bass (3), base, basse

& s. [In Sw., Dan., & Dut. bas; Ger. ba ; Fr. ba e; Sp. baxo; Port. baizo; Ital. ba o.] [BASE.] A. As adj . (Music): Of a low or deep pitch; grave, as opposed to acute . (The form base is now obsolete, being superseded by ba .) In pipes, the lower the note-holes be, and the further from the mouth of the pipe, the more base sound they yield."- Bacon . B. As subst. (Music): 1. The string which gives a base sound. bas relief-ba il "At thy well-sharpen'd thumb, from shore to shore, The trebles squeak for fear, the bases roar. Dryden. 2. An instrument which plays the ba part; specially of the violoncello or ba viol, and the contraba o or double ba . Both this and the previous sense are found in the following example. "Now Mr. Fearing was one that played upon the ba . He and his fellows sound the sackbut, whose notes are more doleful than the notes of other music are; though indeed some say the ba is the ground of music. And for my part, I care not at all for that profe ion which begins not in heavine of mind. The first string that the musician usually touches is the ba , when he intends to put all in tune. God also plays upon this string first, when he sets the soul in tune for himself." - B "-Bunyan: P. P. , pt. ii. 3. The lowest of the principal human voices; those higher in pitch being respectively baritone, tenor, alto or contralto, mezzo soprano , soprano . 4. Plural: The portion of a choir singing the ba part; also the portion of a string band playing the ba part. 5. In compound words: The lowest instrument of any cla or family of instruments; as ba - clarinet , ba -flute, ba -horn, ba trombone, ba - tuba , ba - viol or base - viol . 6. Ba -string or base-string: The string of lowest pitch on a string instrument having deep sounds. 7. Ba -clef: The lowest sign of Di absolute pitch used in music; the F clef. A fundamental ba : The supposed generator or foundation of any harmonic combination. Thus C is said to be the fundamental base of the chord C, E, G. IMG:content-1100.jpg:[blocks in formation] Thorough or continuous ba : Originally the ba part figured for the player on a harpsichord or organ. Hence, the art of adding chords to a figured ba ; the art of harmony. [BASSO-CONTINUO.] ba -bar, s . A piece of wood fixed under the bridge inside the belly of instruments of the violin kind, to strengthen it.