contrabassoons
Orchestra's deepest reeds
Contrabassoons are the largest and lowest-pitched instruments in the bassoon family, sounding an octave below the standard bassoon.
The instrument's tube doubles back on itself multiple times to achieve its length while remaining playable.
Contrabassoons provide the bass foundation in orchestral woodwind sections: The contrabassoons rumbled beneath the full orchestra.
Bassoon neck tube
- reedVibrating sliver for woodwinds
- maple woodLumber from syrup-producing trees
- keysLock-operating instruments
- crookBent implement or criminal
bell · double reed · wing joint · keywork · bore · embouchure · hand rest · rollers
Paired vibrating cane strips
- woodwind sectionAir-blown instrument ensemble
- orchestraLarge instrumental ensemble
- symphonyExtended composition for orchestra
- ensembleUnified group or outfit
orchestration · tutti · wind section · philharmonic · score · instrumentation · principal · pit orchestra
Modernist ballet about renewal
- MahlerAustrian composer-conductor
- NutcrackerYuletide ballet with toys
- ProkofievTwentieth-century Russian composer
- ShostakovichSoviet orchestral composer
Ravel · Stravinsky · Scheherazade · Firebird · Bartok · solo passages
Managing exhalation deliberately
- embouchureWind player's mouth position
- fingeringNote-playing hand technique
- transpositionSwapping positions of elements
- practiceRepeated work toward mastery
technique · endurance · posture · support · articulation · dynamics · phrasing · tuning
Forming the base
- rangeExtent of variation
- resonanceAmplified oscillation at natural frequency
- projectionSomething that extends outward
- intonationPitch variation in speech
overtones · pitch · A1 · vibration · frequency · sound production · tone quality · air column
bocal
Bassoon neck tube
- reedVibrating sliver for woodwinds
- maple woodLumber from syrup-producing trees
- keysLock-operating instruments
crook · bell · double reed · wing joint · keywork · bore · embouchure · hand rest · rollers · pad
double reeds
Paired vibrating cane strips
- woodwind sectionAir-blown instrument ensemble
- orchestraLarge instrumental ensemble
- symphonyExtended composition for orchestra
ensemble · orchestration · tutti · wind section · philharmonic · score · instrumentation · principal · pit orchestra · wind ensemble
Rite of Spring
Modernist ballet about renewal
- MahlerAustrian composer-conductor
- NutcrackerYuletide ballet with toys
- ProkofievTwentieth-century Russian composer
Ravel · Stravinsky · Shostakovich · Scheherazade · Firebird · Bartok · solo passages
breath control
Managing exhalation deliberately
- embouchureWind player's mouth position
- fingeringNote-playing hand technique
- transpositionSwapping positions of elements
practice · technique · endurance · posture · support · articulation · dynamics · phrasing · tuning · warm-up
fundamental
Forming the base
- rangeExtent of variation
- resonanceAmplified oscillation at natural frequency
- projectionSomething that extends outward
intonation · overtones · pitch · A1 · vibration · frequency · sound production · tone quality · air column · standing wave
contrabassoonspiccolos
Half-sized high flutes
fifes · flutes · glockenspiels · tin whistles · harmonicas