bassoon

American  

[ba-soon, buh-] / bæˈsun, bə- /

noun

1. a large woodwind instrument of low range, with a doubled tube and a curved metal crook to which a double reed is attached.

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bassoon British  

/ bəˈsuːn /

noun

1. a woodwind instrument, the tenor of the oboe family. Range: about three and a half octaves upwards from the B flat below the bass staff

2. an orchestral musician who plays the bassoon

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bassoon Cultural  

1. The second largest and second lowest pitched of the woodwinds. (The less common contrabassoon is larger and has a lower pitch.) It is played with a double reed.

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Other Word Forms

• bassoonist noun

Etymology

Origin of bassoon

1720–30; < French basson < Italian bassone ( bass ( o ) low ( base ² ) + -one augmentative suffix)

Example Sentences

A few years ago, Dad traded in his vintage Mercedes for a silver SUV with a trunk large enough to store Camille’s bassoon, Andre’s lacrosse gear, and my dance bag all at the same time.

From Literature

Otto Mortensen’s Quintet for Winds followed, providing a showcase for players on flute, oboe/English horn, clarinet, bassoon and French horn.

From The Wall Street Journal

His 2023 release, “The Other One”—for which he conducted an ensemble including saxophones, bassoons, strings, percussion and piano—landed on the year-end best-of lists of several classical music critics.

From The Wall Street Journal

The recording quality was coarse, and the score was loudly amplified, a solo bassoon in its mysterious high register sounding like a pigeon being tortured.

From Los Angeles Times

In the Lento e deserto, the work’s only slow movement, the lonely yowlings of piccolo, bassoon and slide whistle formed a tender yet humorous trio.

From New York Times