Instrument reference · woodwind

Bassoon

By Band Tuning editorial · Facts checked 15 September 2026

The bassoon is a non-transposing instrument notated at pitch. ^2,3

The frequencies on this page are computed from the pitch standard A4 = 440 Hz, the 1939 London conference standard reaffirmed by ISO in 1975, in twelve-tone equal temperament, which divides the octave into twelve equal semitones: f = 440 × 2^(n/12), where n is the number of semitones above A4 (negative below). ¹ The notes are named in scientific pitch notation, where C4 is middle C.

Tuning notes and reference pitches

In a band's daily tuning the concert A and the concert B♭ are the notes this instrument tunes to, and the source says to warm up before tuning and to use no vibrato. ⁵ The table gives every octave of those notes inside the instrument's sounding range, the note the player reads for it, and its frequency. The browser tuner plays each of these as a reference tone.

How the pitch is adjusted

• Bocals come in three common lengths: 2 is standard, 1 shorter and sharper, 3 longer and flatter; rarer sizes are 4 (longer) and 0 and 00 (shorter). Pulling the bocal out harms the response. ⁵
• The maker's guide tunes the bassoon by changing the bocal, or by moving the bocal a little in the tenor joint while keeping the bocal's pianissimo hole within the whisper-key pad. ⁶
• Cold plays flat, hot plays sharp. ⁵

Every note in the range at A4 = 440 Hz

B♭1 to E5, sounding; E5 is given as attainable by professionals. ^2,4 This instrument reads at pitch, so the written and sounding notes are the same.

Maker's specification

Figures as printed in the maker's catalogue for its standard and intermediate models; a bore is the inside diameter of the tubing, a bell the diameter of its rim.

The family: other keys and sizes

Notes from the sources

• The bassoon works as an open tube and overblows at every harmonic partial, starting at the octave; its compass is about three and a half octaves and fully chromatic. ²
• Twenty-seven tone, register, vent and trill holes are placed along the body. ²
• The bass clarinet shares the bassoon's register and has more freedom between loud and soft, which is why wind music gives it low reinforcement. ⁸