Our site uses cookies and other tracking technologies to tailor your experience, understand how you and other visitors use our site, and to target and tailor our advertising. For more information on how to withdraw consent and how to manage the use of cookies on this site, please refer to our tracking tools policy. Orchestre National de Lille. Back to Artist List.

Navigation menu

The vibration of the reeds allows me to search a huge range of colors and dynamics without loosing the technical flexibility of the clarinet. From the start of the sound until the end of the phrase I can have a lot of possibilities to speak with the clarinet. Other Artists You May Like. Karel Dohnal Independent Artist. Again, you can use the chart above if you get stuck.

Music Theory: Learn How To Transpose Music

For example, if you see an A-flat in your concert score as an accidental, a B-flat instrument would need to see a B-flat to sound the correct concert pitch. Username or Email Address. Learn How To Transpose Music. Why do we need transposition? Asking for a friend. The Circle of Fifths The Circle of Fifths provides an at-a-glance look at key signatures based on the number of sharps or flats.

A C pitch played on the flute or piano will actually sound like a C because they are concert pitch instruments. Transposing from a C instrument to a B-flat instrument. If you need help counting out the steps, following the whole and half steps on a keyboard can be helpful. Print out our piano guide cheat sheet to visualize whole and half steps between notes. Circumstantial evidence indicates that the baroque bassoon was a newly invented instrument, rather than a simple modification of the old dulcian.

The dulcian was not immediately supplanted, but continued to be used well into the 18th century by Bach and others. The man most likely responsible for developing the true bassoon was Martin Hotteterre d. Some historians believe that sometime in the s, Hotteterre conceived the bassoon in four sections bell, bass joint, boot and wing joint , an arrangement that allowed greater accuracy in machining the bore compared to the one-piece dulcian.

These may have included additional members of the Hotteterre family, as well as other French makers active around the same time. Notable makers of the 4-key and 5-key baroque bassoon include J. Poerschmann — , Thomas Stanesby, Jr.

List of transposing instruments

Scherer — , and Prudent Thieriot — Increasing demands on capabilities of instruments and players in the 19th century—particularly larger concert halls requiring greater volume and the rise of virtuoso composer-performers—spurred further refinement. Increased sophistication, both in manufacturing techniques and acoustical knowledge, made possible great improvements in the instrument's playability. The modern bassoon exists in two distinct primary forms, the Buffet system and the Heckel system.

Most of the world plays the Heckel system, while the Buffet system is primarily played in France, Belgium, and parts of Latin America. A number of other types of bassoons have been constructed by various instrument makers, such as the rare Galandronome. Assisted by the German acoustic researcher Gottfried Weber , he developed the key bassoon with a range spanning four octaves. Subsequent articles further developed his ideas.

His employment at Schott gave him the freedom to construct and test instruments according to these new designs, and he published the results in Caecilia , Schott's house journal. Heckel and two generations of descendants continued to refine the bassoon, and their instruments became the standard, with other makers following. Kruspe implemented a latecomer attempt in to reform the fingering system, but it failed to catch on.

Other attempts to improve the instrument included a keyed model and a single-reed mouthpiece , but both these had adverse effects on tone and were abandoned. Coming into the 20th century, the Heckel-style German model of bassoon dominated the field. Heckel himself had made over 1, instruments by the turn of the 20th century serial numbers begin at 3, , and the British makers' instruments were no longer desirable for the changing pitch requirements of the symphony orchestra, remaining primarily in military band use.

Except for a brief s wartime conversion to ball bearing manufacture, the Heckel concern has produced instruments continuously to the present day. Heckel bassoons are considered by many to be the best, although a range of Heckel-style instruments is available from several other manufacturers, all with slightly different playing characteristics. Because its mechanism is primitive compared to most modern woodwinds, makers have occasionally attempted to "reinvent" the bassoon. In the s, Giles Brindley began to develop what he called the "logical bassoon," which aimed to improve intonation and evenness of tone through use of an electrically activated mechanism, making possible key combinations too complex for the human hand to manage.

Brindley's logical bassoon was never marketed.

