Contrabass Digest

1999-05-23

Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 12:36:27 +0200
From: Bart van den Dobbelsteen <bvddobb@knoware.nl>
Subject: Re: Quintbassoon
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.com

My daughter started to learn to play the bassoon when she was seven, on
the Moosman 'Fagottino' in F. It is a very nice instrument.

The thing is completely shaped like a 'regular' bassoon, just so much
smaller that in the hands of a seven-year old it looks 'right' in all
dimensions, and the kid really feels she 'owns' and controls the thing,
rather than the other way around.

While relatively expensive it was not a waste, we traded it in when she
was big enough to handle a regular size bassoon, now Schreiber, with
special applicature for smaller hands. When her hands are again big
enough for a regular applicature, we can do the trick again.

It is very nice that kids can, by using these F or G bassoons, start
relatively young. When she entered the youth orchestra here, she was now
on the same level as flutists, clarinettists, etc., that usually start
younger than bassoonists. Quite often you find in youth orchestras quite
apt woodwind players, with bassoonists that lag back because they are on
their instrument for just half a year or so.

CoolStu67@aol.com wrote:
> I know the quintbassoon isn't a contrabass instrument, but I think of our
> list as also a medium for odd instruments, plus several bassoonists reside. A
> Woodwind catalog just came, and it seems Amati reinvented the quintbassoon.
> It's 30-1/4 inches in length, in the key of G and is supposedly for younger
> bassoons. Surprisingly, it's only $1275.

 
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