bass

bass, in music, the lowest range of tones. The bass pitch encompasses deep, low-frequency sounds, generally between 16 Hz and 250 Hz, that provide harmonic foundation and rhythmic support in a musical piece. In polyphony of the sort that flourished during the Renaissance, the bass formed one of several relatively independent or contrapuntal melodies.

During the figured-bass era (17th and early 18th centuries), the thorough bass, or basso continuo, furnished a “base” for accompaniments played with relative freedom, though bound by certain conventions as well as shorthand instructions inserted in figures above the bass. In the homophonic, basically chordal, musical styles of the later 18th and 19th centuries, the bass was of crucial structural significance as the lowest of parts and, thus, the foundation of harmony.

In vocal music, the bass is the lowest male voice, with a typical range from E₂, the second E below C₄ (middle C), to E₄, just above C₄; some bass vocalists can sing slightly higher, to F♯₄. The basso profundo is low and rich, while the basso cantante (“singing bass”) is lighter and more lyrical. Among instruments, the lowest-pitched member of a family is referred to as the bass; examples include the bassoon, bass clarinet, and tuba. The lowest-pitched member of the violin family is the double bass.