At 1:27 PM -0500 2/15/06, Phil Daley wrote:
Showing my ignorance: I am wondering what a "contrabass" is?
Phil, a number of people have given you half the answer, and they have been most helpful and accurate in doing so. But there is another half which hasn't been touched on, which is contained in the balance of your message.
Is there a contrabass-violin? My mother played cello, so I don't think there is a contrabass-cello. I know absolutely nothing about harps, so perhaps there is a contrabass-harp? I do know about contrabass clarinets, I have bought and played one. I think there might be a contrabass sax, or maybe bassoon.
As a noun, contrabass is indeed the 16' instrument of the violin family as used in symphony orchestras.
As an adjective, however, it points out that any complete family of instruments may, indeed, have a contrabass member, playing at 16' pitch. (This is organ terminology. "Normal" or piano pitch is produced by 8' stops. 16' stops sound a full octave lower.) The actual instrument names can be a real convoluted mess, and one is advised not to put too much weight on the names used at various times and places.
The original "bass" of the violin family (going back to the 16th century) was what we today call the cello. The original "bass" of the viola da gamba family (again going back to the 16th century) was what we today call the bass viol (which is, unfortunately, one of the alternate names for the contrabass violin!). (This is an oversimplification!) The terms soprano, alto, tenor and bass, when applied to instruments, usually indicate the instrument in the family that most naturally plays in the same range as the voice part with the same name. (The names are different in other languages; don't even ask!)
By 1607, both families had expanded to contrabass sizes, playing (more or less) an octave below the regular "bass" instrument of each family. We know that for sure because in the extant score for Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo" he calls very specifically for both contrabass violin and contrabass viol (generally called "violone" today). Schütz and Corelli were two other 17th century composers who especially liked the sound of the 16' instruments.
So a "contrabass xxxx" is generally considered to be an instrument that plays an octave below the true bass instrument of a given family. In my experience, we have the following:
The full recorder family: both a greatbass (an octave below the tenor) and a contrabass (an octave below the bass) exist. (But it should be noted that the recorders play at 4' pitch.)
The transverse flute family: there is a rare modern contrabass flute, although no such contrabass existed historically because the flute family, like the recorder family, was treated as a family playing at 4' pitch. The modern soprano flute in C is the direct descendent of the renaissance tenor flute in D.
The shawm/oboe family: even the bass size is so unwieldy that a contrabass size was never developed.
The clarinet family: both a greatbass (in Eb) and a contrabass (in BBb) exist today, but the family terminology is mixed up. The "bass" clarinet is an octave below the soprano (and so is more properly a tenor instrument). The Greatbass is an octave below the alto (and so is more properly the true bass instrument. The contrabass is an octave below the bass, so that's where the terminology catches up.
The bassoon family: yes, it was once a family, with soprano, alto, and tenor members. The bass size is the modern bassoon. The contrabass size is the contrabassoon, which existed already in Mozart's time.
The saxophone family: the terminology is mixed up and confusing. The baritone is an octave below the alto, and would be called the bass size if standard terminology were used. (No other instrumental family has a size labeled "baritone.") The bass is an octave below the tenor, so would properly be called the greatbass. The contrabass is an octave below the baritone (which as noted is really the bass), so is properly named by historical precedent. There is a subcontrabass an octave below the bass, which although very rare does exist.
The (French) horn family: Strictly speaking, while there are horns in different keys, both historically and in modern practice, there is no "horn family" per se, and thus no bass or contrabass horn. They all cover all or parts of the same extremely wide range--4 octaves plus.
The trumpet family: Again, built in many different sizes, but the instrument in Bb (tube length about 4 1/2 feet) is generally considered the soprano instrument in modern usage (except in the brass band tradition and except for various smaller sizes used for baroque clarino parts). The instrument called today the bass trumpet (tube length about 9 feet) is actually a tenor instrument playing in the same range as the tenor trombone (which in Italian means "big trumpet"). The bass trombone, valve or slide, is the true bass instrument of the trumpet family, and yes, there is a contrabass trombone but it is an octave below the tenor, not the bass.
The tuba family: there is no standardization of sizes or tunings and therefore no standardization of terminology.
Sorry you asked yet??
You peaked my curiosity.
I would not comment on this except that this is the second message in a row in which I've encountered this homonymic misspelling. I believe that you meant "piqued." To "pique" is to catch the interest of, to "peak" is to reach the top of something, and to "peek" is to observe surreptitiously.
John -- John & Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
