Double Bass
Authority: Equal Temperament Pitch Frequency Table
Standard orchestral double bass tuning uses four strings tuned in perfect fourths -- not fifths like the rest of the violin family -- low to high: E1, A1, D2, and G2. At A440 concert pitch these correspond to 41.20 Hz, 55.00 Hz, 73.42 Hz, and 98.00 Hz.
| String # | Note Name | Scientific Pitch | Frequency (Hz) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 (Thickest) | E | E1 | 41.20 Hz |
| 3 | A | A1 | 55.00 Hz |
| 2 | D | D2 | 73.42 Hz |
| 1 (Thinnest) | G | G2 | 98.00 Hz |
The Odd One Out: Fourths, Not Fifths
Violin, viola, and cello are all tuned in perfect fifths -- G3-D4-A4-E5, C3-G3-D4-A4, and C2-G2-D3-A3 respectively -- but the double bass breaks that pattern, tuned instead in fourths: E1-A1-D2-G2. It is the only modern bowed string instrument tuned this way, a trait it shares with fretted instruments like the guitar and bass guitar rather than with its orchestral neighbors.
That difference is tied to an unresolved question about where the double bass actually comes from. Its more sharply sloped shoulders and fourths tuning echo the older viol family, leading many to treat it as the viol section's holdover in the modern orchestra. Other scholars counter that its internal construction is nearly identical to the violin family's, arguing it belongs there instead -- a debate that instrument scholarship still hasn't fully settled.
Reaching Below E1
E1 is the lowest note on a standard four-string bass, but a meaningful share of orchestral repertoire calls for notes below it. Most professional orchestral bassists solve this with a C extension: a mechanical attachment on the fingerboard that lengthens the low string's vibrating length, adding four semitones of downward range and letting the string reach down to C1. Several major European orchestras instead use five-string basses, adding a genuine low string rather than mechanically extending the fourth -- a rarer, but functionally similar, way of covering the same low notes.