The Bassoon (photo) (audio)

The bassoon is the bass member of the oboe family. It is the third and last of the double-reed woodwind instruments. Bassoons are normally made up of maple or rosewood and are distinguished by their long, conical body

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which stands about 4 feet high. Bassoons are also distinguished by its deep, haunting and jaunty sounds that are produced.

Attached to the bassoon is a piece of metal called the crook. Here, the double-reed mouthpiece is attached.

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The first recorded use of a bassoon was documented in the sixteenth century. Throughout the Renaissance and the Baroque periods, the bassoon provided the lowest pitches in both large and small ensembles. Composers experimented with the bassoon, providing solos here and there. Concerti by Vivaldi attest to this. By the classical period, the bassoon became more fully explored by using the instrument to provide harmonic counteraction or support. By the eighteenth century, the bassoon provide both harmonic support and melodic voice in a distinctive color and sound.

Bassoon players hold the bassoon at an angle. The left hand holds the instrument palm up, at around chest level while the right hand holds the instrument palm down and rests against the right thigh. For more support, cords are attached to the instrument and wrapped around the bassoonist's shoulder and back.