Ok, I think we can all admit it.
The bassoon really doesn't really get a lot of respect these days. The last time I was at an event playing bassoon in front of middle schoolers and elementary students, so many younger musicians would ask me one question over and over again:
"Whoa! What instrument is that?!"
One of the reasons bassoonists are hoping to raise awareness for the bassoon is because the world knows so little about this incredible instrument. This, despite the fact that its rich, warm, unique sounds are an essential part of any classical or modern symphony music!
So what is a bassoon? Well, there's no better expert than Julia Lockhart, principle bassoonist for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO), to tell you a little bit about this instrument!
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
The bassoon is also sometimes confused for another instrument, and actually come to think of it, the bassoon is sometimes even confused for things that aren't even instruments! (See blog we posted earlier, "Someone calls calls 911 to report a gun...just a guy playing his bassoon?")
Which actually gave me an idea for this blog!
I've listed 5 mystery instruments below. All of them unique instruments that many musicians may not be as familiar with.
Think you can correctly name each of them?
Mystery Instrument #1
Mystery Instrument #2
Mystery Instrument #3
Mystery Instrument #4
Mystery Instrument #5
Comment below if you think you know the answers!
If you haven't seen some of the above instruments before, I would definitely check them out some more!
Popular instruments such as the clarinet, sax, flute, violin, cello, or piano are great! But why not play an instrument that not a lot of other people play, so that you can stand out more?
Believe it or not, there is actually a lot of demand for many unique instruments (it is just that not enough musicians are playing them!)
A few of the unique instruments that are currently in the highest demand include:
Bassoon
French Horn
Euphonium
There are of course many other amazing unique instruments, but these seem to be the instruments that have the fewest players and the highest demand at different levels (middle school, high school, college, youth symphony, professional symphony).
Why not explore one of these instruments for yourself?
Please feel free to explore the other parts of this website to determine which unique instrument may be the right one for you.