Whimsical Woodwinds and Boisterous Brass Woodwinds and Brass    

Lesson 6: Bassoon - Bassoon Concerto in C Major

by Antonín Reichenauer

Performer: Robert Rønnes

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Listen to the music daily.
• Recite the composer and composition names.
• Read the synopsis.
• Review the vocabulary terms.
• Read about the instrument or topic category.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

This lesson continues the study of the bassoon, a woodwind instrument. The musical composition for this lesson, 'Bassoon Concerto in C Major,' by Antonín Reichenauer, features the bassoon. As you enjoy the music, identify the sounds of the bassoon. The painting included in the lesson, 'The Orchestra at the Opera,' by Edgar Degas, shows a bassoonist playing with an orchestra while ballerinas dance in the background.

Vocabulary

Concerto: A musical composition for a solo instrument or instruments accompanied by an orchestra, especially one conceived on a relatively large scale.
Major (of a key): Based on a major scale, tending to produce a bright or joyful effect.

Category

1. Music lessons group musical instruments into five major categories: strings, keyboards, percussion, woodwinds, and brass.
2. Woodwind instruments in an orchestra typically include flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons.
3. Woodwind instruments produce sound when the musician blows across an opening or through a tube to vibrate air inside the instrument.
4. Most woodwind instruments incorporate a reed to produce their distinctive sounds. Study the three bassoon reeds. Note how they fan out at the end.

5. Reeds are attached to the mouthpiece of instruments, where musicians blow to vibrate the reed and the air inside the instrument.

6. Woodwind instruments also have keys or open holes that musicians press to alter the sound. See the keys on the bassoon.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Review the Parts of a Bassoon

Review the parts on the labeled picture of the bassoon.

Activity 2: Review How to Hold and Play a Bassoon

• Examine the picture of the bassoonist and answer the following questions:
• How does the man use his right hand?
• How does the man use his left hand?
• What do the man's fingers press down?
• How does the man use his mouth and lips?
• How does the man change which sounds the bassoon plays?

Activity 3: Quiz Yourself: Identify Bassoon Parts

Quiz yourself, and identify the following parts from memory on the bassoon diagram:

• Bocal (or Crook)
• Bell Joint
• Boot Joint
• Long Joint
• Wing Joint
• Reed

Activity 4: Can You Find It?

Study the lesson image, 'The Orchestra at the Opera,' by Edgar Degas, and find the following:

• Bassoonist
• Bassoon Bocal (or Crook)
• Bassoon Reed
• Bassoon Keys
• Bassoon Boot Joint
• Ballerinas
• Bows
• Flute
• Bass
• Cello
• Harp
• Violins
• Audience Member

Review

Question 1

What are the five major categories of instruments listed in the lesson?

1 / 5

Answer 1

The five major categories of instruments are strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.

1 / 5

Question 2

Which instrument category does this lesson feature?

2 / 5

Answer 2

This lesson features the woodwind category.

2 / 5

Question 3

Which instrument does this lesson feature?

3 / 5

Answer 3

This lesson features the bassoon.

3 / 5

Question 4

What are the major parts of the bassoon?

4 / 5

Answer 4

Major parts of the bassoon include the bocal (or crook), the bell joint, the long joint, the wing joint, the boot joint, the reed, and the keys.

4 / 5

Question 5

How do musicians create different sounds with woodwinds?

5 / 5

Answer 5

Musicians press woodwind keys or open holes to create different sounds. They also change how hard they blow to manipulate the volume.

5 / 5

❮ ❯

1. What are the five major categories of instruments listed in the lesson? The five major categories of instruments are strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.
2. Which instrument category does this lesson feature? This lesson features the woodwind category.
3. Which instrument does this lesson feature? This lesson features the bassoon.
4. What are the major parts of the bassoon? Major parts of the bassoon include the bocal (or crook), the bell joint, the long joint, the wing joint, the boot joint, the reed, and the keys.
5. How do musicians create different sounds with woodwinds? Musicians press woodwind keys or open holes to create different sounds. They also change how hard they blow to manipulate the volume.

References

'Woodwind instrument.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Bassoon.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.