Historical and Practical Considerations for the Tuning of Double Bass Instruments in Fourths

Author(s): David Chapman

Source: The Galpin Society Journal, Vol. 56 (Jun., 2003), pp. 224-233
Published by: Galpin Society
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DAVID CHAPMAN

Historical

and

for
Double

Bass

Practical

the

Tuning

Instruments

article in the Autumn/Winter 1998 issue of

Double Bassist magazine features a
conversation with the Canadian double bass
virtuoso Joel Quarrington. In the course of the piece,
Mr. Quarrington sets forth his opinion concerning
the virtues of tuning his instrument in fifths
(C1-G1-D-A), in the manner of the instruments of
the violin family. In doing so, he abandons the
traditional double bass tuning scheme of fourths
(E1-A1-D-G), inherited, along with numerous other
characteristic traits, from the ancestral forebear of
the modern contrabass instrument, the violone, a
member of the viol family.
The central rationale given in support of this
adaptation is, in Mr. Quarrington's words, that it
'...[gives] me a whole other perspective on my
intonation with other strings [i.e., violins, violas,
and cellos] that I'd never understood before. I
realized that I couldn't improve my intonation
without always playing in fifths. The instrument
rings differently when it is tuned in fifths. I feel like I
have greater coherence with the other strings when
I'm tuned this way'.1 While acknowledging several
practical problems that occur when utilizing the
fifths tuning (which will be addressed below), Mr.
Quarrington remains convinced that the future of
double bass performance rests on this novel system
of tuning.
The design and implementation of any system
that would enhance the resonance of the modern
contrabass instrument should be applauded.
However, it would seem prudent to take into
account certain other factors when attempting to
arrive at any general conclusions concerning the
An

Considerations

of
in

Fourths

performance practices of double bass players.

Further, it seems reasonable to propose that the
changes undergone by the double bass in the course
of its development reflect the changing
circumstances of its players; we must clearly be
conscious not just of factors related to its
characteristic design, but also to the sound ideals
associated with the instrument over the years. These
defining traits, combined with certain performance
practices common to the viol family, might tend to
indicate that the system of tuning in fourths has not
only historical validity, but acoustical viability as
well.
For historical background, on his internet page
devoted to this topic Mr. Quarrington posts a
'special article, specifically written for my website by
the world's leading bass historian, Paul Brun'.2
Here, Mr. Brun sets forth a brief account of the
development of double bass tunings, both in fifths
(which he claims to have come first) and in fourths.
This article presents the development of double
bass instruments solely in relation to their ancestors
in the violin family, such as the French basse de
violon, ignoring completely any association with the
viol family. Such misguided attempts to classify the
double bass as a member of the violin family ignore
or distort a mountain of evidence to the contrary.
Today's double bass instrument clearly falls into a
category distinct from that of the other modern
bowed string instruments, and its lineage is apparent
in its physical differences from the members of the
violin family. It would seem that any discussion of
the acoustical properties of these instruments should
take these factors into account.

1 Kim Echlin, 'Bass is Ace; a Toronto Composer Scores One for the Back Row of the Orchestra,' Ottawa Citizen, 22
March 1998.
2 Quarrington in Fifths: 'Tuning and Playing in Fifths,' Website, http://www.interlog.com/-henshaw/fifths.html.

224

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The Galpin Society Journal

The physical differences between the two families,
and the distinct playing positions, are easily
perceived. Further,the viols were, for the most part,
six-string, fretted instruments tuned in fourths
(generally with a third in the middle, as in
although in France the
D1-G1-C-E-A-d,
indigenous five-string viols were tuned in fourths
throughout).3 The violins, on the other hand, began
their existence as three-string, unfretted instruments
tuned in fifths (g-d'-a'), later adding a fourth e"
string.4
There were many reasons for the increasing
popularity of the violins from the seventeenth
century onwards. Most importantly, advances were
made by luthiers in certain structural elements of the
violin, notably the inclusion of a bass bar and sound
post. These features enabled the violin to be strung
with greater tension, thereby increasing the volume
level. The shift in emphasis towards individual
artistic expression led to an affinity for the increased
dynamic range and more pronounced musical
contrasts afforded by the violin. The lateRenaissance viol had no such equipment, depending
mainly on the vibration of the belly of the
instrument for its sonority, the sides and back
serving to contain a resonating body of air.s This
obviously placed the viols at a disadvantage in terms
of contemporary artistic sensibilities. Reacting to
these changing ideals, luthiers in the early Baroque
period began fitting viols with both sound posts and
bass bars, but, by that time, the violin family was in
ascendancy, playing a major role in the newly
constituted orchestral configurations.
This popularity of the violin family did not,
however, address the growing need in orchestral
situations for an extremely agile and flexible
contrabass instrument. By the beginning of the
eighteenth century, composers such as J.S. Bach
were writing orchestral works with extraordinarily
complex bass parts that covered a sizable range,
descending in many instances to contra C. For these
works, the bass members of the violin family proved
inadequate. The Gross Quint-Bass (or bass violin),
pictured in Plate XXI of Michael Praetorius'

