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Hi all, I am currently transcribing a piano piece for orchestra (just for fun, I'm not Liszt or anything) with a lot of low notes in it. I know that a 5-stringed double bass can reach the low C, but I need something that is loud and can go as low as the lowest A on the piano. I know some harps can, but I'm not happy with the sound of that (the low notes in the piece I'm transcribing are loud and staccato, not like how a harp sounds).

If anybody could help me, it'd be of great use!

The double bass C string can occasionally be tuned down to the low B, but I haven't heard of double bass scordatura that goes any lower – and usually such “tricks” are restricted to a single player, rather than the expectation that an entire section of double basses have five strings and all of them can play down there.

Bassoonists occasionally play with a tube to extend below their low B flat to A and even as far as G, so I would expect the same trick could be employed on a contrabassoon. However the tube has to be inserted and removed from the bell before and after the low A is played, which results in downtime, so like the scordatura for the double bass it’s more of a special trick than a practical performance option.

The lowest pedal note on the (obsolete) E flat bass trombone would be a low A; some modern bass trombones with multiple valves can tune down that far, or else go for the lowest contrabass tuba found in brass bands.

Loud staccato notes in that range are not usually practical for many instruments.

Have you thought of 32 foot organ stops?

Cheers, PML

What if you included an orchestral piano playing a limited number of notes? If the low A works best for that instrument, then maybe it shouldn't be changed if the result would only be inferior. Failing that, perhaps you could fake it through simultaneous use of timpani, bass drum, contrabassoon, tuba, and/or contrabasses in their normal range (i.e., an octave higher for the pitched instruments) - no, it wouldn't be the coveted pitch, but it would still be an extremely deep sound that would be easier to play loudly.

If you want a really firm deep sound, without too many higher harmonics I'm afraid only a pipe organ with suitable pedal stops will do. In this range it really doesn't matter if the organ is real or electronic or even an organ. A synthesizer will work just as well but you'll need a really good sound system. Also, because of the low fundamental frequency involved (low A is around 27.5 Hz) if you want firmness at that particular frequency the note cannot be an extremely short staccato on a real (non-synthesizer) instrument. The reason you think a piano can do it is because you aren't getting much fundamental out of that key, whose output is dominated by higher harmonics. It is in fact difficult to hear specific pitches at this low frequency, so a good trick would be to use a mf whack, rapidly damped, on a bass drum together with your pitched instruments. Stravinsky does precisely this with the opening of his Symphony of Psalms. The spacing of the opening E minor chord there is also fascinating and can offer hints as to your orchestration. He obtains an unambiguous , extremely staccato e-minor chord together with an (illusory) impression that it extends to a very low pitch by using the bass drum as a substitute for, say, a low E on the double basses.

--Sixtus

The modern contrabass trombone can very comfortably reach that note at all dynamics. It would take a little preparation (seeing as it is at the lowest extreme of the range), but it is playable. Only a few weeks ago, I had to play the B above that on the contrabass trombone in a new piece, so it is worth considering.

Just curious, which piece are you transcribing?

A loud 32' pedal stop on a pipe organ would probably be your best choice. If no pipe organ is available, then a contrabassoon can be fitted with an extension that allows it to go down to the uber-low A, but the B-flat immediately above it would become unavailable. If you want to be really funky, there are some pretty awkward contrabass wind instruments out there - see http://www.contrabass.com for more information. Unless it is for whatever reason impossible to do this, I would highly recommend simply taking it up an octave. A lot of instruments can play the A an octave above that.

There are contrabassoons with a regulary low A, we have such an instrument made by Adler. Notenschreiber