String Bass
The violone was the predecessor of the string bass.
The violone was the predecessor of the string bass.
The string bass is the deepest and biggest instrument in the string section. Other names for the instrument include contrabass, double bass, and upright bass. String bass is the preferred name in the United States. The instrument is tuned differently from the other string instruments; it is tuned in fourths from low E over an octave below the bass clef, and then A, D, and G. As a result, the bass has a completely different fingering system than other string instruments. Some basses today are made with five strings, extending its lower register to the lowest C or even B. The string bass is notated an octave higher than it actually sounds, so that players won't have to read ledger lines all the time. During the classical era and before, bass and cellos used the same part as over 95% of the time they would play the same (bass) part in octaves. Today string bass music is mostly notated in the bass clef, but occasionally string bass parts will use the tenor and even the treble clef.
String basses were developed by Germans and Italian string makers with different shapes and bowing styles. German basses were smaller than the Italians. It was a cumbersome instrument as first until the shape of the strings was reformed by thickening and winding, allowing less distance on the fingerboard. The string bass didn't have much popularity until Domenico Dragonetti changed bass playing by showing that it was capable of being a solo instrument. After him, symphonic and operatic bass parts were given to bass parts. In the present day, composers write a large amount of music for solo basses, and they are used in wind bands and jazz ensembles.
The string bass is especially effective playing pizzicato style and its wide and deep strings are capable of great sounding harmonics.