Contrabbasso

As Printed on a Score

Contrabbasso (also spelled Contrabasso; plural Contrabbassi or Contrabassi) labels the lowest string staff, shortened to Cb. or C.B. on later systems. In Classical scores the basses often share a staff with the cellos (Violoncello e Basso, or just Bassi); where the two divide, Vc. and Cb. are printed over the separate lines.

Abbreviations: Cb., C.B., Cb, Cbs.

Also spelled: Contrabbassi, Contrabasso, Contrabass, Contrabasses, Contrabassi

How Composers Use It

Written in bass clef an octave above sounding pitch: the open E, written on the first ledger line below the bass staff, sounds an octave lower, and a fifth string or C extension reaches lower still. In Classical scores the basses read the cello line and double it an octave down, which is why one staff could serve both. Treat it as the foundation rather than a melody, keep fast low passages simple, and remember that a bass pizzicato rings long enough to anchor a soft texture alone.

Example

Dvořák, Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”), second movement (Largo), double-bass part, m. 105: “2 Contrabassi” at pp — only two players left on the bass line as the Largo’s strings thin to a few desks.

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