Can You Get a Single Bass?

If you can get a double bass, can you get a single bass?

As a double bass teacher I am sometimes asked, ‘Why is a double bass called a double bass?’, followed by the logical, ‘Can you get a single bass?’. My usual answer is usually something rather predictable, as I describe how the double bass is the lowest sounding instrument in the orchestra and supports the orchestra in terms of depth and tempo.

After contemplating this further, however, I began to rally around my double bass playing colleagues in order to find a more substantial answer. Many, surprisingly, were equally as stumped as I was. I was determined to find a meaning which related more to the etymology of ‘double bass’ which, in turn, would help me find a more significant understanding of why this term is used and how it relates to the double bass’s role within an ensemble.

The French word for double bass is, ‘Contrabasse’ and the German word for double bass is, ‘Kontrabass’. The Spanish word for double bass is, ‘Contrabajo’, the Italian word for double bass is, unsurprisingly, ‘Contrabasso’. Now, I began to see a pattern here! I was curious to know why in Europe and beyond, this great instrument uses the prefix ‘contra’, meaning opposite or adjacent to (also used for contrabassoon etc.) yet in English we use ‘double’.

The Contra Octave is the range in which the double bass is able to reach. This range is adjacent and lower than the Great Octave, usually played by the cello. It is, etymologically speaking, a mystery as to how the word ‘contra’ in Europe has been replaced by ‘double’ in English.

As I suspected, with most things double bass related, there is a concoction of explanations: According to the Helmholtz Octave Designation System the range the double bass plays is expressed by AA - CC. (Where the next higher octave would be A – C, then a – c, then a` - c` etc.) As you can see the ‘double bass’ range is expressed by a ‘double’ letter to designate the specific octave. This coincides with the European use of the word ‘contra’ and it describes the same octave range. This also fits with the theory relating to organ pipes: The 16` organ pipe, the range in which the double bass plays is literally ‘double’ the length of the 8` organ pipe, the range the cello is limited to.

Other explanations suggest that it is so called because it simply ‘doubles the bass’ of the left hand of the harpsichord. More crudely; water displacement tests have been carried out to prove that the double bass is literally ‘double’ the size of a cello.

So the next time I am asked, ‘Why a double bass is called a double bass’ I can roll out my fistful of answers and tailor the explanation according to the age and comprehension of the student.

If anyone dares ask me, ‘Can I get a single bass?’, I can simply reply, ‘(To some extent), Yes you can!’.