About Bassoons

In charge of the lowest register of the woodwind section in an orchestra is the bassoon, a long, cylindrical double reed musical instrument. Its Italian name 'fagotto' means 'bundle of firewood', because of its origin as four bundled pipes. The instrument is called the bassoon in English-speaking countries.

The predecessor of the present-day bassoon was the 'curtal' (dulcian), born in the 16th century. The original curtal was a simple musical instrument comprised of two pipes tied together, but by the middle of the 17th century, its body was divided into four parts and given three keys. The fourth key was added in the 1730s, and by the 1800s, the curtal was developed to have six keys. Tone holes with covers were devised in the 19th century, and the metal bassoon with 23 keys was developed after that. More improvements, such as key position changes, were made, and in 1843, the 18-key bassoon, with a range exceeding three octaves, appeared. The bassoon was developed by Johann Heckel, and 'Heckel' later became a major brand of bassoons.

There are two types of modern bassoons – the German system (Heckel system) and the French system – and the former is widely used all over the world. The French system bassoon is based on the baroque bassoon with fewer keys, and called 'basson'. It is difficult to find a pitch with a basson, and its sound volume is low, but this musical instrument still has many fans in French-speaking countries.

The relatives of the bassoon include the contrabassoon, which plays an octave lower. This huge instrument is about 140 cm in height and weighs about 6 kg. To play a contrabassoon, you have to fully stretch your fingers to reach the keys. It may be a challenging instrument to play for people of small stature or those who are short on the physical strength required to support its weight. However, if you do not mind its size, the reed of the contrabassoon is easier to play than that of the oboe, and once you learn the basics, you can play a wide range of music with it.