THE ORCHESTRA: A USER'S MANUAL |
|---|
| Introduction | Orchestration | Orchestration | Resources | Historical | Philharmonia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DOUBLE BASS
Section: Strings
Transposing? Yes
Construction
Range
Bowing
Plucking
Left Hand
Mute/Harmonics
Chords
Extended
Player's
Tips and Tricks
Bowing
A discussion
of the bow: 
A general feature of bass bowing is that the bow is much shorter than other stringed instrument bows, so there tend to be more changes in bow direction during musical phrases.
|
NAME
|
DESCRIPTION
|
NOTATION
|
LISTEN/VIEW
|
COMMENTS
|
|
arco
|
bowed
(as opposed to plucked)
|
arco
|
Here is a selection of notes marked with 'hairpins' to give a sense of the range of bow pressures and dynamics available on the double bass
|
It is assumed that a passage is bowed unless marked otherwise. However, once a 'pizz' indication has been given, 'arco' must be indicated for the next bowed passage. Where unusual bowing techniques are used, 'ord' will return the player to normal bowing. |
|
down
bow
|
bow
travels from frog to point
|
 |
Strong,
and therefore used often on downbeats. There is no need to indicate
bowing unless a specific pattern of up and down bows is required.
|
|
|
up
bow
|
bow
travels from point to frog
|
 |
|
Weaker sound than down bow, and therefore used often on upbeats. There is no need to indicate bowing unless a specific pattern of up and down bows is required. |
|
(middle
bow)
|
Not
normally indicated
|
|||
|
au
talon
|
bowed
at the frog
|
au
talon
(Germ. Frosch It. tallone) |
 au
talon |
Works
best loud
|
|
punta
d'arco
|
bowed
at the point
|
punta
d'arco
(Fr. pointe Germ. Spitze) |
Good for delicate effects | |
|
col
legno
|
with
the wood of the bow
|
col
legno battuto (for striking the string)
col legno tratto (for bowing the string) (Fr. bois de l'archet Germ. die Bogenstange) |
col
legno tratto: col
legno battuto: |
When only col legno is indicated, players often use tratto but engaging an amount of the hair of the bow. It is best to specify the method. |
|
sul
ponticello
|
bow
near the bridge
|
sul
pont
|
|
(The video clips for sul pont and sul tasto are the same clip) |
|
sul
tasto
|
bow
over the fingerboard
|
sul
tasto
|
sul tasto |
(The video clips for sul pont and sul tasto are the same clip) |
|
détaché
|
separated
notes
|
|
détaché |
Separate bows |
|
legato
|
smooth,
slurred notes
|
 |
legato |
|
|
tenuto
|
full
note values
|
 |
Alternate bows, full length | |
|
portato
|
"carried"
notes
|
 Fr. louré |
|
In a single bow, but with slight breaks between notes |
|
staccato
|
short
notes
|
 |
staccato |
Alternate bows |
|
spiccato
|
very
short notes
|
 |
spiccato |
"Off-the-string", i.e. bounced bow. A spiccato played in a single down bow is called saltando, and in a single up-bow is called volante. |
|
marcato
|
'measured'
notes
|
verbal
instruction: marcato
|
marcato |
An "in the string" sound, performed either in a single bow or in alternate bows. |
|
martelé
|
"hammered"
notes
|
 |
martelé |
The accents might have staccato dots too, since this is really an extension of staccato playing, producing a very heavy sound on the bass |
|
jeté
|
"thrown"
bow
|
jeté
|
A controlled bouncing on the string | |
|
ricochet
|
ricochet
bow
|
ric
(sometimes with multiple dots over the note) |
ricochet |
An uncontrolled bouncing on the string |
|
tremolo
|
rapid
up-down bows
|
 |
|
A measured tremolo subdivides the beat accurately according to the number of bars through the note stem. An unmeasured tremolo (usually indicated with the word trem) is a very rapid alternation of up and down bows. |
|
sul
G
|
played
on the G string
|
sul
G
|
Played on a single string until otherwise indicated, thus sul G, sul D, sul A, sul E. Lends a particular colour to the timbre. |