A bass (/bs/) musical instrument produces tones in the low-pitched range C4- C2.[1] Basses belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles. Since producing low pitches usually requires a long air column or string, the string and wind bass instruments are usually the largest instruments in their families or instrument classes.

As seen in the musical instrument classification article, categorizing instruments can be difficult. For example, some instruments fall into more than one category. The cello is considered a tenor instrument in some orchestral settings, but in a string quartet it is the bass instrument.

Examples grouped by general form and playing technique include:

A musician playing one of these instruments is often known as a bassist. Other more specific terms such as 'bass guitarist', 'double bassist', 'bass player', etc. may also be used.

Further reading

  • Media related to Bass instruments at Wikimedia Commons
  • Apel, Willi (2000) [1969]. Harvard Dictionary of Music (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-37501-7. Retrieved 12 February 2011.

References

  1. Walker, James S.; Don, Gary (2013). Mathematics and Music: Composition, Perception, and Performance. Boca Raton, London and New York: CRC Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-4822-0850-4.
  2. Davis, John S. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Jazz. Lanham, MA, Toronto, Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-8108-7898-3.
  3. Nardolillo, Jo (2014). All Things Strings: An Illustrated Dictionary. Lanham, MA: Scarecrow Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-8108-8444-1.
  4. Owen Jander; Lionel Sawkins; J. B. Steane; Elizabeth Forbes. L. Macy (ed.). "Bass". Grove Music Online. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2006.; The Oxford Dictionary of Music gives E2–E4/F4
  5. Bevan, Clifford (1997). "The Low Brass". In Herbert, Trevor; Wallace, John; Cross, Jonathan (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Brass Instruments. Cambridge, UK and New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 143–148. ISBN 978-0-521-56522-6. bass horns serpent tuba.
  6. Drabløs, Per Elias (2016) [2015]. The Quest for the Melodic Electric Bass: From Jamerson to Spenner. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 74–75. ISBN 978-1-317-01837-7.
  7. Evans, David (1983). "Afro-American One-Stringed Instruments". In Ferris, William R. (ed.). Afro-American Folk Art and Crafts. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi. p. 181. ISBN 978-1-61703-343-8.
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