Glasses bass
Spectacle bass (the word is not used in the singular because at least two alternating tones are involved) is called a notation (strictly speaking a replacement) for the musical tremolo . They belong to the abbreviations because not every note played is written out.
The joking designation comes from the notation as a connection between two empty noteheads with a bar (which means that the notes are played alternately and half a note is to be divided into eighth notes ). This resembles the strapless glasses that were common from the 16th to the 19th century.
Spectacle basses have been one of the innovations in piano reduction since the 18th century: Since the transfer of a string tremolo to keyboard instruments as a fast tone repeater is difficult and hardly sounds comparable, instead of a repetition, a quick change between two tones or sounds is performed. Because the cello and double bass usually play octave apart, spectacle basses in octaves roughly correspond to the orchestral sound of tremolous bass notes.
A comparable adaptation of string sounds to the playing technique of keyboard instruments are the Alberti basses .
literature
- Riemann Musik-Lexikon , Mainz: Schott 1967, p. 122