225

Syntagma Musicum, in keeping with the

characteristics of that family, is tuned in fifths,
F1-C-G-d-a. This clearly would not have met the
low registral needs of many of the orchestral works
of Bach and his contemporaries. Further, it may be
that the violin-like shape of the body, especially the
rounded shoulders, made the dexterity required for
these parts in the higher range problematic as well. It
appears that the six-string violone, the contrabass
member of the viol family, was Bach's instrument of
choice for his continuo bass. Tuned in the viol
manner, in fourths with a middle third
(D1-G1-C-E-A-d), and equipped with a fretted
fingerboard, this instrument fulfilled all the
requirements of the music.
Partial accordance with this view can be found in
Laurence Dreyfus's book on the continuo groups
utilized by Bach.6Dreyfus points out that early in his
career, Bach employed a smaller violone, tuned
G-C-f-a-d-g', and that traces of this instrument
can be detected as late as the Cothen period, where it
is present in the early versions of the Brandenburg
Concertos.7 However, the pre-existing preference
for sixteen-foot transposing instruments throughout
most of Europe quickly relegated this instrument to
a role of reinforcing the violoncello in the continuo
group, especially when the cello assumed a quasiconcertato role.8
Dreyfus also identifies the violono grosso as an
instrument that is different from the six-string,
fretted violone. He refers to it as a four-string
instrument tuned like a cello, an octave lower. This is
the definition given in the Musicus Autodidacticus
ofJ.P.Eisel, published in 1738. This instrument, also
tuned in fourths, and described by Eisel as being
called violono grosso by the Italians, was said to be
more powerful, and to have the ability to cut
through the orchestral textures better than did the
viols.9 It is Dreyfus's conclusion, as demonstrated in
his book through the examination of the continuo
parts of many of Bach's instrumental and vocal
compositions, that the designation 'violone', which
appears in the extant autograph scores, refers to all
three of the above cited instruments at different

3 lan Woodfield, The Early History of the Viol (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), p. 200.
4 Sheila Nelson, The Violin and the Viola (New York: W.W.Norton, 1972), pp.4-5.
5Jeremy Montagu, The World of Renaissance and Medieval Musical Instruments (Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press,
1976), p. 112.
"Lawrence Dreyfus, Bach's Continuo Group: Players and Practices in his Vocal Works (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard
University Press, 1987). For a full account of the author's views on this subject, see Chapter V, The Problematic Identity
of the Violone, pp.136-169.
7 For a full discussion of this aspect of the small violone in G and its usage, see Dreyfus, pp.142-169.
8 Dreyfus, p.166.

9 Those seeking justification for a fifths tuning in Eisel's treatise, however, should use caution in pointing to this
instrument. The description reads '[The Violon] is tuned by many like a Violoncello (an octave below) but most tune it
in fourths.' See Johann Philipp Eisel, Musicus Autodidaktos (Erfurt, 1738), pp.50-51.

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226

The Galpin Society Journal

times. Dreyfus presents a good deal of evidence in

support of this position. Yet, especially as concerns
the Brandenburg Concertos, he has eliminated the
small violone in G as a possibility. His contention is,
then, that the sixteen-foot transposing double bass
instrument of the Concertos was either Eisel's
violono grosso or the six-string violone in D, and
that their continuo parts are illustrative as to which
instrument was used; the low C1 string of the
violono grosso indicating its usage where the part
descends to that pitch.
And yet, Dreyfus does admit to the possibility of
the six-string violone tuning down its lowest string
to a C1 for certain other works.10I believe there is a
simpler explanation, one which would take into
account certain practices by viol players in the
Renaissance and, presumably carried over into the
orchestral practices of the Baroque period by the
players who were sought out to provide this sixteenfoot sonority. I would suggest that the instrument to
which Bach refers in these autograph scores,
whether given the designation violono grosso (as in
the first Brandenburg) or simply violon (in all the
rest of the Brandenburgs) is this six-string, fretted
violone.
Utilizing a viol to fulfill such an important and
versatile function as that of the sixteen-foot member
of this new style of orchestral continuo group would
have seemed naturalfor Bach and his contemporaries.
It must be remembered that the viola da gamba
family had been much beloved in Germany and,
indeed, throughout Europe, for centuries. Consider
this description by Mersenne, written in 1635:

