Struggles of Being a Double Bassist

By Bryce Wilson

Arizona

Note to reader: these are all somewhat exaggerations.

1. Counting rests instead of playing for the majority of a concert.

2. Our solo repertoire consisting mostly of pieces written for other instruments.

3. Stuck being the composer’s afterthought and playing the boring accompanying part

4. Constantly dealing with comments about the size of the instrument and how far apart I stretch my fingers.

5. Having to heave a 50-pound 6-foot tall hunk of wood around a concert hall.

In all seriousness, I love playing the bass. While there is some level of truth to these “struggles,” the enjoyment I get out of playing outweighs them all. Even though I’m often stuck counting long sections of rest and playing uneventful accompanying parts, I recognize and appreciate that without the bass part, the orchestra would not be complete. And, at the very least, the extra time during rehearsals has greatly expanded my knowledge of what Netflix has to offer (I’m only half-joking).

Double bass solo repertoire is something really interesting to me: some of the most iconic and widely played solos are transcriptions of pieces originally written for other instruments. Eccles Sonata in g minor is perhaps one of the most well-known solos played on double bass. This piece was originally written for violin but now the top google search result is a video of a bassist performing it. The deep and distinctive timbre makes some pieces that were originally not intended for the bass still sound amazing.

The double bass is massive and it is usually pretty exhausting to carry around and a hassle to transport. However, the low bassy tones that complete an orchestra and add depth to so many solos are only made possible because of its size. Most instruments have some downsides and struggles, but there are so many fun and interesting things to discover. Take tuning as another example. Tuning probably seems like one of the more boring tasks a string player has to go through, but tuning for bass players brings to mind the number of possibilities for tuning systems and string choices. Depending on the piece or environment, a bassist can play in orchestral tuning (thicker strings tuned to E A D G), solo tuning (thinner strings tuned to F# B E A), Viennese tuning (A D F# A), and having a four, five, or even six-string bass. I encourage you all to take a closer look at what makes it fun and interesting to play your instrument.