Why do we need transposition? (Asking for a friend.)

The Buffet system bassoon achieved its basic acoustical properties somewhat earlier than the Heckel. Thereafter, it continued to develop in a more conservative manner. While the early history of the Heckel bassoon included a complete overhaul of the instrument in both acoustics and key work, the development of the Buffet system consisted primarily of incremental improvements to the key work. This minimalist approach of the Buffet deprived it of improved consistency of intonation, ease of operation, and increased power, which is found in Heckel bassoons, but the Buffet is considered by some to have a more vocal and expressive quality.

The conductor John Foulds lamented in the dominance of the Heckel-style bassoon, considering them too homogeneous in sound with the horn. The modern Buffet system has 22 keys with its range being about the same as the Heckel. Compared to the Heckel bassoon, Buffet system bassoons have a narrower bore and simpler mechanism, requiring different fingerings for many notes.

Switching between Heckel and Buffet requires extensive retraining. Buffet instruments are known for a reedier sound and greater facility in the upper registers , reaching e'' and f'' with far greater ease and less air resistance. French woodwind instruments' tone in general exhibits a certain amount of "edge," with more of a vocal quality than is usual elsewhere, and the Buffet bassoon is no exception.

Richard Strauss - Serenade for 13 Wind Instruments in E flat, Op. 7

This type of sound can be beneficial in music by French composers, but has drawn criticism for being too intrusive. As with all bassoons, the tone varies considerably, depending on individual instrument and performer.

Category:E-flat instruments - Wikipedia

In the hands of a lesser player, the Heckel bassoon can sound flat and woody, but good players succeed in producing a vibrant, singing tone. Conversely, a poorly played Buffet can sound buzzy and nasal, but good players succeed in producing a warm, expressive sound, different from—but not inferior to—the Heckel. Though the United Kingdom once favored the French system, [11] Buffet-system instruments are no longer made there and the last prominent British player of the French system retired in the s.

However, with continued use in some regions and its distinctive tone, the Buffet continues to have a place in modern bassoon playing, particularly in France, where it originated. The Selmer Company stopped fabrication of French system bassoons around the year Orchestras first used the bassoon to reinforce the bass line, and as the bass of the double reed choir oboes and taille. Baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Lully and his Les Petits Violons included oboes and bassoons along with the strings in the piece later piece ensemble, as one of the first orchestras to include the newly invented double reeds.

However, use of bassoons in concert orchestras was sporadic until the late 17th century when double reeds began to make their way into standard instrumentation.


  • The Circle of Fifths.
  • OUR BRANDS.
  • .
  • .
  • The Fish Stick Sandwich Book.
  • List of E-flat instruments.
  • .

This was largely due to the spread of the hautbois to countries outside France. Increasing use of the bassoon as a basso continuo instrument meant that it began to be included in opera orchestras, first in France and later in Italy, Germany and England. Antonio Vivaldi brought the bassoon to prominence by featuring it in 37 concerti for the instrument.

By the midth century, the bassoon's function in the orchestra was still mostly limited to that of a continuo instrument—since scores often made no specific mention of the bassoon, its use was implied, particularly if there were parts for oboes or other winds.

Beginning in the early Rococo era, composers such as Joseph Haydn , Michael Haydn , Johann Christian Bach , Giovanni Battista Sammartini and Johann Stamitz included parts that exploited the bassoon for its unique color, rather than for its perfunctory ability to double the bass line. Orchestral works with fully independent parts for the bassoon would not become commonplace until the Classical era. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 's Jupiter symphony is a prime example, with its famous bassoon solos in the first movement.

The bassoons were generally paired, as in current practice, though the famed Mannheim orchestra boasted four. Another important use of the bassoon during the Classical era was in the Harmonie , a chamber ensemble consisting of pairs of oboes, horns and bassoons; later, two clarinets would be added to form an octet. The Harmonie was an ensemble maintained by German and Austrian noblemen for private music-making, and was a cost-effective alternative to a full orchestra. The modern symphony orchestra typically calls for two bassoons, often with a third playing the contrabassoon.

Some works call for four or more players.