evidence of this. Bach, in the autograph scores, calls

specifically for either the violono grosso (in No.1) or
the violon (Nos.2-6). He designates the instrument
as either a part of the continuo group, as in
Concertos 1, 3, and 6, or as a member of the ripieno
orchestra, as in Concertos 2, 4, and 5. It seems clear
that one of the main reasons for this choice of
instrument was the range that it provided. However,
I think that we must consider another aspect of viol
playing, which I believe Bach and his fellow
composers, contemporary and later, took into
consideration when adopting this instrument as
their contrabass member.
Viol players, from very early on in their history, it
seems, were forced by circumstances to be versatile
in their performance practices. The celebrated twovolume tutorial of the Venetian instrumentalist
Sylvestro di Ganassi (1492(?)-c.1550), Regola
Rubertino, gives an indication of how these violists
were trained. The Regola is, in essence, a collection
of rules for tuning the instrument, and these rules are
presented in a manner that is consistent with those
of other 16th-centurytheorists. Ganassi presents a
series of scales with their tablature equivalents,
showing the position of the notes on the
fingerboard.12 He offers four rules (regole) for
tuning, each rule having three orders (ordini). These
orders advocate different approaches to tuning for
pieces with b-naturals, on the one hand, and those
with flat key signatures on the other. Ganassi's
method very much resembles that of the
contemporary composer and violist Alfonso della
Viola (c.1508-c.1573), whose tunings also take the
It is certain that if the instrumentsare taken in tonal orientation of a piece into consideration.
proportionthatthey bestimitatethe voice, and if of all
Therefore, in these tuning systems, a 'natural'
the artifices one esteems most that which best tuning ('per b-natural') might be d-g-c'-e'-a'-d",
representsthe natural,it seemsthatone mustnot refuse but its equivalent for flat keys ('per b-mol') might
the prizeto the viol, which imitatesthe voice in all its
then be a tone lower, or c-f-b'-d'-g'-c". This would
modulations,andevenin its accentsmost significantof
ensure that the open strings of the instrument were
sadness and joy.11
matched to the key of the piece being performed,
At a time when the violins were making considerable producing maximum resonance. Thus, the bband f
progress towards superiority in the minds of the strings of the second tuning would be ideal for a
musical community, these comments are piece with a tonal centre of F or Bb,while the first
representative of a sentiment that was still tuning would prove to be superior for a work
encountered at the beginning of the 19th century, centred around G or D. Tablature notation, such as
most conspicuously in the incorporation of the that presented in the Regola Rubertino, serves these
violone into the more modern orchestral groups of functions best, but a professional violist in an
the time.
intermedio orchestra of the day would have found
As to Bach's use of the violone, it is indeed, as that he would need to be versatile enough to read
Dreyfus has pointed out, the Brandenburg mensural notation as well as tablature, and even to
Concertos that provide the most compelling be able to transpose at sight.13
10Dreyfus, p.162
11Marin Mersenne, Harmonie Universelle: The Books on Instruments, translated by Roger E. Chapman (The Hague:
Martinu-Nijhoff, 1957), p. 254.
12Woodfield, p.141.
13Ibid., p. 143.

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The Galpin Society Journal

Transposition is, apparently, what Ganassi had in

mind in presenting this system. In a recent article,
Herbert W. Myers has pointed out that, lacking any
internationally agreed-upon pitch standard during
the Renaissance, these tunings by Ganassi should be
thought of as providing 'conceptual' or nominal, as
opposed to absolute, pitches. They therefore 'constitute a system of transposition-alternative ways to
fit musical scales onto the fingerboardof the gamba'.14
The ambiguity of exact pitch level, however,
would not change the concept of tuning a consort to
the 'home key' of a given composition. Indeed,
Myers goes on to state that 'the exact pitch level of
Ganassi's gamba consort . . was not arrived at by
matching any outside pitch source [;it] was the result
of compromise among the various needs of the
group', maximum resonance of the instruments
presumably high on this list of needs.
It seems clear that matching the tuning to the
central tonality of a piece was an important
consideration to the Renaissance musician. Cadential
figures occurring on many of the open-string pitches
were critical to the outlining of pitch centres by the
natural resonance produced by the proper tuning of
the instruments.15 Both Ganassi and della Viola,
then, present their regole, elaborate and complex
though they may seem today, with a very practical
end in mind. As Ian Woodfield states, these tunings
were meant:
...to ensurethe bestpossiblematchbetweenthe key of
the pieceto be performedandthe tuningof the consort,
therebymakingthe best use of the 'ring'of the open
stringsand achievingthe bestresonance.16
It would appear, then, that it was this consideration,
rather than the intervals between strings, that
concerned them.17

