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Bassoon
A member of the woodwind family, a bassoon is a long, six-part double reed instrument.
284 Questions
Is a bassoon in the double reed family?
The part for the double bass is written on the bottom stave of the score. The notes sound an octave lower than written. Unlike any other member of the violin family the strings are tuned in fourths - GDAE; this is because with strings of such length and thickness the intervals between the stopped notes are very wide and if they were tuned to the usual fifths there would be insuperable physical difficulties in fingering. The greater length of thicker string gives a smaller, not wider, compass on account of the notes being so widely space. The compass is about two and a quarter octaves.
A Brief History of the Double Bass Musical Instrument
It has been suggested that the double bass is so-called because its original role in church and instrumental music was to double the bass line. The instrument dates from the first half of the 16th century. During its career it has been made in many different sizes and the number of strings has varied from three to six. At first it was played exclusively in church where it doubled the 16 foot pipe of the organ, to marvelous effect, it is said. Then in the 17th century it was introduced to theater orchestras. By the 18th century the Paris Opera could boast of one which, according to one source, played only on Fridays, the day of the most important social gathering of the week.
It was a performer rather than a composer who liberated the bass from its doubling, the charming an eccentric virtuoso Domenico Dragonetti who, on his death bed, 'held out his great hand covered with callosities and unnaturally spread from constant playing and said with emotion 'This is the hand which Beethoven our great friend…bade me press'. Not only was Dragonetti a friend of Beethoven, but of Haydn also, and such was the span of his life that he was also heard and admired by Berlioz. During his lifetime therefore Dragonetti was involved in playing most of the new, exposed and important orchestral passages that were written for the liberated instrument. Dragonetti's instrument, like those of other virtuosi, was smaller and more manageable than that of modern orchestral players.
The composer and conductor Bottesini was known as the greatest player of all time and the conductor Koussevitsky was also a brilliant performer. In our day the composer Oliver Knussen first made his name as a bassist. Today's best-known protagonist of the double bass as a solo instrument is Gary Karr, who plays an instrument which once belonged to Koussevitsky. Two names from popular music might also be mentioned: Jimmy Blanton, who played with Duke Ellington until his early death from tuberculosis, revolutionized the playing of the instrument with his technique and delicacy he could make the whole band sound as though it were walking on tip-toe. And Charlie Mingus, who died in 1979, was second to none in his mastery of his instrument.
Octave is a noun.
1. Music
a. The interval of eight diatonic degrees between two tones of the same name, the higher of which has twice as many vibrations per second as the lower.
b. A tone that is eight diatonic degrees above or below another given tone.
c. Two tones eight diatonic degrees apart that are sounded together.
d. The consonance that results when two notes eight diatonic degrees apart are sounded.
e. A series of tones included within this interval or the keys of an instrument that produce such a series.
f. An organ stop that produces tones an octave above those usually produced by the keys played.
g.The interval between any two frequencies having a ratio of 2 to 1
h. "Eight Leafs" is pronounced as "Eight LeaVES"
Similarly "Eight Efs" was pronounced as "Eight AVES", "Oct AVES", which
became "Oct- AVE"
What are the eight "Efs" ( f = PERFECT FOURTH 4/3 )
The PERFECT ( UNMUTILATED ) KEYBOARD is as follows with 14 notes :
____d____e____f____g____a____b
c_____D____E____F____G____A____B____C
The OCT(eight) AVES ( f's ) are as follows :
(1) c to f : 4/3 (2) d to g : 4/3 (3) D to G : 4/3 (4) e to a : 4/3
(5) E to A : 4/3 (6) f to b : 4/3 (7) F to B : 4/3 (8) G to C : 4/3
These are the " OCT - AVES" ( Eight 'EF's ; 8 fourth's or 8 "Fa"s )
which, in course of time, shrank as " OCTAVE "
(and pronounced by Oxford as OCTIVE ! )
The divine (NATURAL) musical scale is made up of EIGHT FOURTHs ( 4/3 )
Please see "Picture of Divine Octave" in Google Search (images )
Also please see " V. Deena Dayalan " in YOU TUBE
________________________________________7D8f Octavian
2. Ecclesiastical
a. The eighth day after a feast, counting the feast day as one.
b. The entire period between a feast day and the eighth day following it.
3. A group or series of eight.
4. Poetry
a. A group of eight lines of poetry, especially the first eight lines of a Petrarchan sonnet. Also called octet.
b. A poem or stanza containing eight lines.
