BASSOON, a wood-wind instrument with double reed mouth piece, a member of the oboe (q.v.) family, of which it is the bass. The German and Italian names of the instrument (Fagott and fagotto) were bestowed from a fancied resemblance to a bundle of sticks, the bassoon being the first instrument of the kind to be doubled back upon itself ; its direct ancestor, the bass pommer, 6f t. in length, was quite straight. The English and French names refer to the pitch of the instrument as the bass of the wood-wind.
The bassoon is composed of five pieces, which, when fitted together, form a wooden tube about 8f t. long (93in.) with a conical bore tapering from a diameter of i in. at the bell, to in. at the reed. The tube is doubled back upon itself, the shorter joint extending to about two-thirds of the length of the longer, whereby the height of the instrument is reduced to about 4f t. The holes are brought into a convenient position for the fingers by the device of boring them obliquely through the thickness of the wood of which the instrument is made.
The performer holds the instrument in a diagonal position; the lower part of the tube played by the right hand resting against his right thigh, and the little bell, turned upwards, pointing over his left shoulder; a strap round the neck affords additional support. The notes are produced by means of seven holes and 16, 17 or 19 keys. The mechanism and fingering are very intricate. Theoretically the whole construction of the bassoon is imperfect and arbitrary, important acoustic prin ciples being disregarded, but these mechan ical defects only enhance its value as an artistic musical instrument. The player is obliged to rely very much on his ear in order to obtain a correct intonation, and next to the strings no instrument gives greater scope to the artist. The bassoon has an eight foot tone, the compass extend ing from B flat below the bass stave to A flat (second space) in the treble or by means of an additional mechanism to C or even F.
The bassoon has been a favourite with nearly all the great masters. Beethoven uses it largely in his symphonies, writing everywhere for it independent parts of great originality. Bach, in his mass in B minor, has parts for two bassoons, and both Mozart and Weber wrote concertos for the instrument, which on account of its very characteristic quality of tone has often been employed for comic effects and has been called on this account the humorist of the orchestra.