Instrument
Bassoon sheet music
3,754 titles in the index · page 1 of 79
The bassoon reads in two clefs, and which one you are looking at changes several times within a single movement of the standard repertoire. That is the practical barrier to most of this catalogue, more than any question of edition or arrangement.
The listing below covers solo bassoon, bassoon with piano, concerti, orchestral and chamber parts, contrabassoon and study material.
Bohuslav Martinů - Nonet
- Flute
- Oboe
- violin
6. Casse moy
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
All And Some
- Piano
- Oboe
- violin
Balm In Gilead
- Piano
- Oboe
- violin
Sing Praise To God Who Reigns Above
- Piano
- Oboe
- violin
Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus
- Piano
- Oboe
- violin
Deep River
- Piano
- Cello
- Oboe
Go Down, Moses
- Piano
- Cello
- Oboe
Old Czech Melody
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
Leaping Dance
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
Pavane. La Forze d'Hercole
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
Cantio polonica
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
Chorea I
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
Chorea II
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
Chorea Polonica
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
Corant
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
Chorea Sponsae
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
Zingaresca
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
Ungaresca I
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
Ungaresca II
- Cello
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
A Gentle Waltz
- Bassoon
A Little Reverie
- Bassoon
Signature Tune
- Bassoon
The Donkey Trot
- Bassoon
Noggin The Nog (Elliott)
- Bassoon
Here's A How-de-do
- Bassoon
Slides
- Cello
- Flute
- Oboe
Strawchain
- Flute
- Oboe
- Bassoon
Sonata For Bassoon And Piano (Previn)
- Bassoon
Sonata For Bassoon And Piano (Bennett)
- Bassoon
Orientale
- Bassoon
Friday
- Bassoon
Monday
- Bassoon
Thursday
- Bassoon
Tuesday
- Bassoon
Wednesday
- Bassoon
Intermezzo Op.1 No.2 [Borodin, Aljeksandr Porfirjevic]
- Flute
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
March
- Cello
- Flute
- Oboe
Serenade [Dodgson, Stephen]
- Cello
- Flute
- violin
Hornpipe [Jacob, Gordon]
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
The Enchantress Plays
- Piano
- Bassoon
Wheels Within Wheels
- Flute
- Oboe
- Bassoon
Studie I Variationsform For Fagot-solo Op.34
- Bassoon
Variations
- Bassoon
Sonata For Bassoon And Piano
- Bassoon
Quintet For Winds
- Flute
- Bassoon
- Horn
Trio Sonata For Oboe, Cor Anglais And Bassoon
- Oboe
- Bassoon
Louis Moÿse - Grandmama's Waltz
- Bassoon
Buying guide
What to know before you buy
Bass clef, tenor clef, and occasionally treble
The bassoon's working range spans more than three octaves, so a part sits in bass clef at the bottom and switches to tenor clef above roughly the D a tenth above middle C, to avoid a wall of ledger lines. A few late Romantic and twentieth-century parts push into treble clef at the extreme top.
None of this is optional knowledge — Mozart's concerto changes clef repeatedly. A beginner buying "easy bassoon solos" should check that the edition stays in bass clef; many graded books deliberately do, and say so.
Contrabassoon is a different part
The contrabassoon sounds an octave below written pitch and its parts are separately published. In orchestral sets it frequently shares a stave with bassoon 2 with the entries marked, which means buying "Bassoon II" may or may not give you the contra line. If you play contra, look for a part named as such.
What you can get free
The concerti by Vivaldi, Mozart and Weber are out of copyright, along with Milde's studies, the Weissenborn method and every orchestral part written before about 1930 — which is most of the standard orchestral literature. Modern editions of the Mozart in particular are still worth buying, because the cadenza and articulation choices vary considerably and free scans give you a nineteenth-century view of both.
Common questions
- Why does bassoon music change clef?
- To keep the notes on the stave. The bassoon's range is wide enough that a part written entirely in bass clef would need many ledger lines, so higher passages move to tenor clef and occasionally treble.
- Do I need a German or French system edition?
- Neither — the printed music is the same for both. The difference is in fingering, so it affects method books and fingering charts, not repertoire.
- Is the Mozart Bassoon Concerto free?
- The music is out of copyright and free scans are easy to find. Modern editions still sell because they differ on articulation and offer better cadenzas and a cleaner piano reduction.