The Contrabass Tuned in Fifths: Towards an Understanding of Past and Present Applications.
Abstract
This dissertation examines the historical and contemporary practices of the contrabass tuned in fifths. Two descriptions of the tuning appear in the late eighteenth century: the three-string tuning, A2, D2, G1 (ADG), and its four-string counterpart, A2, D2, G1, C1 (ADGC). The ADG tuning was officially taught in the Conservatoire de Paris’s contrabass class from 1827 until 1832, when it was superseded by the four-string G2, D2, A1, E1 (GDAE) tuning in fourths for two major reasons: first, the additional whole-tone between open strings compelled contrabassists to shift more frequently; second the tuning’s limited depth (G1) forced contrabassists to use octave transposition more than their counterparts tuned in fourths. Both of these issues were impacted by the difficulty of making the thick strings speak under the bow at fast tempos.
The research suggests that the ADGC tuning was tried, but apparently abandoned; the limitations of string technology dictated that a viable C1 string would not be developed until the late nineteenth century. Despite these supposed disadvantages, the ADG tuning and its practitioners maintained a presence in Paris into the latter half of the nineteenth century. Evidence suggests that practitioners preferred the resonance of their instrument in fifths tuning despite the criticisms of the tuning that are found in the literature, including orchestration texts, tutors and the French press. I explore the veracity of these criticisms to understand how current practitioners overcame such issues. The renewed interest in fifths tuning, currently taking place, suggests that these limitations have been addressed. This dissertation examines the tuning from the perspectives of its use in nineteenth-century France, and today. I also include a discussion of the ADGC tuning and its relationship to Beethoven’s use of lower-compass pitches.
Contemporary perspectives offered by orchestral contrabassists shed light on how this tuning can be successfully integrated in the orchestra as an alternative to the more widely practised GDAE, in that the ADGC tuning gives the player not only the complete range to double the full range of the violoncello, but also the range to play material written for solo tuning F-sharp1, B1, E2, A2.