Introducing Beethoven's Contrabassoon 

I never knew Beethoven composed the construction site in front of my window

The classical is generally much softer and has some really nice pure notes *continues to play a ship horn*

My husband plays this instrument every morning. I just can't figure out where he keeps it.

This is the exact tone that every heavy metal bass guitar player is looking for.

"The classical is generally much softer, and has some really nice, pure notes." BRAAAAAAAP, BWREEEEEEEP

"Beethoven himself may have heard it" The instrument so loud a deaf man could hear it.

With such low notes, you realize that pitch is really just a frequency. Impressive.

"I want a foghorn with a double-reed" ~Beethoven

IF you hate your neighbours, this is a perfect instument to practice at 3am.

Thats a note every one will remember. * starts an air compressor *

"The classical is generally much softer, and has some really nice, pure notes." **Starts up lawnmower**

I call this next composition 'Ship Arriving in Harbour'.

Beethoven: What this piece so desperately needs is the sound of a rhinoceros farting, but however am I to get him to do it in time with the music? Sir Simon Contrabassoon: A moment of your time, please, good sir?

"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should"

1:55 Ah yes, the opening movement from Beethoven's "Symphony for Oil-tankers." I know it well!

Beethoven: "I am bored of these instruments, make me something that resonates rock to dust while being hilarious to look at and hear"

The range of pitch is from 'taco fart' down to 'engine noise in cabin'.

My grandfather played this instrument. His was a Mollenhauer built in the 1930s. He played for Arturo Toscinini & Arther Fiedler among others. You can see him playing saxophone behind Al Jolson in the caberet scene of "The Jazz Singer" made in 1927. He played in the Vitaphone orchestra.

If this intimidating-looking instrument would be used as a weapon of mass destruction, it would be called a bassooka.

4:36 - When you need to snipe people with the brown note from 10 miles away

If you’re the kind of person who nearly faints blowing up balloons, this is not the instrument for you.

I very much enjoyed this video and learning about this instrument. However, I REALLY have enjoyed the comments much much more....

He should play the “ smoke on the water” riff on it , would sound really cool

Production team: Which is the widest angle lens we got?? He's playing a giraffe bone.

Can you imagine a trio for this, the sub contrabass saxophone, and the octobass? The vibrations would be insane!

This mad lad had a distorted 808 in the 16th century

Especially for Bethoven, this instrument was... "unheard of" at the time.

This comment thread is priceless. You folks got me laughing first thing in the morning!

"Beethoven himself may well have heard it." Well, that explains why he went deaf ...

Looks like an anti aircraft weapon😂

1800's: Has bassoons Beethoven and Haydn: _We need to go deeper_

David Chatterton: devotes his life to mastering a difficult, beautiful instrument with a rich history. RU-vid comments: _I'm about to end this man's whole career_

When your game crashes 5:12

4:11 So you’re controlling the reed... **Angry barn owl shrieking** In a different way to the modern one which is... **Screeching baby with a cold**

If you imagine him as a very small man playing a regular wind instrument it really elevates the video

No wonder Beethoven's Fifth Symphony was so epic. It had instruments I've never even heard of before. 😂

It's so low I can almost count the individual vibrations.

"Some really nice "pure notes..." I call this one... "Uncle on the toilet"

"The contrabassoon has only one rival in an orchestra, and that's the smashing of hardened concrete with a pneumatic drill next to your ear".

it should have red lights. you know, for the airplanes

Today I Learned: A contrabassoon looks like a Final Fantasy weapon.

"this really is one note which everyone can remember from the piece" *jackhammer begins drilling into cement*

Can you imagine the experience of your breathe bringing to life music from a 211 year old instrument. Marvelous

People: why is your left arm so huge? Mr. David Chatterton: I hold THIS.

I congratulate him on somehow managing to keep a straight face (and let's not forget that the first composer to use one in a symphony was stone deaf at the time).

Sounds like a Honda civic with a loud subwoofer, from the outside.

2:30 wow, I never noticed that the bell is chopped off in the masking process.

I love the illustration of the “terrible” notes. Non wind players won’t know what this means, but every bassoonist, particularly those who also have to do contra, understand!!

It's like a precision didgeridoo.

4:35 wait, did this thing get LONGER?

I made the mistake of reading the comments while watching the video... I can't hear the dude talking over how loud I'm laughing... thanks everyone 😂

I played the Bassoon in Highschool. We were told to choose our instruments, I picked the Bassoon because it looked so strange. Great instrument.

Is it me or does it grow during the video? It looks much longer in the end. Maybe it's happy to see us?

Beethoven: “I do say, I’ve always wanted an instrument of flatulence.” David: “Say no more”

My man is playing the telephone pole.

I had water stuck in my ear for weeks, and this video really helped thank you!

