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Phoenix, Arizona Added By Aaron Netsky Share Tweet Email Button Been Here Button Want to go Button Added to list [MjQpLmpwZw] The Octobass at the Musical Instrument Museum Andrew Russeth/CC BY SA 2.0 [Zw] Nearly 12 feet tall Frank Kovalchek/CC BY SA 2.0 [X28uanBn] For scale (this one is in Paris) gillicious/CC BY SA 2.0 [MTA0NTE4Lm] gardnermcelroy / Atlas Obscura User CAPTION [MjQpLmpwZw] The Octobass at the Musical Instrument Museum Andrew Russeth/CC BY SA 2.0 [Zw] Nearly 12 feet tall Frank Kovalchek/CC BY SA 2.0 [X28uanBn] For scale (this one is in Paris) gillicious/CC BY SA 2.0 [MTA0NTE4Lm] gardnermcelroy / Atlas Obscura User [MjQpLmpwZw] [Zw] [X28uanBn] [MTA0NTE4Lm] Button Been Here Button Want to go Button Added to list About Composers and orchestras like to use their lowest instruments sparingly, for maximum impact. Few instruments go lower and are used more sparingly than the huge and strange octobass, one of the rarest classic instruments in existence. Invented in 1850 by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, the octobass was intended to bring an extremely deep rumble to the orchestra sound. The three-stringed instrument stands between 11 and 12 feet tall, about twice the height of a double bass. This giant bass produces sound so low, some of the notes fall outside the range of human hearing--these vibrations can only be felt. The rare instrument is almost too large to play. The strings are too big to press with your fingers, so fretting them requires operating pedals and levers that control capo-like mechanisms to press down the strings. In fact, the octobass originally required two people to play: one on the bow (which, though shorter that the bow of a double bass, is extra heavy) and one working the lever system. Vuillaume originally built three octobasses, two of which are still around. Including contemporary, playable replicas, there are only seven known examples of the instrument in the world, mostly kept in museums, including one at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. The octobass in Phoenix is tuned C0, G0, D1, a range that's two octaves below the cello and one octave below the modern double bass. Its low C note is lower than the lowest note on an 88-key piano, and beyond what most people can hear (you can give it a listen here). The Montreal Symphony Orchestra is the only orchestra that owns one of these unusual instruments, and composers still write music for it on occasion. When played today, it is usually by a single person. Related Tags Music Giant Sounds Know Before You Go It's part of the collection at the Musical Instrument Museum. To see the Octobass you will have to pay a $20 admission fee for the museum. Prepare for long lines to get into the museum. Budget at least two hours to see all of the exhibits. Community Contributors Added By AaronNetsky Edited By gardnermcelroy * gardnermcelroy Published June 27, 2017 Edit this listing Make an Edit Add Photos Sources * http://mim.org * http://www.openculture.com/2015/12/ watch-musicians-plays-bach-the-jaws-theme-on-the-octobass-the-gargantuan-string-instrument-invented-in-1850.html * http://mentalfloss.com/article/72463/ hear-octobass-instrument-almost-too-big-play * http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/06/octobass-feature * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octobass * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12X-i9YHzmE Maximize map Minimize map Show More Places Octobass 4725 E. 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