Bassoon

The bassoon is a musical instrument that dates to the seventeenth century. It is primarily used in orchestral works and is an essential part of the symphony orchestra. It may be used in symphonic backing for pop music or as a primary instrument in a jazz band.

Bassoons play the bass line in the woodwind family and are known for their sweet, mellow sound. They were first popularized by replacing church organs during religious services and then went on to star in melodies by famous composers such as Wolfgang Mozart and Antonio Vivaldi. Over time, bassoons' mellow tones worked their way into jazz music and pop accompaniments.

Bassoons are characterized by their wide musical range and unique appearance. They are constructed as a nine-foot-long wooden tube folded in half and ending in a small bell. The bell amplifies the sound, allowing it to be heard over other instruments in an orchestra. Its larger cousin, the contrabassoon, is the lowest-pitched instrument in the entire symphony orchestra.

Background

In early medieval times, artisans developed a variety of musical instruments made of wood. Many of these instruments created sound by amplifying the musician's breath. One instrument, called the shawm, made noise by amplifying the vibrations of a reed within the mouthpiece of the instrument. Over time, the shawm grew larger and deeper, providing a bass tone that harmonized with many of the higher-pitched instruments of the day.

Once artisans learned to create a folded shawm, it developed into the curtail. The curtail was a sixteenth-century musical instrument popular throughout Europe. Like the bassoon, it produced sound by vibrating a double reed inside the mouthpiece of the instrument. Unlike the bassoon, the curtail was built from a single piece of wood.

Although it was originally a simple instrument, the curtail evolved over the following centuries. Artisans learned to craft the curtail in various lengths, altering the musical keys in which the instrument could play. Once the instrument's potential range was lengthened, it began to compete with the cello for the bass section of an orchestra. Composers were no longer limited to just the strings for bass lines, and many began to specifically request that the woodwind section play the lower parts of a composition.

By the eighteenth century, artisans had learned to craft the instrument from multiple parts. This allowed them to introduce more folds, shortening the instrument and making it easier to handle. Once the instrument was made of four or more pieces, it transitioned into the modern bassoon.

Bassoons first became commonplace in the late eighteenth century. In some parts of the world, organs were banned in churches after being declared symbols of idolatry. Small choirs of bassoons and other supporting woodwinds, such as oboes and flutes, took their place. Once more people became exposed to the instrument, it quickly grew in popularity.

The bassoon spread throughout Europe, first competing with stringed instruments and then complementing them. As the popularity of the bassoon grew, German military bandmaster Carl Almenräder sought to improve the instrument by adding keys and making it easier to manage in terms of positioning, pitch, and overall use. Almenräder passed his knowledge down to Johann Adam Heckel, and eventually two different companies began manufacturing bassoons: Wilhelm Heckel GmbH, based in Germany, and Buffet-Crampon, based in France. Buffet-Crampon bassoons, also known as French bassoons, used narrower tubes and a different layout for playing notes. They had twenty-two different keys and produced higher-quality upper-register notes. However, they could play significantly fewer notes than Heckel's bassoons, also known as German bassoons. Heckel's instruments went on to become the industry standard bassoon layout. However, Buffet-Crampon style bassoons are still used in specialized orchestral pieces today.

Overview

Woodwinds are a family of closely related instruments used in orchestral performances. All woodwind instruments are tubes with a narrow opening on one end and a wider opening on the other. At one time, all woodwind instruments were made of wood. Other instruments, such as those in the brass family, were made of metal. Modern woodwind instruments are made of a variety of materials, including metal and plastic.

Woodwind instruments are played by blowing into the narrowest end of the instrument. This end is called the mouthpiece. Inside the mouthpiece is a specially crafted piece of wood. As the musician blows into the mouthpiece, the air travels along the instrument, which forces the piece of wood to vibrate. The vibrations are amplified by the long tube and projected by the bell shape at the end of the instrument.

Woodwinds play different notes by modifying the number of holes in the instrument. In most instruments, many holes are placed along the instrument's longest tube. These holes are covered with metal caps. By pressing a button, the musician raises the cap, altering the way vibrations flow through the instrument and producing a different note.

The woodwinds are a large musical family. They contain the flutes, piccolos, clarinets, English horns, and bassoons. Much like the bass family, as the instruments grow larger, they produce lower-pitched notes. The bassoon is one of the largest woodwind instruments. For this reason, it often plays the bass line in an ensemble.

Bassoons are made of a single, nine-foot-long pipe. To make the instrument easier to play, the pipe is folded in half. Unlike many of the smaller woodwinds, the bassoon uses more than one reed inside its mouthpiece. The double reed is joined together to create a linked, vibrating piece. This creates a lower, louder sound.

Most symphony orchestras contain two to four bassoons. They harmonize with the higher-pitched instruments, giving the composition depth. However, later period pieces often wrote unique melodies specifically for the bassoon. Composers such as Mozart and Vivaldi capitalized on the instrument's mellow sound, writing smooth, flowing compositions that showcased the bassoon.

Some bassoons are built to play the lowest notes in an orchestra. These instruments are called contrabassoons. They utilize such a long, wide pipe that the pipe must be folded over a third time during the instrument's construction. The third fold makes the instrument easier for the musician to handle and transport. Despite this, the contrabassoon still requires an excessive amount of breath power to play properly.

Bibliography

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“Evolution of the Bassoon.” BOSS, 14 July 2020, www.bossbassoon.com/post/evolution-of-the-bassoon. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

"History of the Contrabassoon." Vienna Symphonic Library, www.vsl.co.at/academy/woodwinds/contrabassoon. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

Jacobson, Bob. "A Brief History of the Bassoon." Reverb, 16 May 2016, reverb.com/news/a-brief-history-of-the-bassoon. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

“The Origins of the Bassoon: The Birth of the Bassoon.” Yamaha Corporation, www.yamaha.com/en/musical‗instrument‗guide/bassoon/structure/. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

“The Structure of the Bassoon: Unique Features of the Bassoon, and How to Play.” Yamaha Corporation, www.yamaha.com/en/musical‗instrument‗guide/bassoon/mechanism/mechanism004.html. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

"The Woodwind Family." Oregon Symphony, www.orsymphony.org/edu/instruments/woodwinds.aspx. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.