Double bass

The double bass, also known simply as the bass (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed, (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra.

The bass is a standard member of the orchestra's string section, as well as the concert band, and is featured in concertos, solo, and chamber musicin Western classical music. The bass is used in a range of other genres, such as jazz, 1950s-style blues and rock and roll, rockabilly, psychobilly, traditional country music, bluegrass, tango and many types of folk music.

The bass is a transposing instrument and 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 (like a viol), rather than fifths, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2. On many Classical instruments the lowest string is extended to reach C1, allowing the double bass to double the cello an octave down.

The instrument's exact lineage is still a matter of some debate, with scholars divided on whether the bass is derived from the viol or the violin family.

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 uses the natural sound produced acoustically by the instrument, as does traditional bluegrass. In jazz, blues, reggae, and related genres, the bass is frequently amplified.