THE ORCHESTRA: A USER'S MANUAL
Introduction Orchestration Orchestration Resources Historical Andrew Hugill
  Philharmonia

BASSOONS


Section: Woodwind
Transposing? No

Construction
Range
Articulations
Effects
Extended
Player's Tips and Tricks

Links
There are two types of bassoon used in orchestral music, as shown below:


The Bassoon (Meyrick Alexander, Philharmonia Orchestra)

and


The Contrabassoon (Nicholas Reader, Philharmonia Orchestra)

N.B. the 'contra' sounds an octave lower than written.

It is also worth bearing in mind the tenoroon:
...and the sarrusophone:

Use the links on the left to navigate through the bassoon pages.
The icon will launch a movie of Meyrick or Nick explaining a relevant point of bassoon technique.
The icon will give an audio clip, which will either play automatically or open a new window.
The icon will play an illustrative music example from the Philharmonia's recorded archive.

Be sure to visit the 'player's tips and tricks' section for some very useful advice about aspects of bassoon writing.