Indeed the evolution of the double bass cannot be understood without a parallel understanding of the evolution of the orchestra. Being a jazz player of the instrument myself, I have little practical knowledge or understanding of the orchestral use of the bass never mind its history. Although I am classically trained, there is a world of difference between playing jazz and playing classical. In jazz, you play primarily in pizzicato (plucking) and resort to the bow sparingly; in classical, you play primarily arco (with the bow) and resort to pizzicato sparingly. Yes, arco playing is definitely harder than pizzicato playing. In jazz, we improvise a lot and read from charts while in classical they tend to play off the page and use full scores. But jazz utilizes classical techniques of playing such as hand and thumb positions. Scales and arppegiation is the same. Jazz use of the bow is based entirely upon classical technique. Almost all my lesson books are classical.
The modern double bass is just that-modern. Double basses in ye olde days were much different instruments. This not due to construction but to size and to string technology. The earliest mention of the string bass is by Prospero in 1493, who made mention of seeing "viols" as big as himself.
Bass viol made in 1563 by Hanns Vogel. Now housed at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremburg. It is tuned G'-C-F-A-d-g, known as the "high 3rd-4th tuning."
In construction, the double bass is a violin. Speculation that it descended from the bass viol is not borne by facts. The double bass does have similarities to both but it is a violin-period. Like viols, double basses are tuned in 4ths (EADG) while the violin is GDAE (tuned in 5ths) but that's because the double bass would be difficult to finger tuned in 5ths (they were tuned in 5ths at one time but it was impractical). Cellos are also tuned in 4ths: ADGC. Many double basses are flatbacked like viols. But the similarities stop there. Viols have six strings while the violin family has four. Viols are fretted (with shrink-fitted gut strips) while violins are not fretted. While many double basses are flatbacked, many have curved backs like other violins. The bass viol has no end-pin to stand on or a very short one. Double basses and cellos have very lengthy end-pins. This matters because the viol is actually descended, believe it or not, from a guitar while the violin family is not and guitars don't have end-pins other than a little stub for the strap and that's a recent development in guitar evolution. The viol came from the Spanish vihuela (Spanish for viol), a guitar that some began to bow on but it was hard because the strings were in line and nearly impossible to play isolated so they were raised and separated like on a viol.
The bass viol was constructed for chamber music. It was meant to play quietly. In fact, its interior was lined with linen to muffle the sound. The double bass is constructed no differently than other members of the violin family. The double bass was invented for volume and power. It was meant to be heard and felt which means it was meant for large orchestras not chamber orchestras.
The Italians changed European perceptions in music by introducing the double bass. One of the earliest known makers of the double bass was the great Brescian violin-maker Gasparo di Bertolotti (1540-1609) who was born in the Italian town of Salò and so was more famously known as Gasparo da Salò. His first double basses were actually made from the bodies o 16th century 6-string viols. He was, himself, a superb double bassist and commanded high prices for his services.
The point of the Italian contribution was volume. The Italians wanted their basses loud. Abbé Raguenet of France wrote following his 1698 visit to Rome:
The first time I heard our band in the opera after my return from Italy, the memory of their volume of sound was so fresh in my ears that I thought our violins were being played with mutes, so feeble was their tone.
Raguenet also wrote:
…their bass violins are as large again as ours, and all ours put together don't sound as loud in our operas as two of those large basses in the Italian operas; assuredly, we miss such an instrument in France, and those hollow basses make, in Italy, an admirable base upon which the whole performance sounds as if underpinned…
Eventually, the Italian view of the loud bass won out most of Europe and the bass viol fell by the historical wayside. But this also brought in a new set of problems. Basses had to be very large in the 16th and 17th centuries because the strings were made of thick, coarse gut. As a result, string action had to be set high. Because of this, fingering the strings required great strength and stamina. The technique at that time was to use the index finger by itself and the other three in unison. Consequently, young, strong men were hired to play the bass in orchestras because they wore older men out quickly. Even so, it was not uncommon to watch bassists collapse into their chairs to rest while the rest of the section continued to play.
A 1670 bass made by Nicolò Amati of the great Amati family luthiers.
Detroit jazz bassist, Al McKibbon, and his 1650 Jakob Steiner bass.
Consequently, bass lines in these times had to simple and standardized because if a measure represented a certain chord but the notes were written in 16ths then it would be impossible for the bassist to play them all. He might play the first, third, fifth and seventh notes from the measure but what if one of those was a passing note and so was not in the chord? Suppose also that the bassist next to him realizes it is a passing note and decides to play a note from the chord instead? Then they will not be playing the same thing introducing something the composer might not have intended perhaps even a dissonance causing the audience to wince. Berlioz noted that this arbitrary choice of bassists to play only certain notes often destroyed the emotion of the piece-high emotion reduced to dead calm.