5. Sports. A rotating parry in fencing.
How long did it take to make the nightmare before Christmas?
A long time is is a long time. Tim Burton took his time.
The bassoon has a range comparable to the range of which other instrument?
Cello, short for violoncello.
Well, the flute is the highest instrument in the band. it can reach really high piches. it takes a lot of air to get a sound out of it. (i know, i play one). your mouth muscles have to be strong. your fingers have to move fast. there are many fun things you can do like sing while you play, you can do a thing called flutter toungue, and you can do both at the same time.
hi, this is another person... just wanted to say, this answer above^^, is mostly wrong. I am a first chair flute and a first chair picciloist. A piccilo is a smaller flute and is said to be an octive higher than a flute. I am in high school, Junior Year, and I know a lot about the flute. I take private lessons from a woman who has been in county bands, area bands, high school bands, orchestras, played during plays, solos in important concerts and much much more. SO, again, I know more than people do in my grade. Also, I just wanted to say, you cannot sing while playing the flute. It is physically impossible unless you stop playing and sing then play again. The flute IS NOT the highest instrument in the band. Piccilo is. So, then again, the person above, was wrong. is CAN reach high pitches when you really pinch your lips and push your bottom lip forward. your fingers do not have to move fast unless you want to play a song fast or just want to trill (*trill- move from one note to a note above it fast... if you use letters, it would be ababababababababab fast*). The flutter tongue is npt something you do. It may be a "nick-name" to the person above^but it is not what it's really called. It's really called, DOUBLE TOUNGING. hope THIS helps. =D have fun!!
Another person again, but the first answer was mainly right actually, apart from the piccolo part- that is the highest instrument, although a lot of the time it's not really seen as an instrument in its own right. You can sing and play the flute at the same time- very strange technique and I've never seen it in written music but i learnt to do it a few years ago- its more like humming to be honest- obviously you can't sing words, but you can sing a note through a flute and play a different note and get a chord which is quite nice. Being able to play fast is a definite advantage, as in orchestras, flutes tend to get very fiddly parts, but of course there's lots of slow music for flute aswell. Finally, flutter tonguing is very different to double tonguing- double tonguing is just like making a "tuhkuh" sound through the flute, and helps you to play very fast staccato sections, whereas flutter tonguing is like rolling your r's, although i can flutter tongue but not roll my r's, as i have a strange but very effective technique for it. But anyway, some new stuff, the flute has a range from middle c, to the fsharp 3 and a half octaves above- although written music that goes this high is fairly rare, and fingerings for the top half octave are relatively hard to find. It requires a huge amount of air to play, second only to the tuba, as only a quarter of the amount of air you breathe actually goes through it........ ohhh, and just tried this out, you can sing and flutter tongue at the same time and it sounds amazing! ^^thanks for the tip first answerer!
Has a famous song been played on the bassoon?
No, sadly. The bassoon is one of the most uncommon instruments that their is in a band (except the recorder, which is about number two on the unpopular scale). If you want to play a unique instrument, then you should play bassoon.
Are the bassoon's fingerings the same as an oboe's?
No, the bassoon's fingerings are not the same as the fingering of oboes.
There was a time, back when oboes were first invented and bassoons were just changing over from the single-piece dulcian to the four-piece basson/bassoon that the fingering of the two instruments was quite similar, and had much in common with the recorder and flute as well.
With the split between the German and french schools of double reed instruments, though, it's hard to say that all bassoon fingerings are alike, or that all oboe fingerings are alike!
The major difference in fingering between all oboes and all bassoons comes from the fact that the bassoon's bore is folded. This means that two lengths of the bore, the part that makes high notes and the part that makes low notes, run parallel to each other. As a result, keys that affect low notes appear near keys which affect high notes, and fingers serve multiple duties.
Because of the size of the bassoon, it is generally supported from the lower end by a belt-like strap which the player sits upon. The oboe, though, is smaller, and is generally supported by the right thumb of the player. The immobilized thumb of the oboist and the free right thumb of the bassoonist lead to further differences between the instruments. The oboist has multiple keys which are operated by the little fingers and a key and a hole with a ring (the ring acts like another key) under the left thumb. The bassoonist, though, has two keys under the left little finger, as many as four under the right little finger, between 3 and 5 under the right thumb, and anywhere between 8 and 12 keys to operate with the left thumb!
If you were to consider the basic octave, though, there is a strong similarity between all of these instruments: the three fingers of the left hand (minus the little finger), the four of the right hand, and the left thumb are employed in playing the basic octave and most of the next octave. However, in all varieties of oboe and bassoon, accidental keys, whisper/voice keys (which help to sound upper octaves) and lower-range extension keys differ greatly.
