Perspectives - What Exactly is a Violone?

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4 жыл бұрын

The modern double bass (or contrabass) has a long history reaching back into the Renaissance, when it was known as a violone or bass viol. Heather Miller Lardin takes a few minutes to show four violone from her collection, including instruments suitable for Bach, Haydn, and Schubert.

Пікірлер: 47

@shkyrbty 6 ай бұрын

Wow! Thank you for this tour of our ancestral bass instruments. Forty years ago there was almost no credible English language (written) research about the double bass and its history. This explanation, with instruments and literature, makes the history much more clear--and fascinating!

@bobjacobson858 4 ай бұрын

This was very interesting, but I wish you also had played each instrument solo so we could hear its distinct sound better.

@uhoh007 Жыл бұрын

More please....a very inspiring presentation.

@jjsixstring 8 ай бұрын

Awesome! Thank you!

@mrcuttime22 3 жыл бұрын

Brava Heather! Consorts a 6 are the bomb. Every town should have one!

@shin-i-chikozima 4 ай бұрын

This is absolutely amazing

@KarlKarsnark 4 ай бұрын

I love the maple fingerboard. I don't know why it isn't used more often in classical instruments. We use them all the time in the guitar world. I actually prefer the look and feel of them to ebony, as well.

@woutmoerman711 4 ай бұрын

Without frets the fingerboard would wear to quickly from the strings, especially if the strings are metal wound.

@chrisrahner4067 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this explanatory video, but it would be vastly improved if you played the instruments you're actually holding and showing so we hear them solo rather than, with difficulty, trying to hear them 'in the mix' of a live orchestra. 🙁 C.

@cisumevolneblok 3 жыл бұрын

my thoughts!

@alansturgess1324 3 жыл бұрын

Exactly what I thought as I watched. A sound is worth a thousand words.

@musicatlas9 Жыл бұрын

Maybe my recordings on these instruments could help to get an idea about them? kzfaq.info/sun/PLVLbO09fOoszNliaGBx4wcLoZ7q760lJb

@JJ_TheGreat 5 ай бұрын

💯 % Agreed 👍 I was thinking the exact same thing as I was watching this video.

@user-xu6wh3dl7u 4 ай бұрын

Me too 😢

@MusicoftheSpheres 3 жыл бұрын

A splendid video - links to performances please!

@musicatlas9 Жыл бұрын

Could be helpful: kzfaq.info/sun/PLVLbO09fOoszNliaGBx4wcLoZ7q760lJb

@JJ_TheGreat 5 ай бұрын

Also, could you please explain the significance of the C-holes, as opposed to the F-holes we know today from the violin family? Do the Cs contribute tonal differences, as opposed to the Fs - and why don't we see instruments with C-holes anymore?... What made the violin 🎻 and the cello such popular instruments (but not the viola)? Thanks.

@woutmoerman711 4 ай бұрын

5:40 there is a mention about the "flame" holes, in which she says it doesn't influence the sound. As far as I know c or f shapes don't influence the sound either.

@JJ_TheGreat 5 ай бұрын

4:18 Is that where the running for the lute and eventually the guitar came from? Thanks.

@rjlchristie Жыл бұрын

I'm curious to know why you changed the fingerboard of the instrument still in white from the ebony (?) to the maple (?) on the violone that you were assessing?

@thebadcellist 2 ай бұрын

Wonderful, but how are the strings tuned? Can you play it so that we can hear how it sounds?

@willb3698 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, but "describing" the sound? iIt would be a gorgeous amendment If we could hear even a couple of seconds of the Violin, the orchestral / chamber parts cover this unique instrument too much to get an idea.

@musicatlas9 Жыл бұрын

Maybe this could help? kzfaq.info/sun/PLVLbO09fOoszNliaGBx4wcLoZ7q760lJb

@JJ_TheGreat 5 ай бұрын

5:57 And what makes the cello we know today "more versatile"? Thanks.

@jasonstell1227 5 ай бұрын

[from Heather:] Re tuning, I think it's more likely that plucked string tunings developed first or else simultaneously. I don't really know the definitive answer, and I'm not sure anyone does. And the cello is more versatile because it's smaller and therefore easier to play, its strings are thinner and speak more readily, and its range is more compatible with the human voice, among other things.

@RockStarOscarStern634 3 жыл бұрын

5:17 A Sub-Bass Viol. The D Violone is Contrabass, while the G Violone is Sub-Bass.

