Thread: French Basson Fingerings

Hello nice people!

I'd like to discuss here fingerings for the French basson. (The German bassoon might overwhelm the French one, so a separate thread seems more prudent).

My sources up to now are

• Maurice Allard: Tablature, trilles, gammes diatoniques et chromatiques
• Pierre Ganzoinnat: Préambule, initiation au basson

I'm looking for

• Fingerings above the F
• Other fingerings for all notes, as my instrument has no fourth register key at left thumb

Be it as web addresses, book titles, documents... The very helpful

wfg.woodwind.org

ignores the French system altogether.

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To start the discussion, I propose variants not given in my books. Some may be useful on a more complete instrument too. Click the images for full size.

BassonFing_DEF.png

Pink keys are not available on my instrument. Cross noteheads follow the Obukhov notation.

D demands the fourth register key in my books. Emission is unstable using the third key. But this improves if I push the third register key partly, which opens the cover but doesn't close the piano hole.

E isn't bad, but 1L half-closed stabilizes it, so it can be better lipped down, like the D.

F is unstable and very flat with usual fingerings, but half-closing 1L stabilizes it too. It is then easier to raise, by the known 3R optional position, by adding LT (not in my books), and by lipping up.

BassonFing_BbBC.png

Bb is more stable with 1L half-closed, like lower notes. Easier to lip down. Especially if adding LT, 4R can be freed then, which eases some slurs.

B is more stable with 1L half-closed, like lower notes. Easier to lip down.

C is more stable if the second register key is added to the third. Easier to articulate and to lip down.

This .zip file can be opened by 7zip, IZArc and other archivers.

BassonFing_Pattern1.zip

MSPaint and others can edit the contained png to draw your own proposals.

Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

Today I tried the fingerings proposed there
http://www.idrs.org/resources/BSNFING/FINGNOTF.HTM
but none worked better on my instrument than what Maurice Allard recommends.

More French bassoon fingerings:

E is less sharp without 4L, and 1L half-closed stabilizes it in that case too.

C# is more stable if the second register key is added to the third, like for C. Useful in more difficult cases, like double détaché.

BassonFing_CsharpE.png

Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy