Bassoon, double
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The Double Bassoon, or contrabassoon, is the largest and deepest orchestral woodwind instrument. Its sound is so low that it can seem rather fuzzy and unclear. However, in the hands of the best musicians, the double bassoon's organlike tone rings through the orchestra, adding richness and weight to chords.
| Family |
| Woodwinds |
| Pitch range |
| About three octaves. |
| Material |
| Maple wood. |
| Size |
| Around 4 ft (1.20 m) ; when unwound, the tube is 18 ft (5.50 m) long. |
| Origins |
| The double bassoon evolved from the curtal, or dulzian, in Europe. The present model was perfected by the German instrument-maker Heckel in 1876. |
| Classification |
| Aerophone: an instrument that produces its sound by the vibration of a column of air. |
| And also... |
| The double bassoon is the lowest woodwind instrument in the orchestra - so low that the sound is sometimes more of a rattle than a note. |
