Contra-bassoon

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The Contrabassoon

The contrabassoon sounds one octave lower than the bassoon. The contrabassoon's primary orchestral role is to extend the lower range of the bassoon section by that extra octave.

Notation

Contrabassoon parts are written in the Bass clef. Because the contrabassoon has such a low range, it is notated one octave higher than it sounds.

Range

The contrabassoon's lowest sounding note is Bb0, one octave below the bassoon's lowest note (Bb1). Although the contrabassoon plays in the same written range as the bassoon, it should probably not play higher than written F4 (a perfect 4th above Middle C).