The term "bass violin" is the modern name for large string instruments from the 16th and 17th centuries that belong to the violin family, such as the viola da braccio. These instruments were the direct ancestors of the modern cello. Bass violins were usually larger than the modern cello but were often tuned to the same musical notes or sometimes one note lower. Other names used for these instruments during their time included "basso de viola da braccio," "basso da braccio," or "violone," which simply meant "large fiddle."

These instruments differed from the violone of the viol family (also called the "viola da gamba") because they had three or four strings (instead of five, six, or seven), were tuned in fifths, and did not have frets. They also had F-holes and stylized C-bouts, which made them look more like the viola da braccio.

The term "bass violin" is sometimes used to describe the double bass. Historians have also occasionally used the term to refer to other large instruments in the violin family, such as the tenor violin, which is larger than the alto violin or viola. In this context, "bass violin" may be used interchangeably with "harmony violin."

After the 1950s, the term "bass violin" sometimes referred to a bass instrument in the violin octet.

History and development

The bass violin was created in Italy during the first half of the 1500s to be played with the violin and viola. The first person who may have built it was Andrea Amati, as early as 1538. The first known mention of the instrument was likely made by Jambe de Fer in his book Epitome Musical in 1556. One of the earliest times a composer specifically called for the bass violin ("basso da brazzo") was in Monteverdi’s Orfeo (1607). Earlier, Giovanni Gabrieli may have done so in Sacrae symphoniae (1597).

The viol, or viola da gamba, was brought to Italy from Spain around 1490. Before this, no bowed instruments existed in the region. The viol da gamba was held between the legs, like a cello, rather than under the chin like a violin. It was much larger than other Italian fiddles, allowing it to play lower notes. Early Italian viols, often called "violoni," began to take features from the violin, such as separate tail pieces and arched bridges that let players sound one string at a time. Although some paintings and writings suggest the bass violin had alternate playing positions, these were not widely used. The more practical a gamba position eventually became standard. Italian violin makers likely adopted the C-bout from the viols and made it more decorative. Around the early to mid-1500s, an Italian maker (possibly Amati) worked to create a violone that closely matched the violin in appearance, tuning, and number of strings. This change likely happened gradually, as seen in artwork from the time, such as Gaudenzio Ferrari’s Glory of Angels (c. 1535), which shows bass violins with visible frets. Once the instrument’s design was clear, theorists and composers called it the "basso da viola da braccio," marking it as the first true bass violin.

In the late 1600s, northern Italy saw changes to the bass violin that led to the modern violoncello. These changes included making the instrument slightly smaller and tuning it higher (C2–G2–D3–A3). Michael Praetorius had already described this tuning in his Syntagma Musicum (c. 1619). Innovations may have started in Bologna, made possible by new strings made of gut wrapped with metal. The violoncello’s design was finalized by the famous luthier Antonio Stradivari around 1700. Many bass violins were shortened to become cellos. The new, smaller instrument was named "violoncello," a variation of "violone," meaning "small large viola." In England, the bass violin remained the more commonly used instrument until around 1740, when the violoncello was still rare.