Bull Guitar History

Nicknamed the “Bull fiddle”, the bass is one of a handful of instruments that played a significant role in the development of music during the 20th century. The bass gained much of its momentum as the popularity of the New Orleans brass and jazz bands was spreading throughout the US, and it eventually took on such an essential role that it was forced to evolve. The new bass players were slowly transitioning the bass from accompaniment to a solo instrument. As it moved from the background to the foreground musicians began experimenting with new techniques while expanding the range of the instrument. The new demands from musicians on the instrument could no longer be met by the once mighty Double Bass. The need for a compact, louder, and more …show more content…
The earliest versions of the stringed bass varied greatly in shape, size, tuning, playing techniques, and number of strings. Most of these issues were not agreed upon until early in the 20th century and some still persist today. Exploring the history of the bass we’ll discover how a simple hunting bow transitioned into the realm of music and spawned a new style of instrument that would eventually produce the modern day bass. We’ll examine the significant moments in the history of the bass to discuss topics such as: The emergence of string instruments, the rise of the viol family and its connections to the double bass, improvements in the construction of the instrument and the new techniques arising from those changes, the composers and musicians who drove the innovations of the instrument, and the developing role of the bass in various ensembles and musical …show more content…
Like the bass and cello of today, violas da gamba were played downward, supported at the knees or the ankles: the term “da gamba” meaning “played at the leg”. Early viols had a varied number of strings, usually five or six, and were constructed with a basic fiddle outline: sloping shoulders, deep ribs, and functional bouts that provided clearance for the bow. Their bellies were gently arched with C shaped sound holes and the flat backs sloped in toward the neck (Fig 2). The thick, round neck contained tuning pegs, and was fitted with 7 to 8 frets that were made of stretched gut. The frets were arranged in semitone intervals and could be adjusted, creating tonal stability and enabling a greater variety of positions and postures from the left hand. The use of frets created an effect similar to that of an open string which enhanced the instruments resonance capabilities. ”Because of the lightness of its body construction and relatively low tension of its strings, the viol was an extremely resonant instrument and readily responded to the slightest stroke of the