a stringed instrument, the largest and lowest member of the violin family. Range: almost three octaves upwards from E in the space between the fourth and fifth leger lines below the bass staff. It is normally bowed in classical music, but it is very common in a jazz or dance band, where it is practically always played pizzicato

of or relating to an instrument whose pitch lies below that regarded as the bass; contrabass

of or relating to an instrument whose pitch lies below that regarded as the bass