The contrabass recorder is a wind instrument in
F2 that belongs to the family of
recorders.
The contrabass recorder plays an
octave
In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...
lower than the ordinary
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
(or "basset") recorder. Until recently, it was the largest instrument in the recorder family, but since 1975 has been exceeded by the
sub-great bass recorder (also called "contra-great bass" or simply "contrabass" recorder) in C
2 and the
sub-contrabass recorder in F
1.
Due to the length of the instrument, the lowest tone, F, requires a
key. On modern instruments, keys may also be provided for low F, G, and G, and sometimes for C and C as well.
Occasionally, this size of instrument may be equipped with so-called "diapason" keys, which extend its range downward by a perfect fourth to low C
2.
In the early 17th century,
Michael Praetorius
Michael Praetorius (probably 28 September 1571 – 15 February 1621) was a German composer, organist, and Music theory, music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of ...
used the diminutive term "basset" (small bass) to describe the recorder that served as the lowest member of the "
four-foot" consort, in which the instruments sound an octave higher than the corresponding human voices. Praetorius calls the next-lower instrument (bottom note B
2) a "bass", and the instrument an octave lower than the basset (with bottom note F
2) a ''Großbaß'', "great" or "large bass".
[; ]
Because Praetorius's term "great bass" today is often applied to the next-smaller size of instrument in C
3, the low-F bass is often designated "contrabass" by modern writers and instrument makers in a (largely futile) attempt to avoid confusion. However, the name "contrabass" is sometimes used for the next-larger size (in C
2), instead. The modern notation for this instrument is usually in the
bass clef
A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff. Placing a clef on a staff assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines or four spaces, whi ...
at sounding pitch, unlike most other sizes of recorders which are notated an octave lower than they sound.
File:Familie barokfluiten-1565119918 (cropped).jpg, Family of neo-baroque recorders, contrabass at left
File:Contrabasblokfluit.jpg, The only surviving medieval contrabass recorder, long. Vleeshuis Museum
The Vleeshuis (Butcher's Hall, or literally Meat House) in Antwerp, Belgium, is a former guildhall. It is now a museum located between the Drie Hespenstraat, the Repenstraat and the Vleeshouwersstraat. The slope where the Drie Hespenstraat meets ...
, Antwerp.
References
Works cited
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General references
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Baroque instruments
Early musical instruments
Internal fipple flutes
Recorders (musical instruments)
{{Recorder-stub