Bassists were regarded with contempt within the orchestra. Their musical lines were impoverished and so stripped down that Berlioz urged that bassists in orchestras be forced to maintain a certain degree of proficiency or be replaced. But, as it was, string action on basses was set so high that bassists had no ability to play D' or above and so played everything in the lower octave. The bass was called the "instrument that does not inspire trust." The perceived laziness of the bassists had more to do with conserving energy. The construction of the instrument in those days was simply physically taxing and demanding and bassists needed to cut as many corners as possible to make it all the way through a composition without collapsing in exhaustion part way through.
The strings were made of thick, coarse, rough gut. They needed to be taut in order to be properly stopped by the fingers. To accomplish this, the action had to be set high. The player's fingertips were often cut by the rough surface of the string. There were higher quality strings with much smoother surfaces but these were quite expensive and few orchestras could afford them. Consequently, many players wore a leather glove on the left hand to preserve their fingers. Some wore the glove only for parts that required extensive finger pressure for prolonged periods but used the bare hand for shorter passages. Some wore the glove all the time but many musicians complained that the glove produced a muffled tone. The fingering technique consisted of holding the thumb flat against the neck but in parallel which caused the fingers to want to curl at an angle minimizing their effectiveness. The index finger was used by itself and the other three in unison. For some notes, all four fingers were used at once. This system of fingering, high string action and use of the glove was known as fisticuffs.
But in spite of all this the double bass was here to stay. Thanks to the advent of opera, orchestras were getting larger and more ambitious. Battle scenes, rolling waves, thunderous storms, etc. needed lots of low frequencies to adequately convey the awesome, frightening power and din and bass viols simply could not cut it.
Another usage for the double arose during the Baroque Era-the continuo. The continuo (or basso continuo) was usually a trio of instruments, generally a mid-range instrument and a bass, providing a continuous thread of foundational chords (recitativo secco) upon which the rest of the orchestra plays. Originally, the continuo might be a lute or harp and a bassoon or theorbo but harpsichord and double bass became popular. Then the cello was added. Not only did the bassist need to be a good sight-reader but, because he had to read off the harpsichordist's sheet music, he had to have very good eye sight. Another reason why basses were usually played in orchestras by young men.
A wonderfully simple explanation of the basso continuo.
As the orchestra evolved ever larger and more complex, the basso continuo evolved as well. Other instrumentalists joined it to accompany vocalists for delicate and complex passages, the basso continuo more or less became the concertino ("small choir"). The other musicians, called ripienists, formed the concerto grosso ("great choir"). The roles sort of got reversed. The concertino musicians were soloists while the concerto grosso players played tutti ("blocks of chords") for the soloists to play over. Because of this, the contrasting lines of early classical music such as motets fell by the wayside. What was needed now was unity rather than individuality. Contrasts shifted over to dynamics-loud and soft passages intermixed.
There were as yet no conductors for these big orchestras so the principal bassist worked with the concertmaster (principal violinist) to keep the orchestras in time. The bassist did this through loud, short bow strokes that the other musicians used as timing cues. This was no easy task. A great bassist was required to pull this off. The best of them is considered to be the great Domenico Dragonetti.
Dragonetti
The modern double bass is just that-modern. Double basses in ye olde days were much different instruments. This not due to construction but to size and to string technology. The earliest mention of the string bass is by Prospero in 1493, who made mention of seeing "viols" as big as himself.
Bass viol made in 1563 by Hanns Vogel. Now housed at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremburg. It is tuned G'-C-F-A-d-g, known as the "high 3rd-4th tuning."
In construction, the double bass is a violin. Speculation that it descended from the bass viol is not borne by facts. The double bass does have similarities to both but it is a violin-period. Like viols, double basses are tuned in 4ths (EADG) while the violin is GDAE (tuned in 5ths) but that's because the double bass would be difficult to finger tuned in 5ths (they were tuned in 5ths at one time but it was impractical). Cellos are also tuned in 4ths: ADGC. Many double basses are flatbacked like viols. But the similarities stop there. Viols have six strings while the violin family has four. Viols are fretted (with shrink-fitted gut strips) while violins are not fretted. While many double basses are flatbacked, many have curved backs like other violins. The bass viol has no end-pin to stand on or a very short one. Double basses and cellos have very lengthy end-pins. This matters because the viol is actually descended, believe it or not, from a guitar while the violin family is not and guitars don't have end-pins other than a little stub for the strap and that's a recent development in guitar evolution. The viol came from the Spanish vihuela (Spanish for viol), a guitar that some began to bow on but it was hard because the strings were in line and nearly impossible to play isolated so they were raised and separated like on a viol.
The bass viol was constructed for chamber music. It was meant to play quietly. In fact, its interior was lined with linen to muffle the sound. The double bass is constructed no differently than other members of the violin family. The double bass was invented for volume and power. It was meant to be heard and felt which means it was meant for large orchestras not chamber orchestras.
The Italians changed European perceptions in music by introducing the double bass. One of the earliest known makers of the double bass was the great Brescian violin-maker Gasparo di Bertolotti (1540-1609) who was born in the Italian town of Salò and so was more famously known as Gasparo da Salò. His first double basses were actually made from the bodies o 16th century 6-string viols. He was, himself, a superb double bassist and commanded high prices for his services.
