Doublebass in the Ottoman Empire Music Institutions

This study is based on data from a field study conducted with the support of the Istanbul University Scientific Research Projects Unit and the National Palaces Directorate of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. With information obtained from the unit’s research (No. 52003, year 2015), an inventory titled “Double basss Intruments at Music Institutions of the Ottoman Empire” was made. The scope of the project was based on a catalog study of the instruments at Dolmabah？e Palace and on an inventory of the instruments atthe national palaces. This study focuses on the data on the double bass axis. First, the location and existence of the instruments in the Ottoman Empire is examined. In the second section, double basss performers’ familiarity with Ottoman Empire musical instruments is investigated. The last section focuses on how the techniques and interpretations of the double bass during the Ottoman Empire were developed in the form of Western classical music. The main research methods and techniques are archival research, evaluation of the related literature, and field study to determine the existing inventory. It was found that Ottoman institutions, such as Muzika-i Hümayun, S？byan School, Makam-？ Hilafet Philharmonic Band, and Mabeyn-i Hümayun band hired non-Muslim musicians to perform and teach in Italian style, and it is concluded that two of the double basses used in these institutions are now preserved at Dolmabah？e Palace