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Discussion Forum - Instruments - Thread
Fiddlegal
Nickie McNichols

Why is it called that?

March 6, 2026, 1:18 PM · There’s a question that has puzzled me for years.
No one around where I live seems to know.
Not even bass players!
Why is a bass fiddle called a “double bass”?
What’s double about it?

Replies (7)

jakieboyy
Jake Watson
March 6, 2026, 2:06 PM · I assume it's because in it's early days it would 'double' the bassline
VCalegon
Andrew Fryer
Edited: March 6, 2026, 2:15 PM · Mebbe cos before 1700 the cello was little more than a bass accompaniment?
Jacqueline du Pre's early dark brown Strad reflected this. Only the later Davidoff was really capable of melody.
Plus what Jake sed.
sgfb
scott bailey
March 6, 2026, 2:16 PM · My understanding is that it's called the double bass because its range goes about an octave below the bass vocal range.
Fiddlegal
Nickie McNichols
March 6, 2026, 2:32 PM · I suspected it had something to do with octaves…..or with the fact that it is plucked or bowed, having a double function.
It doesn’t LOOK like anything double. Just BIG.
cottonmather
Cotton Mather
March 6, 2026, 2:42 PM · When the double bass was invented, it played the cello part ("bassi") an octave down. Doubling the bass.
WillWilkin
Will Wilkin
March 6, 2026, 6:07 PM · I think it's because the cello is the bass.
WillWilkin
Will Wilkin
March 6, 2026, 6:10 PM · I play a bass viol, bottom note D is one step higher than cello bottom note C. In the viol family, there is also a violone, which is much larger and tuned a fifth or an octave lower than the bass viol. All of that reminds me of the relationship between the cello and the double bass.