227

This ability to tune strings to produce the greatest

possible resonance in relation to a specific key
certainly would have seemed an attractive feature to
Baroque composers searching for a contrabass
instrument. That the six-string fretted violone is
their instrument of choice can again be illustrated by
a re-examination of the violone parts of the
Brandenburg Concertos.
It has been pointed out by numerous scholars,
including Dreyfus, that certain inconsistencies occur
in these violone parts from concerto to concerto. For
example, whereas low contra Cs are abundant in
Concertos 1 and 2, they are conspicuously avoided
in Concertos 4 and 5 [see Examples 1 a-f].18 These
discrepancies have in the past been explained either
as mistakes by the composer or evidence of the use of
a different, possibly non sixteen-foot, instrument.
But consider, in the light of what we have discovered
concerning viol tunings, Bach's use of range in these
parts. The low C's in Concertos 1 and 2 [Examples
la, b, and c]19 could be construed as indicating a
violone tuned C1-F1-B~-D-G-c, which would
provide maximum resonance to the F major tonality
of both pieces. However, in Concertos 4 and 5
[Examples Id, e, and f], the lowest note to be found
is D1. When passages such as those in Examples Idf occur, the low C1 is avoided. The keys of these
pieces, G major and D major respectively, seem to
indicate a violone tuning of D1-G-C-E-A-d,
thereby precluding the use of the low C1.20
It would appear that, while the sixteen-foot
register was a very important consideration for these
composers, resonance within the key of the piece
was also an important concern, and something that
did not necessarily presuppose any fixed disposition
as to the tuning of the different strings.21

14Herbert W. Myers, 'The Sizes and Tunings of Early Viols: Some Questions (and a Few Answers),' Journal of the
Viola da Gamba Society of America 38, 5-26.
15 Joelle Morton, 'The Early History and Use of the G Violone,' Journal of the Viola da Gamba Society of America 36
(1999), 40-68.
16Woodfield, p. 144.
17The precise spacing of the frets on the neck of the viol was also a consideration for these players. Accounts of latesixteenth- and early-seventeenth-century theorists indicate that the viol players of the period would have taken into
account the various forms of meantone temperament used by the keyboardists of the day and made an effort to match
their intonation. A full discussion of the workings of these techniques would unduly lengthen this study without
materially altering the conclusions presented. The reader should consult the following for more information:
Mark Lindley, Lutes, Viols, and Temperaments (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), pp. 45-50.
Antonio Corona-Alcalde,' "You will raise a little your 4thfret": and Equivocal Instruction by Luis Milan?' Galpin
Society Journal 44 (1991), 2-45.
18Ralph Leavis, 'J.S.Bach'sViolone Parts,' Galpin Society Journal 30 (1977), 155-156.
19 J.S.Bach, Neue Bach Ausgabe Siimtliche Werke, edited by Heinrich Besseler (Kassel: Barenreiter- Verlag, 1956).
20This concept could also go a long way towards explaining the baffling low B 2 in Concerto 6; scordatura being
common practice, we could postulate a tuning of Bb2-F'-BI-D-G-c.
21 This theory also gives credit to composers such as Bach for being familiar with the capabilities of the instruments
for which they were writing. Too often in the discussion of register in the bass parts of the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, it is suggested that composers who are otherwise renowned for their attention to detail in matters of
instrumentation, range, and timbre would somehow, when it came to writing the often all-important double bass parts,
suddenly decided to write notes which they knew the instruments of their day could not perform, leaving it to future
generations to solve these problems.

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The Galpin Society Journal

Example 1
BrandenburgConcertos
a.) No.l, I mm.8-13
violoncello
violonogrossoe
continuo

b.) No.2, I / mm.8-9

c.) No. 2, 1 / mm.25-26

violone
in ripieno
violoncelloe cembalh
all'unisono

d.) No.4, I/ mm.201-203

violone

continuo

e.) No.4, IV / mm.229-233

f.) No.5, I / mm.4-5

violoncello

In the later decades of the eighteenth century, the

violone continued to gain prominence, not only as a
member of the orchestra, but as a solo instrument as
well. And it was precisely this ability of the violone,
now unique among the surviving string instruments,
to tune in a manner that would take into account the
key in which a given piece was played, that attracted
composers to the instrument.
The instrument that emerges from this tradition
during this period is the five-string fretted violone,
which had a large and enthusiastic following in the
Austro-Hungarian Empire and particularly in
Vienna. The exploits of famous Classical virtuosi
such as Joseph Kampfer, Johann Matthias Sperger

and FriedrichPischelberger are well documented, as

is the unique tuning of the instrument on which they
performed, the so-called Viennese tuning,
F1-A1-D-F#-A.
The technical facility that such a tuning provides,
along with the resonance produced in keys such as D
major, A major, and F4 minor, inspired the
composition of solo works for this instrument by
many of the leading composers of the Viennese
musical scene. Haydn composed a concerto in D
major, Hoboken VIIc: 1 (now lost), and the Mozart
concert aria 'Per questa bella mano', K.612, also in
D major, for bass voice and contrabass obbligato, is
among the most famous of these works. Lesser

