Contrabassoon

Contrabassoon (Fr.: contre-basson; Ger.: Kontrafagott; It.: contrafagotto, fagottone), bassoon pitched an oct. below the ordinary bassoon, nowadays usually made of metal; it took its present form in the 19th c. The bore is slightly conical and the tube bent back on itself several times in order to reduce the over-all length and bring the keys within convenient playing position. The air column of a modern instr. is about 4.80 m. (16 ft.) long, and its chromatic compass is from C1 (sometimes A1)…