St John's C of E Primary School
"Use your God-given gifts to serve others." 1 Peter 4: 10
Double Bass - Saint-Saens 22.11.21
Double bass
The Double bass is a large stringed instrument. Other names it is called include the contrabass and upright bass. It is used in orchestras, jazz bands, and some country music bands. It plays low-pitched musical notes in musical ensembles and bands. In jazz bands, these low-pitched musical notes are called the "bass line." The double bass looks like smaller instruments like the violin, viola, and cello.
We have looked at ‘Carnival of the Animals’ by Camille Saint-Saëns before. Here is the movement number 5 for piano and double bass called L'Éléphant (The Elephant). It is written in a waltz style (which has a metre of 3) and the composer has chosen the lowest and heaviest sounding instrument in the orchestra to play the melody.
Also take a listen to the bass section of the Chicago Symphony orchestra playing together in an ensemble. This is not written by Saint-Saëns but is another musical arrangement for a famous animal... the Pink Panther!