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The Galpin Society Journal

229

Example 2
Sperger's Violone Concertos

a.) Konzert fiir Kontrabass und Orchester in Es-dur

b.) Konzert fiir Kontrabass und Orchester in B-dur

known today, but very highly regarded in their own

time, composers such as J.B.Vanhal (1739-1813)
and Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799) also
contributed greatly to the violone literature, not
only in the realm of solo music, but in chamber
music as well.22And, naturally, the solo performers
mentioned above, Sperger in particular, also added
to the repertoire.
The Viennese tuning afforded the soloist
convenient fingering patterns for the largely triadic
melodies favoured for this style of composition. In
addition, the opportunity for easily facilitated
double-stop playing on the upper two strings, with
harmonic support provided by the lower open
strings, made possible the virtuosic figurations so
common in these works.23 While the D major
orientation of the tuning makes the implications for
related keys, such as A major and B minor, obvious,

the same results can be produced in different key

areas as well. A half-step scordatura to an E tuning
scheme would produce similar results for the keys of
E major, Bbmajor, and A major, as well as C minor.
This technique had the dual purpose of increasing
the brilliance and projection of the instrument, a
desirable, not to say necessary, goal for a piece in
which the low sonorities of the double bass are
contending with orchestral forces, while continuing
to maximize the resonance of the instrument by
allowing for open-string possibilities at important
structural junctures, as was the case in the
Renaissance. An examination of the following
incipits from the works of Sperger [Examples 2 a
and b] will attest to the manner in which this tuning
was utilized,24 and many other concertos of the
period, by Dittersdorf, Vanhal, and Hoffmeister to
name a few, also rely on this technique.25

22For a discussion of these composers' contributions to this literature, including some recently discovered works, see
David Wyn Jones, 'Vanhal, Dittersdorf, and the Violone,' Early Music 10 (1982), 64-67.
23Adolf Meier, 'The Vienna Double Bass and its Technique during the Era of the Vienna Classic,' Journal of the
International Society of Bassists 13/iii (1987),10-16.
24 Adolf Meier, Thematisches Werkverzeichnisder Kompositionen von Johannes Sperger (1750-1812) (Michaelstein:
Blankenburg, 1990), pp.36-37.
25 It should be remembered, however, that the Viennese tuning (F1-A'-D-F-A) was not itself regarded as a
scordatura, but the standard tuning for the Wiener Funfsaiter; the scordatura occurs only with the adjustments to this
basic tuning.

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More important to the argument at hand,

however, is the use of this instrument in the
orchestral literature of the day. Knowing full well its
capabilities and unique properties, Haydn
incorporated solos for the violone into many of his
symphonies. Again, it seems logical to assume that
Haydn's violone could be tuned to provide
maximum resonance to such keys as D minor, as in
his Symphony No.6 (Le Matin, III / trio) and the D
major of the later Horn Signal Symphony ( No.31,
III, var.7), or even to the A major/F#major finale to
the Farewell Symphony (No.45, IV/ adagio,
mm.55-67). All of these pieces could be performed
with excellent results utilizing the standard Viennese
tuning. However, solos in Symphony No.7 (Le Midi,
III / trio) and Symphony No.8 (Le Soir, III / trio),
both in C major, might more easily have been
rendered making use of a tuning along the lines of
E1-G1-C-E-G.
The tuning of the bottom string to F-natural, a
third away from the second string, was most
probably a function of the solo tuning. The more
virtuosic chamber music, as well as the solo
literature, made scant, if any, use of the bottom
string.26Therefore, presuming a scordatura of this
low string for orchestral performance, the tuning
D'-A1-D-F#-A, or even C1-G1-C-E-G, would go a
long way towards solving some long-standing
problems concerning range in bass parts during this
period.27
As the 19th century dawned, however, a new
approach to tuning shifted the emphasis away from
key-specific resonance to sound projection and
power. The great Italian double bass virtuoso
Domenico Dragonetti (1763-1846) was renowned
for his rich, powerful tone as well as his amazing
technique on a three-string instrument tuned most
often A1-D-G. Dragonetti was known to have
played on other basses. However the bass built by
Gasparo da Sal6, and now located in the Civico
Museum in Milan, has a five-string design.28 The
instrument said to be Dragonetti's favorite, which
today can be found in St Mark's Basilica in Venice,

