Double bass
The double bass is the lowest and largest of the commonly used bowed string instruments. Its part is written in bass clef and sounds an octave lower than notated. In the sheet music archive it shares a staff with the cello in Mozart's “Kleine Nachtmusik”; in Dvořák it has a staff of its own.
- Meaning
- lowest and largest of the commonly used bowed string instruments
- Clef
- bass clef
- Sounds
- an octave lower than written
- Open strings
- E1 – A1 – D2 – G2 (Helmholtz notation: E₁, A₁, D, G), in fourths
- Word origin
- Italian contrabasso
The lowest bowed string instrument, transposed by an octave
The double bass is a bowed string instrument similar to the cello, but larger and tuned lower. It is written in bass clef and sounds an octave lower than notated; the same is true of the guitar and the contrabassoon. The cello, by contrast, is one of the bowed strings for which sound and notation correspond. The four strings are usually tuned in fourths, not in fifths like the other orchestral strings.
The four open strings (as they sound)
This is how the strings sound: E1, A1, D2, G2. From string to string there is a fourth each time (E–A, A–D, D–G).
The same strings as they are written in the part
In a double bass part the notes are written an octave higher than they sound. This line is for looking at: when played on the double bass, each of these notes sounds an octave lower, that is, like the line above.
Cello and double bass on one staff
A shared staff is played in octaves. The cello plays the upper line, the double bass the lower, an octave lower. The notes are an example of our own and are shown here as they sound.
The second line shows how the open strings look in the part, the third what a shared cello and double bass part means for the ear. In such shared lines double bassists and cellists play in octaves, the basses an octave below the cellos. Many symphonies by Mozart and Haydn are examples.
With an 8 or without
A small 8 under the bass clef points to the octave transposition. Depending on the edition, the 8 is either regarded as superfluous for the double bass or shown in some scores. In the sheet music archive you find both:
| Piece in the archive | Label of the staff | Clef and details |
|---|---|---|
| Eine kleine Nachtmusik, score (Mozart) | “Cello & Double Bass”, lowest of four staves | bass clef without 8, one ♯ |
| Eine kleine Nachtmusik, single part (Mozart) | “Cello & Double Bass” | bass clef without 8, “Allegro”, f in the first bar |
| Symphony No. 9, 2nd movement, score (Dvořák) | “Contrabass”, below “Cello” | bass clef with small 8, five flats, ppp, “con sordino” |
In the Dvořák score only the double bass has the 8, the cello above does not. What the 8 means in this edition is not stated on the sheet; in the literature the 8 is considered a possible way of marking the octave transposition for the double bass.
The double bass in the sheet music archive
Double bass and cello together
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Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Cello and double bass) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Serenade in G major, 1st movement, K. 525 according to the sheet · single part for cello and double bass · 2 pages
Above the first staff is “Cello & Double Bass”. Bass clef without 8, one ♯, time signature C, “Allegro”, f in the first bar. The part is a single staff for both instruments.
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Eine kleine Nachtmusik (score) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Serenade in G major, 1st movement, K. 525 according to the sheet · score with four staves · 4 pages
In the score “Cello & Double Bass” is the lowest of four staves, in bass clef; above it are Violin 1, Violin 2 and Viola. Cello and double bass do not have staves of their own.
A staff of its own for the double bass
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Symphony No. 9 in E minor, 2nd movement: Largo Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904), “From the New World” · score · 18 pages
On the first page the double bass is the lowest staff, “Contrabass”, directly below the “Cello”. Under the bass clef of its staff is a small 8, while the cello above has none. Five flats, time signature C, ppp and “con sordino”. It plays in bars 1 and 2 and on the first beat of bar 3, after which it rests.
Common mistakes
- Taking the written pitch for the sounding pitch: The double bass sounds an octave lower than the notes say.
- Treating the 8 as compulsory: It occurs, but is not binding.
- Equating cello and double bass: They share a staff, but sound in octaves.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
Bass clefBassGuitarPianoString instrumentOpen stringOctaveTranspositionScoreVoice / partCon sordinoArcoPizzicato
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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