Why Is the Biggest String Instrument the Odd One Out? It Came From a Different Family

Violins, violas and cellos are tuned in intervals of a fifth between adjacent strings, and the bass is tuned in fourths, which changes every fingering pattern and every scale shape so that a cellist cannot simply transfer their technique downwards. The body frequently has sloping shoulders rather than rounded ones and a flat back rather than a curved one. The strings are far longer, so a player must shift position constantly and cannot reach an octave with one hand position. And it sounds an octave below where its music is written, which is the only instrument in the section for which that is true.

The instrument descends substantially from a different family:

• •The viol family was distinct from the violin family and largely died out
• •Viols had sloping shoulders, flat backs and frets, and were tuned in fourths
• •The bass retained the tuning and much of the body shape
• •Tuning in fourths keeps the hand stretch manageable on a long string
• •A flat back is easier to build at that size and is lighter
• •Sloping shoulders let the player reach the upper positions

The instrument is unique among orchestral strings in having two coexisting bow techniques, and the division is geographic as much as anything. The overhand grip, held above the stick like a cello bow, is associated with French practice and gives a lighter, more agile stroke with more control at the point. The underhand grip, held palm upwards beneath the stick, descends from viol technique and gives greater weight into the string and more power at the heel of the bow. Both are taught, both are used professionally, orchestral sections routinely contain players using each, and the bows themselves are built differently for the two, with different balance and a different frog.

The instrument occupies different roles depending on the music, and the playing technique changes completely between them. In an orchestra it supplies the bass line, frequently doubling the cellos an octave below and played with a bow, with the section producing a foundation that is felt as much as heard. In jazz it is played almost entirely by plucking, walking a line that outlines the harmony while marking every beat, which is a role the instrument effectively defined. In several folk traditions it is slapped, with the strings pulled away and released against the fingerboard to produce a percussive click alongside the note. Each of those requires a different setup, with different strings, a different bridge height and a different sound.

Composers write below the range of the standard four strings, which has produced several solutions coexisting in modern orchestras. An extension fitted to the lowest string lengthens it, with either mechanical levers or capos allowing the player to stop the extended section, which preserves the tuning of the other strings. A fifth string tuned lower is fitted instead by many players, which requires a wider fingerboard and changes the instrument's response. Some players simply transpose the passage up an octave, which composers generally dislike. Orchestras frequently mix these within one section, so the lowest notes in a passage may be played by some players and not others, which changes the sound and is accepted as unavoidable.

Tuning in fourths rather than fifths, sloping shoulders, a flat back and sounding an octave below the written notes all distinguish the instrument, and they come from its descent from the viol family rather than from the violin family. Fourths keep the hand stretch manageable on a long string. Two bow grips coexist professionally, and the lowest written notes are handled by extensions, a fifth string or transposition.