The Contrabassoon in the Orchestra

Utah Symphony Associate Principal Bassoon Leon Chodos talks about his studies and career playing the contrabassoon, discusses the role of the contrabassoon in the orchestra, and plays a solo.
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[@__donez__]

I took bassoon lessons with Jane when I was in undergrad. She was such a great person. May she rest in peace.

[@kotodama56]

We love to feel your vibrations over in the bass section!

[@PoeticBabble]

MORE CONTRABASSOON! MOOOOOORE!

[@musicalguy9]

I have a bassoon friend who has 2 contrabassoons and 3 bassoons and she lived in Europe me and all my friends including her play songs every week

[@LawrenceRhodes]

Great control and sensitivity. Love your playing style.

[@cesteres]

Excellent tone. The golden reed!

[@jwd0808]

Ohh I knew Jane... May she rest in peace... She was a fantastic musician and a great bassoonist.

[@kaiaballobey4239]

I play bassoon as well. My primary instrument is bass clarinet and bassoon is my secondary. I’d love to play the contra bassoon.

[@richardchatelain8690]

Good job Leon. I wished you’d play more.

[@mason11198]

3:55 Careful what you say. You've enticed me to make a ridiculously bassoon ensemble composition featuring the bassoon in a cadeza

[@sebastianzaczek]

Check out Kristian Oma Ronnes on KZbin, his basoon transcriptions are beyond everything you probably have ever seen

[@mason11198]

@@sebastianzaczek Yeah, I heard his work, and I fear only he can play my piece lol

[@MrJohnkersey]

Thank you that was fun.

[@harryrobinson2584]

I love it! I used to play flute and double bass (and a tad bit of piano) but i love the bassoon and the contrabassoon.

[@matthewwilson9749]

Love your tone

[@JimA-pp2nu]

it's the instrument , not the player dumb ass

[@dlwatib]

I'm glad everything worked out so well for you. When I was in elementary school we had a band. I wanted to play saxophone, but the instructor insisted that my lower teeth weren't straight enough and I wouldn't be able to play it. (Apparently he'd never watched Kenny G play out of the side of his mouth.) My second choice was the drums and he let me start out on the snare, so I was in the band. But then he decided after a few weeks that he had too many drummers and needed a baritone player, and so if I wanted to stay in the band I had to switch to baritone. (I'm not sure why he picked me, I probably had the worst timing of any other drummer but he didn't tell me that.) Baritone was not a happy choice for me. I hated the weight and bulk of the instrument, which meant that I couldn't take it home to practice since I couldn't take it on a fully loaded school bus. It also wasn't a sound that really connected to me emotionally. Since I had started late and the only time I had to practice was during band class, I always felt like I was behind the rest of the band. Eventually we moved, and at the new school I insisted that I wasn't going to play baritone in their band, it was either drums or sax or nothing, and it ended up being nothing because they already had enough players for my preferred instruments. Fortunately, for one concert the band instructor relented and let me play tympani. I liked that and would have continued with that if the opportunity had presented itself.

[@lizzyinatizzy6188]

:(

[@JimA-pp2nu]

thanks for your life story, we were all interested

[@jpstenino]

grand presentation thank you

[@cammtz8312]

Thank you

[@itzz_jrdn1290]

Don’t mind the lonely Bassoonist here ;-;

[@mason11198]

4:42 so basically you have the same problem as us tubists and I'd assume bassists. So much missed opportunity in the repertoire section of things

[@bradencutright-head6629]

I actually like using the contrabassoon as the bad guy in some of my pieces.

[@luishuerta2505]

I’ve always wanted to play the contrabassoon I’m also a bassoonist

[@flacidhouse350]

Man, that is some shit when you are envying all the time first bassoon spends in the lime light.

[@nickschneider9985]

A contrabassoon is a low-pitch woodwind music machine.

[@PoseidonRM]

Great job Leon!

[@cosmicwolf9228]

This is scarily similar to me. I’m still a freshman. I want to be an astrophysicist, I started playing in band in middle school and I played the flute. I enjoyed it but I sucked it. I was a little bored and I saw in sheet music there was flute/oboe instead of just flute. So I talked to my band director and he said I should try the bassoon. (I mixed up bassoon and oboe and I thought the big one was called the oboe because I forgot the actual oboe was a thing). So I tried it second semester of 8th grade and I’ve been playing it since. I’m the only bassoonist in my entire school district (it’s not that big, I’m a freshman and there’s only 110ish people in my class). Sadly our school doesn’t have a contrabassoon but I love the bassoon. I also my highschool band director says I have bassoon hands because I have giant hands.

[@JimA-pp2nu]

spare us your life story, no one cares!

[@a10washere]

Jim A No one asked but it’s a comments section for god sake. Anyone can put what they want.

[@rmj2n]

It's all about the brass! Jk any French horn players here?

[@snowycroquet2687]

Those sweet notes

[@Apfelstrudl]

You want to make contrabassoo sounds by yourself? Hold/tweak the nose with both pinkies and close the ears with your thumbs. Now let your lips freely vibrate and here it is!

[@zanejensen7403]

Almost as epic as contrabass clarinet.

[@jeffpolosmith6945]

500th subscriber

[@JimA-pp2nu]

your trophy is in the mail, loser

[@AlexCJava]

It's a great dinosaur-sound instrument if played without the thing you whistle. In some lower tones it looks like a farting-sound! As you said is an “odd instrument“ that needs another one to make a beautifully love couple. ;)

[@AudioElf]

Bassoonists who love Ravel. Gee. Shocker.

[@amanuelfitsum1677]

So contrabasson but no euphonium or baritone in the orchestra? I am confusion?

[@cesteres]

Nope those are for band.

[@fsdhuy]

mmmmmmmm you would rarely play a contra instrument in any orchestra, as for the euphoniums and baritones, i dont really know, definitely tubas tho

[@JimA-pp2nu]

I am insanity

[@stellanpalanacki5702]

@@JimA-pp2nu shut up

[@owenthies9833]

what was the piece where he removed the reed?

[@JimA-pp2nu]

the foreskin

[@marquisdehoto1638]

Is it just me.. or does he look a bit like tom hiddlston?

[@michaelrollo9177]

hey alexandre was that a joke at least he can play better than I can

[@CoinEaterBTBM]

Compusers

[@benschroth7717]

He never plays it. 8 mins and he plays it for 30 secs. Just play it.

[@jpsned]

I know--I was thinking the same thing. The back story is fun but come on man, play some tunes!

[@DanOC1991]

Nice video but I could have done without this guys life story.