was converted to a three-string double bass from a

six- or seven-string configuration.29A.C.White has
written that Dragonetti always performed in
orchestras with a three-string bass tuned in fourths
(A1-D-G),30 and a contemporary account by
Cipriani Potter makes it clear that Dragonetti had
little regard for the written note as a guide to
performance.31As Potter noted, when encountering
a passage in the orchestral repertoire that exceeded
the compass of the three-string bass (that is,
anything below A1), such as the opening of the trio
section of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, Op. 67,
Dragonetti's practice was to transpose the entire
phrase up an octave. The idea was, of course, to
preserve the melodic line; however, the loss of the
sixteen-foot register here seems a grievous omission,
no matter the sensibilities of the performer. That
Dragonetti was at times forced to at least consider
more practical solutions to this problem is indicated
by the fact that he ordered double bass necks to be
built that would accommodate four strings, and
orders for copper-covered fourth strings can also be
found.32
It seems absurd that contemporary composers
such as Beethoven (who was well acquainted with
Dragonetti both personally and professionally)
would have tolerated this deficiency in the sixteenfoot range. Beethoven's music is known not only for
the independence of the double bass parts from the
cello line, but also for frequently extending down to
low C1.One must assume that, regardless of the high
regard Beethoven apparently had for Dragonetti's
solo abilities, in his orchestral music, he intended the
pitches to be played as notated. Living and working
in Vienna, Beethoven would have been very familiar
with the violone virtuosi who lived in the area
during his lifetime, and therefore presumably with
the techniques previously discussed. Thus it seems
quite plausible that he, like Haydn and Mozart
before him, would have embraced this instrument
with its characteristic range and sound quality.
This is not to suggest, however, that the violone
continued to be the contrabass instrument of choice

26David Wyn Jones (see note 22 above), 65.

27In his article 'Violoncello and Double Bass Parts in Viennese Chamber Music of Haydn and his Contemporaries,
1750-1780', Journal of the American Musicological Society 29 (1976), 413-419, James Webster concurs on this point
of adjustment of the lowest string. He states: 'Orchestral parts were notated on a single staff, labelled "basso" or
"bassi"; these were written loco for celli (and bassoon) and notated in terms of their full range down to C. The double
bassists evidently had to adjust the pitches which exceeded their lower boundary of Ff11.'
28Alfred Planyavsky, The Baroque Double Bass Violone, translated by James Barket (London: Scarecrow Press,
1998), p. 134.
29Ibid., p. 135.
30Adolphus C.White, 'The Double Bass,' Proceedings of the Musical Association 12 (1866-7), p.101.
31 Fiona M. Palmer,Domenico Dragonetti in England (1794-1846): The Career of a Double Bass Virtuoso (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1997), p.72.
32Palmer,p. 74.

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The Galpin Society Journal

throughout the 19thcentury. Dragonetti's influence,
coupled with a long-standing tradition of three- and
four-string basses in Germany,33led to the eventual
demise of the violone, both as a solo and as an
orchestral instrument. The subsequent fascination
with a three-string orchestral contrabass led, in the
opinion of many, to disaster. Hector Berlioz was
especially vocal concerning these matters, decrying
the absence of a complete sixteen-foot register as
well as the technique of simplification. In this
practice, bassists performing on three-string
instruments would modify their parts, either by
octave transposition (in order to perform notes that
could not be reached, as in the Dragonetti style) or
by the omission of notes deemed too difficult to be
performed by such a truncated instrument.
To be sure, one of the methods employed in
attempting to give the three-string bass some
orchestral validity was a tuning scheme in fifths,
G1-D-A. Paul Brun states that, at the beginning of
the 19thcentury in France, a system of tuning in fifths
was widespread.34 Considered to be a viable
alternative to the standard tuning in fourths by
some, it was roundly denounced by others and,
eventually, the French adopted the more
tuning,
conventional
four-string
fourths
Ei-A1-D-G.35
It was Berlioz, however, who proposed a solution
to this dilemma that seemed most practical, one that
followed along the lines of resonance and sonority
of open strings, to which previous generations of
composers had adhered. In his Grand traite
d'instrumentation et d'orchestration modernes,
Op.10 (1843), he proposes the following:
The four-stringeddouble-bassappears preferableto
me; tuning in fourths makes for greater facility of
executionbecausethe playeris not compelledto shift
on the finger-boardwhen playingscales.Furthermore,
the threelow notes, E, F, and F#,missingon the threestringed double-bass, are extremely useful; their
absencefrequentlyspoilsthe formof the best-designed
bass part by requiring unpleasant and difficult

