e flute.)

FLUTE. Length, 26-1/2 in.

BASSOON. (fagotto.) Length, 4 ft. 3-1/2 in. Range BB-flat b-flat'.]

20. The next four instruments to be described (_oboe_, _bassoon_,
_English horn_, and _contra bassoon_) are often referred to as the _oboe
family_ since the principle of tone production and general manipulation
is the same in all four. The tone in these instruments is produced by
the vibration of two very thin pieces of cane, which are called together
a _double-reed_.

The _oboe_ is especially valuable in the orchestra as a solo instrument,
and its thin, nasal tones are suggestive of rustic, pastoral simplicity,
both _oboe_ and _English horn_ being often used by orchestral composers
in passages intended to express the idea of rural out-of-door life. The
_English horn_ is also often used in passages where the idea of
melancholy and suffering is to be conveyed to the audience. In a
military band the oboe corresponds to the first violin of the orchestra.

The _bassoon_ and _contra-bassoon_ are used mostly to provide a bass
part for the harmony of the wood-wind group, but they are also sometimes
employed (especially the _bassoon_) to depict comic or grotesque
effects.

[Illustration: BASS CLARINET. Length, 3 ft. 3 in. Range D to b-flat']

[Illustration: CLARINET. Length 28 in.]

21. The next two types of instruments to be described (_clarinet_ and
_saxophone_) are alike in that the tone is produced by the vibration of
a _single_ strip of cane (called _single reed_) which is held against
the lower lip of the player. The _clarinet_ and _bass clarinet_ are made
of wood and are used in both bands and orchestras, but the _saxophone_
is usually made of metal, and, the tone being more strident and
penetrating, the instrument is ordinarily used only in combination with
other wind instruments, _i.e._, in bands.

Since the fingering of the _clarinet_ is excessively difficult the
performer can play in only certain keys on the same instrument, hence to
play in different keys _clarinets_ in several keys must be provided,
there being usually three in all. The music is written as though it were
to be played in the key of C, but the tones produced are actually in
other keys. For this reason the _clarinet_ is called a _transposing
instrument_. The range of the _clarinet_ is the greatest possessed by
any of the wind instruments, that of the clarinet in C being from
[Illustration: e] to [Illustration: g'''].

[Illustration: S