BASSOON

Updated 05-May-2020.

Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about BASSOON!

Buying a Bassoon for a Student: A guide for parents of bassoon students – The purchase of a bassoon is a significant investment. Several questions need to be asked and answered before the optimum choice of instruments can be made.

Check out the translation for “bassoon” on SpanishDict!: Translate millions of words and phrases for free on SpanishDict, the world’s largest Spanish-English dictionary and translation website.

Definition of BASSOON: a double-reed woodwind instrument having a long U-shaped conical tube connected to the mouthpiece by a thin metal tube and a usual range two octaves lower than that of the oboe… See the full definition

My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: the bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family . it plays music written in the bass and tenor clefs, and occasionally the treble . appearing in its the usual etymology that equates fagotto with “bundle of sticks” is misleading . an early English variation, “faget”, was used as early as 1450 to refer to some think it may resemble the Roman Fasces, a standard of bound sticks with an ax . notes higher than this are possible, but seldom written . French bassoon has greater facility in the extreme high register the bassoon is non-transposing, meaning notes sounded match written pitch . both bore and tone holes are precision-machined . each instrument is finished by hand for proper tuning . the overall height of the bassoon stretches to 1.34 m (4 ft 5 in) tall . the total sounding length is 2.54 m (8ft 4 in) considering that the tube is doubled back metal bassoons were made in the past but have not been produced by any major manufacturer since 1889 . advanced players even go as far as making their own reeds to specifically match their individual playing style . modern Reeds begin with a length of tube cane that is split into three or four pieces . the cane is then trimmed and gouged to the desired thickness, leaving the bark attached . after soaking, the go the reed maker will have lightly scored the bark with parallel lines with a knife . he binds on coils or loops of brass wire to aid in the final forming process . the bound re the upper portion of the cavity thus created is called the “throat” the lower portion will be reamed out with a special tool called a reamer . after the reed has dried, the wires electrical tape can also be used as a wrapping for amateur reed makers . players are choosing heat-shrink tubing instead of the time-consuming and fiddly thread . thread wrapping is still more common the blades above the first wire are now roughly 27–30 mm (1.1–1.2 in) long . for the reed to play, a slight bevel must be created at the tip with a knife the origins of the dulcian are obscure . by the mid-16th century it was available in as many as eight different sizes . a full consort of dulcians was a rarity . the baroque bassoon was a newly invented instrument, not a simple modification of the old dulcian . the man most likely responsible for developing the true basson was Martin Hotteterre . hott no original french bassoon from this period survives . sometime around 1700, a fourth key (G) was added . composers such as Antonio Vivaldi, Bach, and Georg Philipp Telemann wrote the modern bassoon exists in two distinct primary forms, the Buffet (or “French”) system and the Heckel (“German”) system . acoustical knowledge made possible great improvements in the instrument’s play the Buffet system is primarily played in France, Belgium, and parts of Latin America . references in english to the contemporary bassoon always mean the Heckel system . Assisted by the german acoustic researcher Gottfried almenräder continued publishing and building instruments until his death in 1846 . he left Schott to start his own factory with a partner, Johann Adam Heckel . his instruments became the standard, with other makers following Heckel instruments competed for prominence with the reformed Wiener system, a Boehm-style bassoon, and a completely keyed instrument devised by Charles-Joseph Sa the symphony orchestra produced over 1,100 instruments by the turn of the 20th century . the heckel concern has produced instruments continuously to the present day . a range of Heckel-style instruments is available the logical bassoon was never marketed . thereafter, it continued to develop in a more conservative manner . the Buffet system deprived it of improved intonation and ease of operation . the modern Buffet system has 22 keys with its range being the same as the Heckel bassoon . Buffet instruments have a narrower bore and simpler mechanism . switching between Heckel and Buffet, or vice versa, requires extensive in the hands of a lesser player, the Heckel bassoon can sound flat and woody . a poorly played Buffet can sound buzzy and nasal, but good players produce a warm, expressive sound . Buffet- the Selmer Company stopped fabrication of French system bassoons around the year 2012 . some players have learned to play both types and will alternate between them depending on the repertoire . Baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Lu use of bassoons in concert orchestras was sporadic until the late 17th century . double reeds began to make their way into standard instrumentation . it was largely due to the spread of by the mid-18th century, the bassoon’s function in the orchestra was mostly limited to that of a continuo instrument . composers such as Joseph Haydn included parts that exploited it for its unique the bassoon was also used as a lyrical tenor