.jpg)
| Part of a series on |
| Musical instruments |
|---|
Abass recorder is a wind instrument inF3 that belongs to the family ofrecorders.
The bass recorder plays anoctave lower than thealto or treble recorder. In the recorder family it stands in between thetenor recorder and Cgreat-bass (or quart-bass) recorder.
Due to the length of the instrument, the lowest tone, F, requires akey. On modern instruments, keys may also be provided for low F♯, G, and G♯, and sometimes for C and C♯ as well.
In the early 17th century,Michael Praetorius used the diminutive term "basset" (small bass) to describe this size of recorder as the lowest member of the "four-foot" consort, in which the instruments sound an octave higher than the corresponding human voices. Praetorius calls the next-lower instrument (bottom note B♭2) a "bass", and the instrument an octave lower than the basset (with bottom note F2) aGroßbaß, or "large bass".[1][2]
The bass is usually the lowest instrument of the recorderconsort, but it may be used as an alto in "eight-foot" register in the so-called "great consort" orgrand jeux, in which case two larger sizes of bass recorder take the lower parts and a tenor may be used as an optional descant.[3]
In the recording ofLed Zeppelin's song "Stairway to Heaven" that appears on theiruntitled fourth studio album,John Paul Jones played four overdubbed bass recorders.
ComposerLudwig Göransson employed a bass recorder for the opening melody of the TV seriesThe Mandalorian. The melody features prominently throughout the series.[4]
Footnotes