  1. ?
  2. List of transposing instruments - Wikipedia!
  3. Trefft Baer: Deutsch (German Edition).
  4. The first player is frequently called upon to perform solo passages. Its agility suits it for passages such as the famous running line doubled in the violas and cellos in the overture to The Marriage of Figaro. In addition to its solo role, the bassoon is an effective bass to a woodwind choir, a bass line along with the cellos and double basses , and harmonic support along with the French horns. A wind ensemble will usually also include two bassoons and sometimes contrabassoon, each with independent parts; other types of concert wind ensembles will often have larger sections, with many players on each of first or second parts; in simpler arrangements there will be only one bassoon part and no contrabassoon.

    The bassoon's role in the concert band is similar to its role in the orchestra, though when scoring is thick it often cannot be heard above the brass instruments also in its range. La Fiesta Mexicana , by H. Owen Reed , features the instrument prominently, as does the transcription of Malcolm Arnold 's Four Scottish Dances , which has become a staple of the concert band repertoire.

    The bassoon is part of the standard wind quintet instrumentation, along with the flute, oboe, clarinet, and horn; it is also frequently combined in various ways with other woodwinds. Richard Strauss 's "Duet-Concertino" pairs it with the clarinet as concertante instruments, with string orchestra in support. An ensemble known as the "reed quintet" also makes use of the bassoon. A reed quintet is made up of an oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bass clarinet, and bassoon. The bassoon quartet has also gained favor in recent times. The bassoon's wide range and variety of tone colors make it well suited to grouping in a like-instrument ensemble.

    Bach exploits the more humorous aspects with his quartet "Lip My Reeds," which at one point calls for players to perform on the reed alone. It also calls for a low A at the very end of the prelude section in the fourth bassoon part. It is written so that the first bassoon does not play; instead, the player's role is to place an extension in the bell of the fourth bassoon so that the note can be played. The bassoon is infrequently used as a jazz instrument and rarely seen in a jazz ensemble.

    It first began appearing in the s, including specific calls for its use in Paul Whiteman 's group, the unusual octets of Alec Wilder , and a few other session appearances. The next few decades saw the instrument used only sporadically, as symphonic jazz fell out of favor, but the s saw artists such as Yusef Lateef and Chick Corea incorporate bassoon into their recordings. Lateef's diverse and eclectic instrumentation saw the bassoon as a natural addition see, e.

    More recently, Illinois Jacquet , Ray Pizzi , Frank Tiberi , and Marshall Allen have both doubled on bassoon in addition to their saxophone performances.


    1. La historia de la colonia Tierra-9 (Spanish Edition).
    2. Sins in the Hollow (Wicked Mountain Tales Book 2)?
    3. Category:E-flat instruments.
    4. Bassoonist Karen Borca , a performer of free jazz , is one of the few jazz musicians to play only bassoon; Michael Rabinowitz , the Spanish bassoonist Javier Abad , and James Lassen , an American resident in Bergen , Norway, are others. Katherine Young plays the bassoon in the ensembles of Anthony Braxton. French bassoonists Jean-Jacques Decreux [13] and Alexandre Ouzounoff [14] have both recorded jazz, exploiting the flexibility of the Buffet system instrument to good effect. The bassoon is even rarer as a regular member of rock bands. However, several s pop music hits feature the bassoon, including " The Tears of a Clown " by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles the bassoonist was Charles R.

      From to , the bassoon was played by Lindsay Cooper in the British avant-garde band Henry Cow. In the s, Madonna Wayne Gacy provided bassoon for the alternative metal band Marilyn Manson as did Aimee DeFoe, in what is self-described as "grouchily lilting garage bassoon" in the indie-rock band Blogurt from Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania.

      The rock band Better Than Ezra took their name from a passage in Ernest Hemingway 's A Moveable Feast in which the author comments that listening to an annoyingly talkative person is still "better than Ezra learning how to play the bassoon," referring to Ezra Pound. Played by UK bassoonist Louise Watson, the bassoon is heard in the tracks "Cold" and "Mr Skeng" as a compliment to the electronic synthesizer bass lines typically found in this genre.