Double Bass
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The Double Bass is the largest member of the violin family. Its deep pitch can be heard playing the bass line in orchestras, jazz bands, and folk music ensembles all over the world. To produce music, the double bass is bowed, or plucked. When used in jazz, it is almost always plucked.
| Family |
| Strings |
| Pitch range |
| More than two-and-a-half octaves. |
| Material |
| Wood, with steel strings. |
| Size |
| just over 6 ft (1.80 m) long. |
| Origins |
| The double bass evolved as the contrabass violin in Europe during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. |
| Classification |
| Chordophone: an instrument that produces its sound by the vibration of strings. |
| And also... |
| The standard double bass is already one of the biggest instruments, but the largest one that ever existed was almost 16 ft (4.90 m) tall. It was constructed by Paul de Wit as part of the celebrations for the Cincinnati Music Festival in 1889. |
