Double Bass

As Printed on a Score

Labels the bass staff — Double Bass, or Double Basses or Basses for the section; D.B. or Cb. on later systems — at the bottom of the strings. Parts are written in bass clef an octave above the sounding pitch; tenor and treble clef appear for high passages, still sounding an octave lower.

Abbreviations: D.B., Db.

Also spelled: Doublebass, Double basses

How Composers Use It

The orchestra’s foundation, sounding an octave below written. A four-string bass reaches the E written below the bass staff (sounding E1); many orchestral basses have a C extension, but say so if you write below E. Pizzicato basses carry well and define the harmony cheaply; bowed, the instrument needs time to speak, so fast passagework sounds muddy unless the cellos double it.

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