Construction

Meyrick Alexander of the Philharmonia Orchestra discusses aspects of bassoon construction.

Rite of Spring Introduction

A display of the famous introduction on the bassoon.

Bassoon Construction

The conical bore of the instrument. The bore seen from the inside (and an explanation of the bird perched on Meyrick's bassoon!)...How sound is produced, crook lengths and distances, french and German systems and the registers of the bassoon.

Contrabassoon Construction

The bell of the contrabassoon points downwards. The bassoon is usually played suspended from the neck like a saxophone, but the contrabassoon stands on the floor.

Other Types of Bassoon

In this clip Nicholas Reader discusses aspects of contrabassoon construction. The construction of the contra, the folds of the instrument, the key holes, the history of the modern contrabassoon, the reed, changing reeds and the agility of the coontrabassoon.