just wondered what the main differences are. I mean i want to play one and wanted to know how different it is from bassoon.is it hard in anyway to switch over. are their any fingering issues or are the keys arranged massively different.

umm, as far as i know the fingerings are exactly the same, you just need more lung power to the the notes. and it`s obviously gonna be heavier but that aint an issue because you have a nice spike to support the entire instrument. and the contrabassoon is a lot more pricey. good luck! i`m sure you`ll make a really good contrabassoonist.

Where you gettin` a contra foo`? They run like 20k and up and most colleges don`t have one. But your question... it`s probably similar to switching between saxophones, clarinets, flutes, et cetera. In that you can pick it up and play(or sit and play in the case of the bassoon), but would take time to master it.

Yea, same keys, just 1 octave lower.

WOW! I just found this contrabassoon from Amati on Woodwind Brasswind!....... It`s $5000! http://www.wwbw.com/Amati-ABN36-Contra-Bassoon-i14810.music and on the replies, people are pretty satisfied with this contra! It`s worth a look.

definately not all the same fingerings, unless you`ve got a whisper key. the contra i`m playing on right now is incredibly difficult to find functional fingerings for beyond the 1st octave and a half.

here`s some pretty cool contrabassoon recordings

http://www.danieldorff.com/images/sda1.mp3

http://www.danieldorff.com/images/sda2.mp3

http://www.danieldorff.com/images/sda3.mp3

if you just go to that www.danieldorff.com there are some more but these three are the best

cool, thanks.

I´ve been playing a fabulous Czech contra for quite some time now. I play 9 instruments, but the contrabassoon is probably my favourite. To say the switch is easy...well, it depends on the model of contra. The sheer size is difficult to master, the size of the reeds is like thrusting a double-decker into one´s mouth, and the fingerings are very dodgy-I´d say even less logical than the highly precarious bassoon fingerings. However, the breathing is much easier; it can take very little air. However, the diaphragm has to work much harder to sustain the notes. If you do have a chance to play contra, YOU MUST! But beware, don`t expect to sound marvellous: the `switch` is harder than you think!

The contra has no wisper key or tone holes usually. The fingerings are not the same completely and when you get up to the high notes, you basically have to make you own as there is no standardized set of fingerings that work with all contras.

Hi, the contra bassoon has some fingering differences, and it does not come apart. It also has a water condensation key like brass!