The point of the Italian contribution was volume. The Italians wanted their basses loud. Abbé Raguenet of France wrote following his 1698 visit to Rome:
The first time I heard our band in the opera after my return from Italy, the memory of their volume of sound was so fresh in my ears that I thought our violins were being played with mutes, so feeble was their tone.
Raguenet also wrote:
…their bass violins are as large again as ours, and all ours put together don't sound as loud in our operas as two of those large basses in the Italian operas; assuredly, we miss such an instrument in France, and those hollow basses make, in Italy, an admirable base upon which the whole performance sounds as if underpinned…
Eventually, the Italian view of the loud bass won out most of Europe and the bass viol fell by the historical wayside. But this also brought in a new set of problems. Basses had to be very large in the 16th and 17th centuries because the strings were made of thick, coarse gut. As a result, string action had to be set high. Because of this, fingering the strings required great strength and stamina. The technique at that time was to use the index finger by itself and the other three in unison. Consequently, young, strong men were hired to play the bass in orchestras because they wore older men out quickly. Even so, it was not uncommon to watch bassists collapse into their chairs to rest while the rest of the section continued to play.
A 1670 bass made by Nicolò Amati of the great Amati family luthiers.
Detroit jazz bassist, Al McKibbon, and his 1650 Jakob Steiner bass.
Consequently, bass lines in these times had to simple and standardized because if a measure represented a certain chord but the notes were written in 16ths then it would be impossible for the bassist to play them all. He might play the first, third, fifth and seventh notes from the measure but what if one of those was a passing note and so was not in the chord? Suppose also that the bassist next to him realizes it is a passing note and decides to play a note from the chord instead? Then they will not be playing the same thing introducing something the composer might not have intended perhaps even a dissonance causing the audience to wince. Berlioz noted that this arbitrary choice of bassists to play only certain notes often destroyed the emotion of the piece-high emotion reduced to dead calm.
Bassists were regarded with contempt within the orchestra. Their musical lines were impoverished and so stripped down that Berlioz urged that bassists in orchestras be forced to maintain a certain degree of proficiency or be replaced. But, as it was, string action on basses was set so high that bassists had no ability to play D' or above and so played everything in the lower octave. The bass was called the "instrument that does not inspire trust." The perceived laziness of the bassists had more to do with conserving energy. The construction of the instrument in those days was simply physically taxing and demanding and bassists needed to cut as many corners as possible to make it all the way through a composition without collapsing in exhaustion part way through.
The strings were made of thick, coarse, rough gut. They needed to be taut in order to be properly stopped by the fingers. To accomplish this, the action had to be set high. The player's fingertips were often cut by the rough surface of the string. There were higher quality strings with much smoother surfaces but these were quite expensive and few orchestras could afford them. Consequently, many players wore a leather glove on the left hand to preserve their fingers. Some wore the glove only for parts that required extensive finger pressure for prolonged periods but used the bare hand for shorter passages. Some wore the glove all the time but many musicians complained that the glove produced a muffled tone. The fingering technique consisted of holding the thumb flat against the neck but in parallel which caused the fingers to want to curl at an angle minimizing their effectiveness. The index finger was used by itself and the other three in unison. For some notes, all four fingers were used at once. This system of fingering, high string action and use of the glove was known as fisticuffs.
But in spite of all this the double bass was here to stay. Thanks to the advent of opera, orchestras were getting larger and more ambitious. Battle scenes, rolling waves, thunderous storms, etc. needed lots of low frequencies to adequately convey the awesome, frightening power and din and bass viols simply could not cut it.
Another usage for the double arose during the Baroque Era-the continuo. The continuo (or basso continuo) was usually a trio of instruments, generally a mid-range instrument and a bass, providing a continuous thread of foundational chords (recitativo secco) upon which the rest of the orchestra plays. Originally, the continuo might be a lute or harp and a bassoon or theorbo but harpsichord and double bass became popular. Then the cello was added. Not only did the bassist need to be a good sight-reader but, because he had to read off the harpsichordist's sheet music, he had to have very good eye sight. Another reason why basses were usually played in orchestras by young men.
A wonderfully simple explanation of the basso continuo.
As the orchestra evolved ever larger and more complex, the basso continuo evolved as well. Other instrumentalists joined it to accompany vocalists for delicate and complex passages, the basso continuo more or less became the concertino ("small choir"). The other musicians, called ripienists, formed the concerto grosso ("great choir"). The roles sort of got reversed. The concertino musicians were soloists while the concerto grosso players played tutti ("blocks of chords") for the soloists to play over. Because of this, the contrasting lines of early classical music such as motets fell by the wayside. What was needed now was unity rather than individuality. Contrasts shifted over to dynamics-loud and soft passages intermixed.
There were as yet no conductors for these big orchestras so the principal bassist worked with the concertmaster (principal violinist) to keep the orchestras in time. The bassist did this through loud, short bow strokes that the other musicians used as timing cues. This was no easy task. A great bassist was required to pull this off. The best of them is considered to be the great Domenico Dragonetti.
Dragonetti