I play the oboe and tried the bassoon for a few weeks. I found that the fingerings are the more or less the same but at a fifth difference, so an F on the oboe is a Bb on the bassoon.
How wide does your hand have to be to play the bassoon?
To play the bassoon you must be trained by a teacher, but, although it helps to have relatively large hands, you can play the instrument just as well with very small hands if you are trained well enough.
The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. It is the lowest, or bass, voice in the woodwind choir. It often duplicates the cello voice in orchestral compositions.
How long does to take to make a blanket?
It depends on how skilled you are. For some people it takes an hour or less, but some people take days.
What is someone who plays a bassoon called?
upright bass, standup bass, acoustic bass, contrabass
Here are some more:
Bass, string bass, upright bass, standup bass, acoustic bass, contrabass, contrabass violin, bass violin, bass fiddle, bull fiddle, dog house bass, contrabbasso
What songs can you play on the bassoon?
The bassoon is a very versatile instrument. It is typically used to orchestral pieces and is the shining star in Fantasia. It also has key jobs in symphonic band music. It is slowly coming into the jazz world, especially by adventurous japanese composers. It is popular among chamber music. The bassoon also has many solos dedicated to it, such as Rhapsody for Bassoon by Wilson Osborne. So really the bassoon can play any song, and if you get into contrabassoon, you could probably attempt dubstep! :D
How long does it take a caterpillar to make a cocoon?
The total in hours would be 423, 25,920 minutes, or a total of 155,520 seconds.
How many people play rugby in the world?
There are no real accurate figures for this as many armature players are no accounted for but it is estimated that over 400,00 play the game - This includes both sex's, junior youth and senior levels plus schools, colleges and universities
You play bassoon with your fingers, all of them, except for your right hand's ring finger. You blow into the bassoon through the reed, and you move your fingers to make the note change.
To make different notes that are not slurred (like above), you pulse your tongue back and forth against the reed.
Also, be sure to take long and deep breaths so that you can make a very full sound.
You play with all of your fingers including your right hand ring finger.
What is the big brother of the bassoon?
There isn't a single instrument that answers the question; the flute is part of the woodwind family so possible answers include clarinet, oboe, saxophone, tin whistle.
How many keys does a contrabassoon have?
I'm pretty sure that ALL flutes, including piccolo, bass, and standard flutes (key of c) all have the same buttons anf fingerings...
if you want to know the number of keys, it depends I guess, because there are thetrill keys, and then some keys that go down when you press others... but if you count every single moving button on the flute, theres like 24?
How much does a contra bassoon weigh?
The bassoon's weight is a byproduct of the materials it is made from. A good average value would be around 3.5Kg (around 7.5 pounds.) However, a thin-walled french bassoon made of a light wood with a minimum of keys will weigh much less than this, while a German bassoon made of dense wood and decked out with keys to go from low BBb into the stratosphere (thank you, Mr. Stravinsky) will weigh more.
However, the weight of the bassoon itself is almost immaterial. The normal and preferred way of holding the bassoon while playing is to use a belt or similar long strip of material with a hook on the end, which fits into a hole or ring at the base of the bassoon. The player sits on the belt, adjusting the bassoon's position until the reed sits right at mouth-level. Then, the bassoon is nearly entirely supported by the belt, and the player's hands are free to finger the instrument.
None-the-less, the bassoon can also be suspended from a neck-strap, like saxophones, using a loop which is often supplied on the metal band at the top of the boot joint (the lowest part of the bassoon), from which it is very nearly balanced. This is often used when the player is standing or (if brave) marching with the instrument. Then, the left hand contributes a little to the support of the bassoon.
Quite often, the case for the bassoon, complete with a small glass to hold water (to soak the reed) and a gaggle of tools for making and adjusting reeds, weighs more than the whole bassoon!
Where was the bassoon invented?
It is unclear who the original inventor is, since some details of history have been erased from our knowledge. For information concerning the bassoon and some of it's history, see the wikipedia.org article at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassoon
How did the bassoon become known as the clown of the orchestra?
woodwind instruments are a type of instrument. Woodwinds are the instruments that are usually played with a reed and is made of wood, like a clarinet, sax, bassoon, and flute(even though it isnt made of wood or has a reed) there are many others such as bass clarinet, tenor sax, contrabass clarinet, bari sax etc