231

transpositionto the higher octave. This deficiencyis

still more apparent in the English double- basses,
which, although tuned in fourths, have only three
strings-A'-D-G. A good orchestra should have
several four-stringed double-basses,some of them
tunedin fifthsand thirds[E1-G'-D-A].Togetherwith
the other double-basses tuned in fourths [E1-A1-D-G],

a combinationof openstringswouldbe availablewhich

would greatly increasethe sonorityof the orchestra.36
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the

adoption of five-stringbasses, with a standard tuning

in fourths of B2-E'-A'-D-G as well as the invention
of the C-extension, a device which allows a
conventional four-string instrument to lower its
bottom string from E' to C1by means of an extended
fingerboard. Neither of these innovations is an ideal
solution to the problem of range in the contrabass
register. The five-string configuration places a good
deal more pressure on the top of the instrument,
requiringthe bass to be quite large in order to produce
the desired resonance. Because of its size, the
instrument can be somewhat cumbersome to handle
for most performers. The C-extension can also be
awkward, since it requires the performerto reach far
back along the scroll of the bass in order to play the
lowest notes. This device does, however, eliminate the
need for a fifth string. As a solution to the problem of
producing the elusive low C1, tuning in fifths,
C1-G'-D-A, is a viable solution. But at what price?
Quarrington readily admits to difficulties with
this system. He recognizes the problems involved
with teaching fifths tuning to advanced students
who have already developed a solid technique in
fourths. He cautions that a player who has been
trained in 'a rigid fingering system, "a la Simandl",37
for instance, would find the difficulties
overwhelming at times and injury a real threat'.38
Indeed! Many players actively seek to minimize the
amount of physical and mental discomfort
associated with the playing of the instrument. I see
little advantage in a system of fingering that might
easily overwhelm and possibly injure the performer.

33These three-string basses, many of which have survived to the present day, were commonly used in sacred music as
a support for the organ. They were often referredto as Kirchenbiisse. For a description of their function, see Planyavsky,
The Baroque Double Bass Violone, p.135. The reader should be warned, however, that Planyavsky's book has been
taken to task for inaccuracies as well as an overly broad thesis, which contends flatly that all instruments designated
violone were sixteen-foot double bass instruments. For a review of the book see Journal of the Viola da Gamba Society
of America 36 (1999), 69-74.
34 Paul Brun's History of Tuning in Fifths, Website, http://interlog.com/-henshaw/brun.html.
35Paul Brun, A History of the Double Bass, translated by Lynn Morrel and Paul Brun, published by the author, 1989.
pp. 97-99.
36Hector Berlioz-Richard Strauss, Treatise on Instrumentation, translated by Theodore Front (New York: Kalmus,
1948), p. 96.
37Here, Quarrington refers to the double bass instruction method of Franz Simandl (1840-1912), first published in
1881, and used today by the majority of bass players as the foundation of their technique.
38Quarrington in Fifths: 'Tuning and Playing in Fifths,' Website, http://www.interlog.com/-henshaw/fifths.html.

