Types of Bassoons
Heckel Bassoon (German)The most common type of bassoon played around the world is the German style, or Heckel system bassoon. The Heckel bassoon began its development when Carl Almenräder, a German composer, performer, and teacher, began working with the German acoustical researcher Gottfried Weber to construct a 17 key bassoon with a range of four octaves. Almenräder would then open his own factory with Johann Adam Heckel in 1831 further develop the bassoon. Two more generations of Heckel descendants would continue to refine their instrument into the bassoon that dominates the musical world today. A Heckel bassoon commonly has 23 keys, with student models sometimes having fewer keys, and more advanced bassoons having options for more.
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Buffet Bassoon (French)While the Heckel system was more of a complete overhaul of the baroque bassoon, the Buffet bassoon was more of an evolution, with the primary changes being incremental improvements of the keywork. Because of this, the Buffet never developed the same consistency of the Heckel, and therefore the same ease and operation and power of its German counterpart. The Buffet bassoon has a narrower bore and a simplified mechanism, which requires different fingerings for many notes. Because of this they must be considered truly different instruments, and any bassoonist who doubles on both types of bassoon will require extensive retraining of the fingerings of each. This French bassoon has 22 keys and a more reedy tone that is considered to have a more vocal or singing quality. Outside of France, however, it is mostly used by bassoonists performing French repertoire to maintain the integrity of the original composition.
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ContrabassoonThe contrabassoon, or double bassoon, was developed in the mid-18th century, and sounds a full octave lower than the bassoon. To accommodate all that length, the bore doubles back twice on itself like a paper clip in contrast to the bassoon's hairpin shape. The reeds, too, are thicker and heavier, and the fingering is different. The contrabassoon's lowest notes are the lowest of the orchestra, and the instrument's deep profound buzz was thought suitable only for reinforcement of bass lines until modern composers were able to find delight in the contrabassoon's strangeness. It is mainly a supplementary rather than a core orchestral instrument, and is most frequently found in larger symphonic works, often doubling the bass trombone or tuba at the octave. The first composer to write a separate contrabassoon part in a symphony was Beethoven, in his Fifth Symphony, although Bach, Handel, Haydn, and Mozart had occasionally used it in other genres.
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ContraforteThe Contraforte is a new instrument developed by Benedikt Eppelsheim and Guntram Wolf as a replacement for the traditional contrabassoon. Rather than making alterations to the current contrabassoon, this is a completely new instrument designed to outplay the contrabassoon in every aspect of performance. While playing in roughly the same range as the contrabassoon, the Contraforte's design improves on its predecessor with a wider bore for more voluminous tone, larger tone holes for a free response and a larger dynamic range, and a precisely shaped bore taper for improved intonation. The body sections have been reconfigured for an improved radiation of sound and easier fingering positions, as well as mechanical improvements to key bearings for silent key action, push rods for easy action without friction, half-hole mechanisms for a clean, noise-free octave for F#3 and G3, and automatic octave keys for Ab3 and F4. As this instrument grows in popularity, it will be interesting to see how composers begins writing with the capabilities of the Contraforte in mind.
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