic Musical Instruments, Bass, Double Bass/Stand Up Bass, Instrument History

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bass instrument, bass instruments, bass strings, double bass, ebony wood, exact specification, fingerboard, grade plywood, maple wood, metal screws, playing the strings, polymer thread, quality plywood, shallow bowl, size bass, spruce tops, spruce wood, string type, violin family, wooden pegs