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I was playing some contrabass clarinet parts and wondered why there are so many passages where every single bass instrument is playing, minus the contrabass clarinet. The bass clarinet, tuba, and stringed bass are also playing, so I don't know why the contrabass clarinet would be excluded, especially if it is playing in the same octave as the other basses.

For example, at bar 248 of Alfred Reed's "El Camino Real", the bass line is being played by all bass instruments (minus bassoon, which is being used for something else), except for contrabass clarinet:

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Even the contrabassoon is playing along.

There are also points where only tuba and stringed bass play the bass line. What about those two instruments makes it so special for playing bass lines, and why aren't those parts also given to low woodwinds?

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    I don't understand what your title has do to with your question.
    – Aaron
    Commented May 11 at 2:49
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    @Aaron - I think the question asker suspects that the contrabass clarinet, unlike the bass clarinet, doesn't blend in with the other bass instruments and may be too loud and/or overpowering.
    – Dekkadeci
    Commented May 11 at 6:51
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    Orchestration (at least, good orchestration) is not just about dynamics or range, but colors. If the composer used only some instruments for a musical phrase, it's because they wanted that specific sound. The fact that other instruments could play that same phrase just because it's in their range is completely irrelevant.
    – musicamante
    Commented May 11 at 15:16
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    Considering how rarely the contrabass clarinet is used at all, I don't think you can really draw any conclusions from the extant examples.
    – Kilian Foth
    Commented May 11 at 16:38
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    probably because doubling
    – Andy Bonner
    Commented May 11 at 18:10

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