Fagottino

What it means

The fagottino is a reduced-size bassoon that sounds higher than the ordinary instrument. It is built in various sizes; widespread are instruments pitched a fourth or a fifth higher than the bassoon. Construction, key work, and double reed correspond in principle to the large model but are scaled down, so that the reach of the fingers and the weight remain manageable for small hands. The reeds are correspondingly smaller and are made specially for it.

Musical use

Today the fagottino serves in the first place for teaching: children can begin with it years earlier than would be possible on the large bassoon, and later change to the full instrument without having to relearn the basics. In addition there is a small repertoire of its own as well as arrangements for ensembles of bassoons of different sizes, in which it takes the upper voice. Historically, smaller forms of bassoon existed since the Baroque period, but the present use as a student instrument is a development of the twentieth century and follows the model of other reduced-size instruments.

Performance practice

Take care that instrument size and body size really fit together; an instrument that is too large imprints a posture that later has to be laboriously corrected. The reeds are more sensitive and used up faster than the large ones, and suitable reeds are harder to obtain — plan a stock. The intonation does not always follow the fingering pattern of the large bassoon; work from the start with the ear and a reference note, not with the tuner alone. Practise in short units, because embouchure and breath tire quickly in young players. When changing to the large bassoon, a transition period in which both instruments are played in parallel is worthwhile.

Bear in mind that the notation for the fagottino is not handled uniformly: some editions notate at sounding pitch, others so that the fingerings of the large bassoon fit. Settle this before lessons so that no false ideas are imprinted. In an ensemble with other instruments, the tuning must be checked carefully, because small instruments react more strongly to temperature. Keep practice units short and take care that posture and hand position correspond from the start to those of the later large instrument.