Bassoon

The bassoon belongs to the woodwind family and covers the tenor and bass registers. It comes apart into six sections and is traditionally crafted from wood. Musicians value it for its unique timbre, extensive pitch range, adaptability, and capacity for technical display. This instrument does not transpose, so its written notes match the sounds produced; composers typically notate its music in bass and tenor clefs, though treble clef appears occasionally.

Modern configuration

Two modern types exist: the Buffet (or French) system and the Heckel (or German) system. Players usually sit and support the instrument with a seat strap, but a harness allows standing performance. To produce sound, the player rolls both lips over the reed and blows with steady air pressure, causing the reed to vibrate. The fingering system is notably more intricate than that of many other instruments.

Etymology

The bassoon took its current form during the 19th century and appears frequently in orchestral, concert band, and chamber works, with occasional use in pop, rock, and jazz. A person who plays it is called a bassoonist. The English word "bassoon" derives from the French basson and the Italian bassone (a combination of basso with the augmentative suffix -one), both referring to the bass-register version of any instrument. In classical scores and parts, the instrument is often labeled with its Italian name fagotto (plural fagotti), which originally denoted the dulcian.

Range

This term, adopted in many other languages as fagot, fagote, or German Fagott, comes from an Old French word meaning a bundle of sticks. Characteristics Range The bassoon’s range starts at B♭₁ (the first B-flat below the bass staff) and extends upward more than three octaves, roughly to G₅ (the G above the treble staff). However, most written parts rarely exceed C₅. Stravinsky’s opening solo in The Rite of Spring reaches D₅, and Ravel’s Piano Concerto calls for E₅, but such high notes are seldom written because they are difficult to produce reliably (often requiring specialized reed design) and because their timbre closely matches that of the cor anglais, which plays those pitches more easily.

The French bassoon’s greater ease in the extreme high register means its repertoire is somewhat more likely to include very high notes, though modern German-system players can also achieve them. Mechanical improvements over time gradually expanded the instrument’s high range. In the late Baroque, as the bassoon increasingly took tenor lines, tenor clef was sometimes used to avoid excessive ledger lines; by the 20th century, treble clef was also employed. Like other woodwinds, the lowest note is fixed, but A₁ is possible with a special extension (see "Extended techniques").

Construction

Although the mechanism is in F (effectively an octave below the English horn), the bassoon is non-transposing: sounded notes match the written pitch, as with the bass recorder. Construction The bassoon disassembles into six main pieces, including the reed. These are: the bell (6), which extends upward; the bass joint (or long joint) (5), connecting the bell and the boot; the boot (or butt) (4), at the instrument’s bottom and folding back on itself; the wing joint (or tenor joint) (3), extending from the boot to the bocal; and the bocal (or crook) (2), a curved metal tube that links the wing joint to the reed (1). The bore is conical, like that of the oboe and saxophone, and the two adjoining bores of the boot joint are connected at the bottom by a U-shaped metal connector.

Both bore and tone holes are precision-machined, and each instrument is hand-finished for proper tuning. The walls are thicker at various points along the bore, where tone holes are drilled at an angle to reduce the distance between them on the exterior, allowing coverage by an average adult hand. A complex system of keywork, extending nearly the full length of the instrument, closes the gap between widely spaced holes. The bassoon stands about 1.34 m (4 ft 5 in) tall, but the total sounding length is 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in) because the tube doubles back on itself.

Short-reach bassoons are made for young or smaller players. Materials A modern beginner’s bassoon is usually made of maple, with medium-hardness types such as sycamore maple and sugar maple preferred. Less expensive models use materials like polypropylene and ebonite, mainly for student or outdoor use. Metal bassoons were made in the past but have not been produced by any major manufacturer since 1889.

Double reeds Reed-making has been practiced for several hundred years; some of the earliest known reeds were made for the dulcian, the bassoon’s predecessor. Current methods follow a basic set of steps, but individual bassoonists’ playing styles vary greatly, so reeds must be customized to suit each player. Advanced players usually make their own reeds for this reason. Commercially available reeds are sold by many companies and individuals, but players often find they still need adjustments.

Modern bassoon reeds are made from Arundo donax cane, often by the players themselves, though beginners tend to buy reeds from professional makers or use ones made by their teachers. A reed begins with a length of tube cane split into three or four pieces using a cane splitter. The cane is then trimmed and gouged to the desired thickness, leaving the bark attached. After soaking, the gouged cane is shaped and folded.