Double Bass vs Contra Bass
So what is the difference between the Double Bass and the Contra Bass?
Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.
So what is the difference between the Double Bass and the Contra Bass?
Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.
Comments
There shouldn't be any difference between the two. Wikipedia quote: "The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass..."
Correct me if I am wrong.
In reply to Double Bass vs Contra Bass by slaven
I think he means in the musescore instrument selection. When selecting instruments in the program, both double bass and contrabass are available.
They are indeed the same instrument. Some prefer labeling their scores one way, some prefer the other. General MIDI actually lists both "Contrabass" and "Acoustic Bass" (another synonym) separately, so any soundfont that is General MIDI compliant will have both sounds. Typically, the first will be arco and the second pizzicato (bowed & plucked, respectively).
In reply to They are indeed the same by Marc Sabatella
I think this also refers to the so-called genre of music that a composer/arranger/performer might be working in. Musicians who play mostly jazz music, might tend to refer to the instrument as a double bass rather than a contrabass.
Remember that double basses/contrabasses can be fitted with a C-extension to produce even lower notes. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_bass#C_extension
...thus the usual pitch range can be edited as needs be in the Edit Staff/Part Properties window.
Currently, MuseScore shows lowest note on the instrument for a 'professional' player as C1, but this is not necessarily the case. A professional player could be playing a contrabass without a C-extension .
In reply to I think this also refers to… by Film Composer
The difference between professional and amateur range is not always to be taken verbatim, here it means with or without that C extension
In reply to I think this also refers to… by Film Composer
I actually suggested that the bottom ranges on different instruments be identified by using different amateur and professional ranges. My logic is that it will give someone unfamiliar with the instrument that some instruments have the capability to play lower than others. This is also true of the Baritone Saxophone and less commonly to other woodwind instruments.
A stated previously, the professional and amateur ranges are not exact in most cases. I know amateur jazz trumpet players capable of surpassing the to of the professional range. I also know trumpet players capable of surpassing the lower end of the professional range. The ranges use by MuseScore are documented ranges and are a good guide for those who do not know the capability of an instrument or its musicians. If you know that your target musicians can or are expected to exceed the guidelines in MuseScore, then by all means feel free to change them if you don't want green or red notes. I do this often when I transcribe classical music or write my own based upon my knowledge.
In reply to I actually suggested that… by mike320
If you know that your target musicians can or are expected to exceed the guidelines in MuseScore, then by all means feel free to change them if you don't want green or red notes.
At this level of expertise - as an alternative to changing an instrument's pitch range using Staff Properties - the 'coloring-notes-outside-of-usable-pitch-range' feature can be disabled altogether using: Edit -> Preferences, and then unchecking 'Color notes outside of usable pitch range'.
Worth mentioning here because when applying a mid-staff instrument change, MuseScore does not allow access to the usable pitch range of the mid-staff ('changed to') instrument via Staff Properties.
More info. here:
https://musescore.org/en/node/273407
Regards.
In reply to I think this also refers to… by Film Composer
The jazz / classical distinction is why, in the years since this thread was started, a separate "Acoustic Bass" instrument was added to the instrument list. It's basically the same as the Contrabass / Double Bass except that it defaults to pizz whereas the others default to arco.
In reply to They are indeed the same by Marc Sabatella
So... why isn't there a instrument(s) called "Double Basses"? I only see "Contrabasses".
In reply to So... why isn't there a… by Howard-C
HTH
In reply to [inline:18062702.png] HTH by Shoichi
Penso che OP significhi il plurale.
I guess no one thought a jazz band would have more than one double bass but felt that an orchestra might have a few contrabasses.
In reply to Penso che OP significhi il… by underquark
Reasonable - the double bass isn't in the series of orchestra bowed strings!
Hello world! The English word 'double bass' reflects the orchestral function that the double bass assumed from the 18th century, when doubling the bass line, performed by the cello or bassoon, playing a 16th below. From a polyphonic perspective, the word contrabass can be understood as a low counter-melody.
In reply to Hello world! The English… by kilderbass
Bingo! Thanks for the explanation, my instincts had thought this, thanks for affirming kilderbass!
In reply to Bingo! Thanks for the… by kenamartinson
An octave, not a "sixteenth"; maybe you were thinking "it plays in the sixteen-foot (organ/harpsichord talk) octave". Contrabassoon and the contra-bass octave (for Russian oktavist singers) also use the prefix "contra" for octave-lower instruments.