during the Classical era . the Harmonie was a chamber ensemble maintained by german and Austrian noblemen . Haydn, Mozart the introduction of contrabassoon around this time alleviated the bassoons of the need to serve as a bass . the modern symphony orchestra, fully established in the Romantic, typically calls the versatility of the bassoon’s character meant it would be scored in diverse styles . it has been used for lyrical roles such as Maurice Ravel’s Boléro . its agility suits passages such as a wind ensemble will usually include two bassoons and sometimes contrabassoon, each with independent parts . other types of concert wind ensembles will often have larger sections, with many players on each of first or second parts a reed quintet is made up of an oboe, clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon . basson writing may call for it to play with same agility “Last Tango in Bayreuth” calls for players to perform on the reed alone . bassoon first appeared in the 1920s . artists such as Yusef Lateef and Chic lateef’s diverse and eclectic instrumentation saw the bassoon as a natural addition . Illinois Jacquet, Ray Pizzi, Frank Tiberi, and Marshall Allen have both doubled on basson . french bassoonists Jean-Jacques Decreux and Alexandre Ouzounoff have both recorded jazz, exploiting the flexibility of the Buffet system instrument to good effect . several 1960s pop music hits feature the basso in the 1990s, madonna Wayne Gacy provided bassoon for the alternative metal band Marilyn Manson . the rock band Better Than Ezra took their name from a passage in Ernest Hemingway’s A bassoon played by psychedelic/progressive rock band Knifeworld . played by Chloe Herrington, who also plays for experimental chamber rock orchestra Chrome Hoof . in 2016, basson featured on the band members include four resident physicians in the Cleveland metropolitan area . some means of additional support are usually required . it is possible to play while standing up if the player uses a neck strap or similar harness . the bassoon is played with both hands in a stationary position, the left above the right . the back of the instrument (nearest the player) has twelve or more keys to be controlled by the thumbs . to a technique not found on any other woodwind is called flicking . the left hand thumb momentarily presses the high A, C and D keys to achieve a clean slur . “venting” raises the intonation of the notes slightly, and can be advantageous when tuning to higher frequencies . some bassoonists flick A and Bb when tongued, but flicking (or venting) the whisper key is pressed with the left thumb and held for the duration of the note . low notes can sometimes crack into a higher octave . bassoons are usually critically tuned at the factory the length of the bassoon can be increased to lower pitch or decreased to raise pitch . the lips provide micromuscular pressure on the circumference of the reed . this grossly controls intonation and harmonic excitement double reed students often “bite” the red with jaw muscles . air pressure is a very important aspect of the tone, intonation and projection . it takes some time for bassoonists the bassoon lacks simple fingerings of good sound quality or intonation for some notes . but there is a great variety of superior, but generally more complicated, fingers for them . “full” and alternate bassoon technique can only be partially notated . left thumb operates nine keys: B1, B1, C2, D2, D5, C5 (also B4), two keys when combined create A4 and the whisper key . the right thumb operates four keys . the uppermost key is used to produce B2 and B3, and may be used in B4,F4, C5, D5, F5, and E5. the large circular key, otherwise known as the “pancake key”, is held down for all the lowest notes from E2 down to B1 . it is also used, like the whisper key, in additional fingerings for the key normally operated by the index finger is primarily used for E5, also serving for trills in the lower register . its main assignment is the upper tone hole . hole can be closed fully, or partially by rolling down the the middle finger typically stays on the centre hole on the tenor joint . it can also move to a lever used for E5, also a trill key . some bassoons have an alternate E key lower key is typically used for C2, but can be used for muting or flattening notes . upper key is used for E2, E4, F4, F4, A4, B4, B4, C5, C the smallest finger on the right hand pushes a lever . the middle finger remains stationary over the hole with a ring around it . upper ring-finger key can be used in place of top thumb key flutter-tonguing may be accomplished by “gargling” in the back of the throat . multiphonics on the bassoon are plentiful, and can be achieved by using particular alternative fingerings bassoonist may produce lower notes than bottom B by extending length of bell . lower B converted into lower note, almost always A natural . converts lowest B to B (and renders neighbouring C very the idea of using low A was begun by Richard Wagner . many passages in his later operas require the low A as well as the B-flat immediately above it . some bassoons have been specially made to allow bass Richard Strauss also calls for the low A in his opera Intermezzo . some works have optional low As, as in Carl Nielsen’s Wind Quintet . cost is another big factor in a person’s decision to pursue the bassoon . prices range from $7,000 to over $45,000 for a good-quality instrument . students are often provided with a school instrument and encouraged Studia musicologica Universitatis Helsingiensis, 26. University of Helsinki, 2013. ISSN 0787-4294. ISBN 978-952-10-9443-9.