The bassoon is the lowest sounding member of the woodwind family and is perhaps the most versatile. Its double reed gives it a rich, slightly buzzing quality in the lowest notes and a sweet nasal sound higher up. Bassoons can be extremely expressive as solo instruments and their warm vibrato enables them to sound remarkably human, a little like a resonant baritone singer. They are also great for creating punchy rhythmic lines and as bass instruments they help provide support for the whole orchestra.
The Bassoon Family
Because of their versatility, bassoons have been used in orchestras for a very long time. There are a variety of larger and smaller bassoons, but these days the most commonly used additional member of the bassoon family is the contrabassoon which sounds an octave lower than the bassoon.
How these pages are organised
In these pages the various aspects of bassoon and contra bassoon technique are demonstrated by Philharmonia players, Meyrick Alexander and Nicholas Reader.
You can watch clips from video interviews with Meyrick and Nicholas in which they explain their instruments and play examples. There are also written explanations, photos, notation examples and audio clips to listen to.
Bassoon Questions & Discussion
If you have any questions, you can ask them in The Forum and join in discussions on bassoon issues. Philharmonia players will be visiting The Forum to help with problems and to give valuable support and feedback.
