Recap of Woodwind
Families
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Woodwind Families
•Flute family – flute, piccolo, alto flute, bass flute
•Oboe family – oboe, English horn, oboe
d’Amore, heckelphone, baritone/bass oboe
•Clarinet family – Bb/A clarinet, high clarinets,
bass clarinet, alto clarinet, basset horn,
contrabass clarinet, contra alto clarinet
•Bassoon family
•Saxophone family (not standard in orchestra)
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Bassoon Family
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Bassoon Family
Contrabassoon
Bassoon
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Bassoon Family
Bassoon Family is the bass of the Woodwind Family
Bassoon family members have double reed and a conical bore
They also have a mouthpiece called a ‘bocal’ or ‘crook’ where the double
reed is attached to – this is important for the tone of the instrument –
covered later
Note: English horn and oboe d’Amore also use a bocal, but are
smaller/shorter than bassoon ones
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Bassoon Family Playing Position
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Bassoon Family Range
Bb0 E5
Sounding Range
Contrabassoon → Bassoon
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Bassoon
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Bassoon
• Since it has a double reed, it’s similar to
oboe
• But sound is less nasally
• Bassoon is well known for its solo abilities
• Carries a melody very well – not the most
powerful but agile with good attack
• Dynamic range similar to oboe – gets softer
as go up in pitch
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Bassoon Range
Non-Transposing, Sounds as written
Written & Sounding Range: Bb1 – E5
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Bassoon Register Characteristics
*All ranges are
Low Register: (Bb1 – G2) sounding
Rich, low, sonorous, strong bass, vibrant, dry
Like the oboe, very hard to play soft (pianissimo not possible). Best at mf to ff. Excellent
as bass of the woodwinds and often doubled with cellos and basses
Middle Register: (A2 – D4)
Clear, transparent, neutral, sweet, subdued, diffused, expressive
Not as strong here but blends well with any instrument, loses thick texture
High Register: (E4 – Bb4)
Bright, nasal, focused, intense, thin
Unique solo voice but weak penetration, use light accompaniment
Extreme High Register: (C5 – E5)
Pinched, weak
Hard to control, interesting sound and effect
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Bassoon Low Extension and Range
• Range can be extended down to low A (another tone or
whole step lower)
• On the high end, rare to go above C5 or D5, but possible
to go up to E or Eb5
• Low extension is possible by inserting a makeshift tube
into the bassoon – alters tone/tuning of the other low
notes
• If pitch and intonation is not a concern can keep the tube
in otherwise only have it used when passage needs it
(and give time for player to insert and remove it)
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Bassoon Technical Considerations
• Lower 5th of its range is difficult to play
softly because it needs a stronger attack to
sound. Avoid pianissimo.
• Extreme high 5th of its range is very soft
and easily drowned out
• In these 2 extremes avoid very fast notes
and leaps as difficult to control
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Bassoon Technical Considerations
• Agile but not as agile as the other winds
• Single tonguing is standard
• But double, triple, flutter tonguing possible (for
very fast passages)
• Use bass clef unless leger lines are excessive then
use tenor clef – avoid changing clefs too often
• Wide leaps and fast tonguing are common – except
in the extreme low and high ranges
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Bassoon Orchestration Considerations
• Bassoon offers a unique solo voice,
both in low register and even up to its
highest notes
• Be careful with underlying orchestration
when using bassoon as solo – up high it
doesn’t project well
© by Karleen Heong for Orchestration Course on Udemy
Bassoon Orchestration Considerations
• Great for doubling – in low register adds richness to
basslines, middle and high registers have a neutral,
diffused tone that is very useful for blending and layering
tone colours with other instruments
• Blends extremely well with any instrument!
• Result is that it acts as a support to the instrument it is
blending with and is usually secondary to the other
instrument, adding fullness and sound
• Sometimes can interchange with Bass clarinet (similar
range) but timbres are very different
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Bassoon Orchestration Considerations
• Melodies – very lyrical, rich (low register),
expressive (mid & high registers)
• Staccato and sharp attacks – very powerful
and incisive in low registers
• Commonly doubles strings at unison or
octave below
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Bassoon Trill Reference
Avoid these Trills – Low End Avoid these Trills – High End
• A#1 - B1
• Avoid any trill from C5
• Bb1 - C2 upward but these are
• B1 - C2 possible:
• C2 - D2 • C#5 - D5
• D5 - Eb5
• C#2 - D2
• D#5 - E5 (if E5 is possible)
• C#2 - D#2
• Tremolo - not common - if
use don’t have interval larger
than 4th
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Contrabassoon
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Contrabassoon
• Extends the bassoons down an extra octave
• Bassoon family does not have an instrument
that extends the family’s range upward
• Growlier tone
• Fantastic in combination with bass
instruments from other families (trombones,
double basses etc.)
• Slightly less agile than bassoon
• But also very expressive just like bassoon
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Contrabassoon Range
Sounds an octave lower than written
WRITTEN: Bb1 – C5 SOUNDING: Bb0 – C4
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Contrabassoon Register Characteristics
*All ranges are
Low Register: (Bb0 – F1) sounding
Growly, rough, thick, buzzy
Hard to play soft, but very useful with other basslines – bassoon’s
characteristic register
Middle Register: (F1 – D3)
Growly → becoming paler
starts to lose growliness and sounding like bassoon from about A1
High Register: (D3 – C4)
Weak, pale
sounds like bassoon but paler, weaker, hard to project, even more easily
drowned out than bassoon – bass clarinet or bassoon might be better here
© by Karleen Heong for Orchestration Course on Udemy
Contrabassoon Technical Considerations
•Notes in low range, especially if played
fortissimo, require a very large amount of
breath (every 2-3 bars possibly) – write
phrases accordingly
•Playing notes very softly (high and low)
uses a tiny amount of air, so give players
a chance to expel stale air
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Contrabassoon Technical Considerations
Extensions!
• A low A extension is available for
contrabassoonists
• The bottom range can also be shortened to
reduce size and weight of the instrument
• Shorter bell attachment is used instead of
normal attachment
• But this limits range to written C2 (sounding
C1)
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Contrabassoon Technical Considerations
• Use bass clef, unless contrabassoonist can
play even above middle C (sounding), and
the passage uses too many leger lines, then
use tenor clef
• Higher notes are actually possible! (see
resources for a link demonstrating entire
range in a chromatic scale) – above Eb4 is
stretching it
• Less agile than bassoon and somewhat
slower but still able to play fast
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Contrabassoon Orchestration Considerations
•Mostly commonly used to double bass
lines of e.g. trombones, double basses,
other bass instruments
•Adds a powerful and sharp punch to
basslines when used in its lower and mid-
low registers (for staccato articulations)
•Consider it as a solo instrument!
•Not enough contrabassoon solos but has
a very special colour that can be
exploited © by Karleen Heong for Orchestration Course on Udemy
How many bassoons and contrabassoons in
the orchestra?
• Usually 2-4 Bassoons
• And 1 Contrabassoon (may be
doubled by one of the bassoonists)
• Professional orchestras usually have a
contrabassoon, but student
orchestras etc. may not
• Occasionally there may be 2 contras
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