Taking the Fifth: How Tuning in Fifths Changed My Experience Playing the Double Bass
Dennis Masuzzo · American String Teacher · 2002
In the article “Quintessential Quarrington” that appeared in the Fall 1998 issue of Double Bassist, Joel Quarrington explained the advantages of playing the double bass tuned in fifths (C-G-D-A) instead of the traditional tuning in fourths (E-A-D-G). Quarrington, Principal Bassist of the Toronto Symphony, described how tuning in fifths could improve intonation, make the instrument respond faster, and provide a simple means of achieving low C without an extension. Using a combination of solo and orchestra-tuning strings, I experimented with fifths tuning on an inexpensive plywood bass. There was a consonant overtone resonance of open strings and harmonics I had never experienced—I was hooked.