Bass Musical Instrument Facts
Bass versions are prevalent in virtually every family of instrument. From the upright string bass to the woodwind bass clarinet, bass instruments encompass a wide variety of mediums.
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The First Bass Parts in Music
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Bass parts were first available in the art of vocal instrumentation. Renaissance composers were the first to break the voice into four octaves--the cantus, altus, tenor and bassus. The bassus, or bass, was the foundation for the sound structure.
Tonality
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The common factor between all bass instruments is that they are the lowest-resonating instrument of their family type.
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How the Bass Sound Is Created
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Bass instruments require a larger space for the sound wave to travel in which to resonate the lower tone. Most bass instruments in the brass and woodwind families curl over themselves to accommodate the player.
Size of Bass Instruments
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Bass instruments are always larger than their original versions and sometimes require players to either stand or have special seating. For example, the bass clarinet generally requires a stool to sit on to play.
Necessity of the Bass
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Composers use the bass as the backdrop of the score. Essentially the foundation to the harmony, bass instruments are crucial in creating the textures of harmony in modern music.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit standup bass image by Earl Robbins from Fotolia.com
