Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The largest and lowest pitched of the double-reed wind instruments, sounding an octave below the bassoon. Also called double bassoon.
Wiktionary
- n. music A larger version of the bassoon sounding one octave lower, having a technique similar to the bassoon but offers more resistance in every way.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the bassoon that is the largest instrument in the oboe family
Etymologies
- Semi-anglicized version of Italian contrafagotto, probably following the model of the English word contrabass (which derives from Italian contrabbasso). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“You can also hear that the contrabassoon is more difficult to play, even in the hands of a top player like Lipnick.”
The Washington Post: Audio: The contrabassoon vs. contraforte
““The contrabassoon is more resistant and you have to do more to make it work,” Lipnick says.”
The Washington Post: Audio: The contrabassoon vs. contraforte
“Lewis Lipnick, the contrabassoonist of the NSO, plays Schulhoff's piece on the contrabassoon, the instrument he has been playing for more than 40 years:”
The Washington Post: Audio: The contrabassoon vs. contraforte
““The spark of divinity can be present in a liverwurst just as well as in a contrabassoon,” he wrote in his preface to the work.”
The Washington Post: Audio: The contrabassoon vs. contraforte
“At first hearing, the similarities between the contraforte and the contrabassoon are evident: both instruments hang out in the dark, lowest register of the double-reed universe.”
The Washington Post: Audio: The contrabassoon vs. contraforte
“Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942) wrote “Bass Nightingale” for the contrabassoon as a deliberate provocation to so-called aesthetes.”
The Washington Post: Audio: The contrabassoon vs. contraforte
“Dee: I don't mean to question your analysis, Commander, but it has normal brown eyes and was not an instant virtuoso on the contrabassoon.”
“(Soundbite of music) LUNDEN: Mehldau has stretched his sonic palette on "Highway Rider" to include a chamber orchestra with strings, horns and contrabassoon.”
“That usually refers to works that go to the extremes of the orchestra, beyond the meat-and-potatoes of strings and winds and brass: a stroke of harp, a shimmer of cymbal, the mellow birdcall of an oboe d'amore or the flatulence of a contrabassoon.”
The Washington Post: Hans Graf conducts Jean-Yves Thibaudet, National Symphony in Ravel, Debussy
“Which is probably why there are a lot of people who can play piano and not that many the contrabassoon and double bass.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘contrabassoon’.
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-oons (once of more than one syllable)
Originally this list was to contain multisyllabic words that end in "oon," but as you can see from the comments, all hell broke loose.
doubloon, poltroon, spittoon, patroon, dragoon, bassoon, platoon, typhoon, rangoon, maroon, pontoon, monsoon and 96 more...
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Musical Instruments
Collect them all!
dulcimer, french horn, didgeridoo, zither, tympani, djembe, xylophone, vibraphone, singing bowl, bagpipes, banjo, guitar and 66 more...
Tweets
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