What does bassoon mean?
The bassoon is a large, conical-bored woodwind instrument played with a double reed, best known for its deep, rich tone and its role as one of the principal bass voices of the modern orchestra. Sounding roughly an octave below the oboe, it combines a warm, mellow low register with an agile upper range capable of both solemn lyricism and broad comedy. Composers from Mozart to Stravinsky have exploited this range, using the bassoon for everything from elegant solos to characterful, humorous effects. The word entered English in the early eighteenth century via French, ultimately deriving from an Italian augmentative meaning 'large bass'. A musician who plays the instrument is called a bassoonist, and related instruments include the larger contrabassoon, which extends the family's range still lower. For listeners, the bassoon is instantly recognisable by its distinctive, woody timbre.
nounA large woodwind instrument of the oboe family, played through a double reed and known for its deep, rich, resonant tone; it typically sounds an octave below the oboe.
- The large double-reed woodwind instrument sounding an octave below the oboe, used widely in orchestras, chamber music, and wind bands.
- (Rare) The player or part written for this instrument, as in orchestral scoring contexts ('the second bassoon').
"The bassoon opened the concerto with a warm, brooding solo that filled the concert hall."
"She took up the bassoon at school because no one else in her year wanted to carry it."
"Mozart's bassoon concerto remains one of the most beloved works in the instrument's repertoire."
Standard pluralisation applies; the plural is common when referring to sections of instruments or collections.
"The score calls for two bassoons and a contrabassoon in the final movement."
The bassoon's lowest notes were once so comically lugubrious that composers used them to represent clowns, grandfathers, and even dancing hippos — think Fantasia.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bassoon
The word bassoon came into English in the early seventeenth century from the French 'basson', itself borrowed from the Italian 'bassone', an augmentative form of 'basso' meaning 'low' or 'bass'. The Italian root traces back to the Latin adjective 'bassus', meaning short or low. Related terms sharing this ancestry include 'bass', referring to deep sound, and the musical term 'basso'.
Related word forms
How bassoon is actually used
The bassoon is a standard member of the Western symphony orchestra and wind band, prized for its warm low register and expressive, sometimes comic upper range. In British usage the German-derived term 'fagott' is occasionally encountered in scholarly writing but 'bassoon' is universal in English-speaking contexts.
Easily confused with bassoon
The contrabassoon is a distinct, much larger instrument that plays an octave below the ordinary bassoon.
The oboe is the smaller, higher-pitched double-reed instrument from which the bassoon family descends in design.