@MrBenjairo 3 жыл бұрын

Please play

@VodkaSelekta 3 жыл бұрын

No playing allowed

@RockStarOscarStern634 3 жыл бұрын

It's a type of Double Bass with frets, cool tool. For me as a Multi-Instrumentalist I'd go with 5ths Tuning (C, G, D, A plus a High E on the 5 String Version via Pirastro Obbligato 5ths Tuned Double Bass Strings plus an Obbligato High E Solo String).

@RockStarOscarStern634 3 жыл бұрын

I prefer Fifths tuning because the intonation is alot better, & also the resonance starts to increase.

@seamus9305 3 жыл бұрын

Quite nice. Why are the basses fretted only half way?

@heathermillerlardin8173 3 жыл бұрын

Great question! These basses are fretted in the area where they are played the most - in the best range of the instrument. The frets stop at the neck block, at which point it would be probably be very challenging if not impossible to tie them. (They're made of gut string and can move around.) Some violists da gamba do occasionally tie an extra fret on the upper part of the fingerboard, beyond the neck block, for certain repertoires. I've not seen that done on double bass. BUT you do see modern bassists who use inlaid dots on the fingerboard to aid intonation. The virtuoso soloist Edgar Meyer has popularized this trend, which makes all kinds of sense given the amount of real estate we have to cover!

@patrickjobling8676 Жыл бұрын

Krikeys ...i didnt know that ..but now i do ..thankyou ..😁pip pips

@HenryLeslieGraham Жыл бұрын

only 4 strings??? hmmm missing at least one or two

@musicatlas9 Жыл бұрын

i saw 4 then 5 and 7 and 6....

@danyelnicholas 2 жыл бұрын

Why are you not letting us hear the instruments? Just showing them one after the other is quite tantalising!

@jasonstell1227 2 жыл бұрын

We think they are better heard in context, so you can hear Heather playing them in various related performance videos. Use this link to see the whole set: www.stauntonmusicfestival.org/perspectives-instruments

@musicatlas9 Жыл бұрын

Hopefully this can help to listen each one of these (besides the Viennese tuning): kzfaq.info/sun/PLVLbO09fOoszNliaGBx4wcLoZ7q760lJb

@RockStarOscarStern634 3 жыл бұрын

1:55 My favorite Bass & for me I'd prefer Fifths Tuning (C, G, D, A, E via Obbligato 5ths Tuned Double Bass Strings including a High E Solo String) because the Bass will have better intonation this way.

@willb3698 3 жыл бұрын

you mean Vienese Tuning lol. Exudora! The Strings I have never afforded!

@RockStarOscarStern634 3 жыл бұрын

@@willb3698 Obbligato Strings are Nylon wound in Metal & they're designed as an alternative to Gut Strings. It has Frets like a Guitar which makes finding the notes easier, big plus. This is the only fretted Double Bass I've seen.

@RockStarOscarStern634 3 жыл бұрын

@@willb3698 I prefer to tune this type of Bass in 5ths like a 5 String Violin down 2 Octaves (Obbligato 5ths Tuned Strings plus a High E Solo String) if I had it becuse I find it broadens the range. Obbligato Strings are fairly affordable & the advantage of those is that they hold up better, plus they feel smoother.

@RockStarOscarStern634 3 жыл бұрын

@@willb3698 The thing I like about this Bass is that it has Frets (like an Electric Bass) which facilitate playing in tune. I think it's the basic idea of where an Electric Bass came from.

@FredtheDorfDorfman1985 3 жыл бұрын

Yea, Arturo Toscanini sure loved those “wooden carts,” excuse me, double basses. Especially that one particular wooden cart, and its late player, the first one, the one with no ears, no eyes... “HEEEYYYY!!!!!! Hey contrabassi, follow me! Corta noti, short notes! Short notes, short notes! You, you, you, you! The first bass, you’re always late! You have no ears, no eyes, nothing at all!” It must have been hard to be serious when Arturo was so angry, in mid conniption, that he broke out into Italglish. He’d get so mad he couldn’t think of the English words fast enough to annihilate someone with, so they got a blended serving of verbal ass whoop. 😉

@jorgekutev9067 2 жыл бұрын

Toscanini era gran director pero no tomaba en cuenta: 1. "Contrabassi" tienen cuerpo grande del instrumento, mientras cuerpo más grande, más lenta la respuesta. 2. Los sonidos graves tardan de percibirse porque generan un eco profundo en la sala, lo que significa que aunque toques a tiempo el sonido resultante va a demorar, porque lo que escuchamos es más eco que sonido propio. De la misma manera como los organistas tienen que tocar el pedal de manera anticipada para que se escuche normal (si el teclado se encuentra debajo del instrumento).