I'm left with a feeling that this could very well be a prank and we'd all be too embarrassed to ask...

It may be a coincidence that Alfried Krupp toured the Beethoven museum only 6 months before the 88 MM Flak cannon was designed. Then again...

This is the RU-vid content I didn't know I needed.

I really didn't know about this instrument, so thank you for introducing it in this video. The history of instruments is really intriquing and also gives a nice additional insight into Beethoven's 5th. It must be inspiring for a composer to have a sound like this at his disposal, really enhancing the possibilities.

It sounds like a fart reverberating off an orange plastic classroom chair.

3:00 "...has really nice pure notes" *10 seconds of brown note*

The lungs one must need to play an instrument like that.

Nobody: Me after eating 2 chipotle burritos in the span of 10 minutes: 5:13

aka anti tank bassoon

man, that clacking sound along with the fundamental..... that is scary! 5:15 horror soundtrack... done. haha

somehow over the years bassoon sound has become one of my favourites and your show is spectacular

Fabulous. I love this kind of lecture and presentation. Fascinating

4:13 I can't imagine testing a contrabassoon reed by itself and deciding it doesn't sound right, when this is the standard you're aiming for.

"Austrian marching bands on the continent that needed a 16' sound..." I've got to see those Austrian marching bands.

"Symphony for Oil-tankers" was my personal favorite down here in the comment section. Good one Magnus.

Thank you for featuring this unique instrument. More, please.

This thing can almost definitely hit the brown note.

And thus Dubstep was birthed by our forefathers 🤔

*_Amazing sound, so rich and warm..._* First time seeing or hearing a Contra-Bassoon. I think that is the tallest instrument I have seen. The new version with folded main airway really makes it more compact. Some will prefer old over new. Even with 2 1/2 octave range, the pitches are such that most people, myself included will listen with a sense of awe.

I love the sound of very old Woodwind instruments and this was a fascinating video. It would have been interesting to hear the sound of the modern Bassoon along side the original design though. -thanks so much for putting it up for us!

Bassoon inventor: "Damn! My duck call is broken! I hate to throw it away though....."

My late Dad played bassoon in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra during the 1950s - 60s. I recall one day he brought a contra-bassoon home to practice for an upcoming performance of the Fifth. Besides Beethoven, Dad produced eructations of flatulence from the beast, to the great amusement of his kids ( but not, as I recall, their Mom!)

Thanks David for such a good investigation work. The instrument is really beatiful and sounds great.

I love musical educational videos,you did out standingly well , thanks

Beethoven's love of flatulence has finally been exposed.

This literally sounds like my phone vibrating when I put it in silent

I don't care who you are, you can't just stroll by this and ignore it, like I wanted to at first. Great performance, great sound! I was so sad when it was all over!

Nice foghorn ya got there! But really, though, this was so interesting. I had no idea this instrument existed and you play it very well. :)

My old band friends always joked that bassoons were just bazookas you could play. But that things a freaking Howitzer.

"the classical is generally much softer and has some really soft pure notes." brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrum brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrum

I've had a classical instrument attached to my backside this whole time?

Reminds me of something I heard from a guy in the band I used to play keyboards with. He had a BASS saxophone. That was something that sat on a stand, definitely NOT a marching instrument, and its low notes also sounded like someone with a digestive disorder. I'm sure its the overtones that I'm hearing, but the really low notes for this video sound like the fundamental tone must be sub-sonic. Since one end is open, that means the effective length is doubled, so that thing might approach the equivalent of a pipe organ's 32-foot bass stops. Which is approximately 32 Hz if you round off some numbers. And that is DEEP. The downer for such an instrument is that you need to take a very deep breath because you have to move a lot of air to get that resonance going.

Love the sound of your instrument. As a clarinetist, I can appreciate the work and difficulty in making your reeds and playing that classic instrument. Thanks for the great sample of it's range and playing a short clip from Beethoven's work.

That's not a bassoon. *pulls outs contrabassoon* THAT's a bassoon

This was super informative, thanks for creating it!

This is absolutely delightful and very interesting. Thank you very much.

When I hear this instrument, the first thing that comes to mind definitely isn't "soft" or "nice, *pure* notes"

I farted at the time he was playing the Haydn and it sounded like we were doing a duet.

Love these interviews !

It’s the oversized anime sword of instruments

I wonder what made him decide he wanted to play that instrument. Was he like, "I want to make sweet ship sounds!"

Very nice! I have to admit, I didn't give a flying f about the bassoon, but then I married a woman who played one in school. She didn't call it a bassoon, she called it a fagotto. She could air-bassoon like no one else, and I'm a little jealous. This contrabassoon is very interesting, but I might need a roof rack.

Cool deep sounds. Love it.

So glad to have seen this. Just imagine practicing this gizmo for hours a day...