The Bass-violin
    a) Second Bass
    b) Big Bass-violin
    c) Large Bass-violin
    d) Octava Bass-violin
    e) Double Bass and Contrabass
The Violone
    a) Violone as (Ordinary) Bass-violin -Violone da Brazzo -Viola
    b) Violone as Large (or Double) Bass-violin
The German Exception
The Rabecaõ

3 - Historical Development

Genesis of the Double Bass
Demise of the Low-pitched Viols
Practical Conclusions
Pervading Italian Influence
Surging Demand for the Double Bass
Double Bass at the Harpsichord
Small Choir and Great Choir
« Pièces à Grand Orchestre »
Difficulties of Regulating the Orchestra
Popularization of the Double Bass in France
The Double Bass in Liturgical Music
Composition of the Orchestra. Ratio of Cellos to Double Basses
Disposition of Forces in the 19^th Century Orchestra
Positioning of the Double Basses

4 - Variations in Playing Standards

Baroque Performance Practice
The Playing of Ornaments
Gradual Decline of the Practice of Improvisation
The School of Simplifiers
Importance of Writing a Specific, Adapted Double Bass Part
On the Difficulty of Recognizing Passing Notes
An Instrument that does not Inspire Trust
Gruelling Demands
Use of Gloves
Fisticuffs
A Fisticuffs Lesson
Establishment of Music Schools
Meeting the Demands
The Double Bass Renaissance
Training Programs for the Young
Double Bass Repertoire:
1) Pieces Written by Double Bassists for their Own Instrument
2) Transcriptions
3) Solo Works by Established Composers Specifically Written for the Double Bass
4) Original Works for the Double Bass in Combination with Various Instruments

5- The Golden Age of Virtuosity

6 - A Survey of Tunings

I - Orchestral Tunings.
    The Tuning C G d a
    The Tuning E A d g
    Co-existence of the Tunings C G d a and E A d g
    Scordatura of the Bottom String to Higher Pitches
    Shedding of the Fourth String
    The German Exception
    National Tunings
    Polemics
    The Italian Scordatura
    Re-Introduction of the Four-string Double Bass
        A - In France
        B - In Italy
        C - In Spain
        D - In England
    Mixed Double Bass Sections
    Limitations of the E String
    Re-Introduction of the 16' Octave
    Re-introduction of the System of tuning in Fifths
    Scordatura of the Bottom String to Lower Pitches
    Tuning of the Double Bass a Fourth Lower
    Introduction of the Five-string Orchestral Double Bass
    Contra C Extension Approaches
II - Solo Tunings
Solo Scordaturas

7 - Variations in Size

Laws of Stretched Strings
Giant Instruments
    a) Giant Contrabass Viols
    b) Other Giant Contrabasses
Chamber (Double) Basses,
    a) High Solo Basses
    b) Basses for the Young,
Conclusion

8 - The Bow

Introduction
Variations in Weight and Length
Bow Strokes
Bow Battles
Introduction of the Dragonetti Bow in Dresden
Modern Reservations Concerning the Dragonetti bow
Re-Introduction of the Overhand Bow in Italy and England
French Bow; German Bow
Bow Holds
a) Overhand Holds
b) Underhand Holds

9 - Strings and Accessories

Strings
Tuning Aids
Frets
Keyboard Mechanisms
Detachable Necks
Improvements to the Bridge
Extended Saddle
Endpin

10 - Biographical Notices

Luigi Anglois
Giovanni Bottesini
Pierre Chenié
Antonio Dall'Occa
Domenico Dragonetti
J.G. Eisold
Achille Gouffé
Wenzel Hause
Johann Hindle
Joseph Kämpfer
Serge Koussevitzky
Michel Pignolet de Montéclair
August Müller
Friedrich Pischelberger
Johann Matthias Sperger
Ignaz Woschitka
Jan Dismas Zelenka

Appendix: The Octobass, Past and Present

Bibliography of Works Cited in This Book
Notes on Sources
List of Plates
List of Figures
Index of Names

Contents