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232

The Galpin Society Journal

Quarrington's argument of greater resonance for Renaissance viol players who so frequently utilized
a fifths tuning that would generate a seamless it. And, tuning in fourths was apparently seen as no
blending of sound with the rest of the orchestral obstacle to late 19th- and early 20th-century
strings seems suspect, at best. He states, 'The physics composers, many of whom (Schoenberg, Stravinsky,
are different when you tune in fifths because you are Hindemith, etc.) clearly demonstrated, by their use
in the same groove as the rest of the string section. of harmonics and double stops, their knowledge and
The bass in fourths is impossible to tune- if you appreciation of the capabilities and tuning
make the fourths perfect, your low strings will be arrangement of the modern double bass instrument,
too flat and of course will not relate to the open much as did their counterparts in the Baroque and
strings of the other instruments, just because it's Classical periods. In the light of all this historical
data, it would seem that a more practical, concrete
turned upside down'.39
This seems to me a somewhat cryptic statement. argument needs to be advanced; personal
If, by physics, Quarrington is referring to the fact preferences by individual performers don't seem
that a bass tuned E'-A1-D-G is the mirror image of convincing enough to establish a criterion for the
a violin tuning of g-d'-a'-e" and, that by virtue of institution of such a change in the traditional tuning
the difference in register, the E1 of the bass is of the double bass.
I remain unconvinced of any inherent superiority
relatively flatter than the e" of the violin, in a
Pythagorean sense, I can agree with him. However, in the tuning of the contrabass instrument in fifths as
in any type of instrumental ensemble playing opposed to fourths. I point to the large body of
(especially involving an equally- tempered keyboard evidence set forth here indicating not only the
instrument) no matter how perfectly the fifths (or willing and purposeful adoption of a double bass
fourths) are tuned, small intonational adjustments viol into the Baroque and Classical orchestral
need to be made by the player. And, at any rate, configurations, but also the evident willingness of
double bassists routinely mitigate this registral composers to take into consideration the unique
difference by tuning not to open strings, but to capabilities and traditions of the viol family when
harmonics pitched much closer to the a = 440Hz composing for the instrument. It seems clear that,
given for tuning, and then matching octave when talking about resonance, any number of
harmonics across the strings. Further,if one were to factors must be taken into consideration: general
tune a bass in fifths starting from the top string, A, quality of the instrument, shape, design, string
the resultant C1 would be as flat in relation to a length, gut versus steel or overwound strings, etc. All
violin e" string as would an E', assuming a pure of these elements play a role in the overall resonance
of any instrument. But, to claim that a tuning
fifths tuning on each instrument.
scheme of C'-G'-D-A will provide any instrument
In the 19th century, scientist and acoustician
Hermann L.E.Helmholtz, in explaining the relative with greater resonance over the entire range of the
dissonance of intervals, observed that in notes circle of fifths seems specious at best.
As a double bass performer myself, I would like to
sounded simultaneously, a large number of
coincident frequency components between the two share my own experience in regard to resonance. My
notes of the simultaneity would produce a low bass is equipped with a fingered C-extension that
occurrence of beating. This would render what also features a sliding fret, so that the bottom string
Helmholtz termed a 'smooth' interval. He can be set to any pitch between C1 and E'. If the
recognized both the fourth and the fifth as such string is set fully open, with a tuning of C1-A'-D-G,
intervals, and called them perfect consonances a very strong resonance will occur on the open G
string while playing the open C' string, intervening
because
fourths notwithstanding. If the fret is then set to D',
....they may be used in all parts of the scale without any
when the bottom open D' string is played, a very
importantdisturbanceof harmoniousness.40
strong resonance on the open D string is produced.
While Helmholtz goes on to state that the fourth is In terms of practical performing experience, I can
less perfect than the fifth, this is a subtle point that attest to the fact that I feel 'tuned' to these key areas
does not take the fourth out of the realm of perfect when the bass is set to either of these particular
consonance. One would assume that any configurations, much in the same way, I would
'disturbances' inherent in a fourth-based system guess, that the Renaissance and Baroque violonists
would have been noticed and corrected by the must have felt when they tuned their instruments to
39Barb McDougall, 'Quintessential Quarrington,' Double Bassist 7 (1998), 34-35.
40Hermann L.EHelmholtz, On the Sensations of Tone as a Psychological Basis for the Theory of Music, 2nd ed.,
trans. by A.J. Ellis (New York: Dover, 1954), p. 194.

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The Galpin Society Journal

the key of the piece being performed. While I have
only cited two keys to which I might 'tune' here,
again, as in the old viol style, resonance with other
keys is implied. And, at any rate, two keys are
already twice as many as would be offered by a
standard setting of C'-G'-D-A. One could easily
imagine setting the bottom string to E, with a halfstep scordatura on the third string to Bb,producing a
resonance with the open G string. And all these
possibilities spare the player the necessity of learning
a completely new fingering system.
The double bass is a notoriously difficult
instrument to play. Players must develop their own
technique in order to feel comfortable. If that
technique is founded on tuning in fifths, bravo to
that player. But this in no way invalidates the
accomplishments of the player with a tuning in
fourths, nor the viability of that tuning. This is to me
in many ways reminiscent of the French
bow/German bow debate. While some perceive it as
a forgone conclusion that one or the other style of
bowing is superior, most players see it as a matter of
training and personal choice.

233

In describing the contrabasso da gamba in his

Syntagma Musicum, Michael Praetorius makes the
following observation, one that, in light of the facts
presented here, seems not only practical and logical,
but somewhat prescient as well:
The large viola da gamba is usuallytuned in fourths
throughout,and, this, in my estimation,is good. I do
not considerit very importanthow each playertunes
his violinor viol so long as he is ableto executehis part
correctly and well.41

41 Michael Praetorius, Syntagma Musicum: Volume I, De Organographia, translated by Harold Blumefeld (New
York: Da Capo Press, 1980), p. 44.

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