Finale Forum

John Ruggero wrote: ↑

Sat May 07, 2022 12:03 pm

Anyone mentioned "bass viol", the granddaddy of them all? Also, Violone, and bass violin, although bass violin doesn't seem correct since I don't think the contrabass is part of the violin family.

AnneMillington wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 25, 2023 7:37 pm

I like to use Contrabass, abbreviated as Cb. This is consistent with Violoncello, abbreviated as Vc, Viola as Va, and Violin I and Violin II, abbreviated as Vn I and Vn II.

motet wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 26, 2023 4:44 am

… I remember reading that the "double" in "double bass" refers to doubling the cello or the continuo, but I can't find where I read that. I do remember thinking at the time it sounded like folk--i.e. bogus--etymology, and indeed it may not be true …

BuonTempi wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 25, 2023 11:00 am

I always think it's funny that "Violoncello" means "Little Violone", and of course Violone mean "Big Viol".

John Ruggero wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 26, 2023 3:23 am

Arnold Arnstein took the opposite approach and wanted each of the instrument labels to be as dissimilar from each other as possible as a visual aid to the conductor. So he used Vln 1, Vln 2, Viola, Cello, Bass. Note that each of them except the bass has 5 "characters": nice and even. He didn't see the point in abbreviating such short words, especially since the Vln 1 and Vln 2 determined the left margin in any case.

Peter Thomsen wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 26, 2023 5:06 am

motet wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 26, 2023 4:44 am

… I remember reading that the "double" in "double bass" refers to doubling the cello or the continuo, but I can't find where I read that. I do remember thinking at the time it sounded like folk--i.e. bogus--etymology, and indeed it may not be true …

As Far As I Know, the term ‘double bass’ in this usage means an octave lower than the usual bass register (and hence the instrument’s bigger, “double” size).

The origin of the name of the double bass stems from the fact that its initial function was to double the bass line of large ensembles.

4.b.
1654–
Music. In names of musical instruments, organ stops, etc.: Sounding an octave lower in pitch.
(A pipe, string, etc. of twice the length of another (ceteris paribus) gives a note an octave lower; hence this use.)

bkshepard wrote: ↑

Sun May 01, 2022 7:58 pm

It's always been my understanding that Contra refers to its range while Double refers to what it does.

Peter Thomsen wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 27, 2023 1:04 am

There seems to be disagreement about that very question.

According to Wikipedia:
The names contrabass and double bass refer to the instrument's range and use one octave lower than the cello (i.e. doubling on cello).

Quoting an old forum post from ten years ago, posted by forum user Epilogue:
… When looking at various bass blogs and forums on the internet, I’ve noticed some massive confusion about the term ‘double bass’. One thing that became apparent to me from the outset is the amount of people who just…make-up-stuff…without doing any research. The most outlandish falsehood spreading-around is that the word ‘double’ in ‘double bass’ is somehow a reference to its’ doubling another instrument in an orchestra. That is simply NOT true – never has been and never will be! Who ever started that rumor should not be shot, but perhaps grazed a little. It reminds me of comedian Steve Martin’s stand-up routine from a few decades ago when out-of-the-blue he suddenly says, “Always have REALLY strong opinions about things you know NOTHING about!” The term ‘double bass’ in this usage means an octave lower than the usual bass register …

"Double". An adjective used to indicate a lower octave. Thus the double bassoon plays in the octave below the bassoon, the double bass an octave below the violoncello and so on. This usage derives from the old practice of identifying notes below gamma ut (the G on the bottom line of the bass stave) by double letters, FF, EE and so on. Organ builders still refer to these low pitches as ‘double F’, ‘double E’ etc. ‘Double harp’ (arpa doppia) signifies a harp with more than one rank of strings ( see Harp, §V, 5 ).

Keyboard instruments with two manuals are called ‘double’. But in the 16th and 17th centuries the terms ‘double harpsichord’, ‘double regals’, ‘double virginals’ or even ‘double curtall’ (and also the Doppelfagott mentioned by Praetorius in 1619) more often referred to instruments whose ranges extended below gamma ut. For further information see F.W. Galpin: Old English Instruments of Music (London, 4/1965), 212ff.