Will they hate me?

If you were a double bassist and I write a piece in which the double-basses' E string is detuned to the point that they nearly fall off, what reaction could I expect to get from the section?

HAHAHAHA.

Well, being in 2 orchestras and hearing how much Double bassists complain about not getting a big enough part in the orchestra, they might actually like it. (Assuming ofcourse you do something special with the section because of this). I hope you do know tha you will get like 0 sound from the instrument's E string by doing this. Evenly when correctly tuned the Double bass doesn't produce as much sound simply because of the low tones it emits. Having its lowest tuned string..flattened almost to the point it's going to fall of won't do much to help this problem, lolz.

What do you plan on doing with the section anyway by doing this?

Why not just take the string off altogether and USE IT AS A WHIP!?!?$?!?$=)GEUWA)TYUAW

Whomp on it with one hand while the other hand "glissandos" up and down the frettin' place. Glissando isn't a good word though, sounds too elegant.

yes they will

yes, they'll hate you... even if they love the piece and the effect you want, they'll have to re-tune the damned thing afterwards.

Isn't there a better way to get what you want? Have the percussionists rig up something! They live for that crap.

When you detune one string that much on any stringed instrument, it affects the whole balance...the other strings become difficult to keep tune, the tremendous pressure is no longer evenly distributed across the bridge, etc. It's a senseless thing to do to a fine instrument and to a player just for an effect. Some players spend a fortune on their instruments...myself included. If someone asked me to do that to my viola, I'd tell them where to stick it, quite frankly.

I never have seen the point of using any instrument in any manner but that for which it was designed. There are plenty of other ways to make noise.

I think you can come up with a better way of explaining to us the purpose of this than "whomp on it".

Hate? No, probably think you're a complete moron for wasting their time asking them to do it though.

I think it's been mentionned, and probably overlooked, but... detuning the string until it "almost falls off" you may as well ask the double bass players to "whomp" on their seats.

A detuned string with no tension in it creates no sound.

Try strumming an elastic without first stretching it a bit. Same principle.

Yeah you'll only hear a little rattling noise, if that. It might be louder with pizzicato.

What about dropping the string down a few notes? I haven't done this but I might have to at some point. What I have done though, is specified that the double basses all have that low 'C' string, for range purposes. They're probably gonna hate me for that, if it ever sees the light of day.

i think the double bass players' lives are hard enough. lol.

But they aren't just beating the string, they're also raising the pitch gradually with the other hand.

But they aren't just beating the string, they're also raising the pitch gradually with the other hand.

the thing is, releasing the tension on the string as you described means that you can't DO anything about the pitch. you can't "raise the pitch" other than by re-tensioning the string. there's no physical movement the left hand can do that will affect the pitch of a string once it has been released to the point you are asking.

why don't you look at some electronic alternatives to get the effect you are looking for, instead?

Someone said try to find another means to make it by abusing the percussionists' resourcefulness! I like that, hahaha. But electronic could also work, hm.

Or you can record just ONE contrabass doing this, and then play it back amplified, that way you only make one contrabass angry, not the entire section.

If you are "whomping" on this loose string, you'll get more of the sound of the hand whomping than the string actually vibrating. Have you actually TRIED this on a bass or have somebody demonstrate it for you? I would suggest you do that, you'll most likely find that it isn't exactly an effective technique. Whereas it might be only slightly audible on higher instruments, on a bass... it will be so low that it will become impossible in a concert setting without amplification. And yes, they WILL hate you for having them retune their instruments. Scordatura can be effective... such as retuning the E string of a violin down to Eb so that the tone colour changes considerably, but this difference isn't pronounced in the contrabass and since that doesn't work and this loosening of the string completely that you describe wouldn't be very audible, I would suggest looking into either percussion effects, or trying something else entirely.

Someone said try to find another means to make it by abusing the percussionists' resourcefulness! I like that, hahaha. But electronic could also work, hm.

Or you can record just ONE contrabass doing this, and then play it back amplified, that way you only make one contrabass angry, not the entire section.

Like the last chair.

"Practice harder next time, scallop."

Haha.

mission half-impossible for bassists!

I've done similar things when playing with my band ( shameless self-plug for a band that doesn't even exist anymore) - a string broke, and i "whomped" on it for about 6 minutes, usin the slackness to get microtones and whatnot... course then i had the unenviable pleasure of restringing it during the show...

Whether they'll hate you depends on many factors:

- Is it an ensemble that specialises in contemporary music or players in a traditional orchestra? The first are usually open for doing lots of crazy stuff, the latter very rarely so.

- Is your piece included in a concert program with other pieces, or not? In the first case, retuning a string is problematic, since it won't keep its tune well after having been detuned. Generally, performers will take two different instruments for such a concert, but we're speaking of double-basses here, and even if they have a second one, they won't like having to carry along two of them.

- Most importantly: Did you speak with them before writing it? If you talk with performers, be polite and be ready to change your piece to something they can live with, they tend to be much more willing to work with you and do some crazy stuff than if you just write it, give them their parts and just expect them to play it. The more crazy stuff you want, the more important it is to actually get in contact with the performers directly.

As for tuning strings very low: In "nomos alpha" by Iannis Xenakis for solo cello, the C string is tuned a full octave down in the middle of the piece. It still gives a sound, but of course not your usual full cello sound, but it works nicely. The whole piece is extremely challenging though (it's probably one of the hardest pieces of solo cello literature) and it's generally only played by people who are very used to contemporary music. (It was written for Siegfried Palm.)

It is important in any case to keep in mind that after such a tuning action you can't expect the instrument staying in a steady tuning anymore. So either you use this until the end, or just live with a tuning that doesn't stay steady, or have them bring two instruments (but as I said, double-bassists certainly won't love that). Also keep in mind that retuning one string so extremely will not only affect this string, but the others as well, since the general tension on the instrument changes.

What I have done though, is specified that the double basses all have that low 'C' string, for range purposes. They're probably gonna hate me for that, if it ever sees the light of day.

Nah, they won't hate you for that. It's rather common. Not even to mention that these days it has become rather usual for bassists to play on five-string double-basses that also have a C string below the E string.

You can tune their C extension down to B, what's the point of going any lower?

Actually, a C-extension is only somewhat common in professional orchestras. Likewise, a five string bass would only be seen in professional situation as well. If you're writing a piece just to muck about with strings, placing these restrictions on it is going to guarantee that it most likely won't get played.