Fingerings

Ravel, Maurice. Bolero, opening solo.

Groeling, Charles R. "Cultivating Bassoonists." The Instrumentalist 47/1 (August 1992): 52.

The numbers in the music refer to the numbers with fingerings below.

For rapid Bb4-A4 combinations: Bb4 use Cooper p. 291 and for A4 use Cooper p. 288.

Note #1 Bb4:            Note #2 A4:
    Eb                     Eb
x x x | x x o F          x x x | o o o F                                                     
 a c#                   a c#

Bb4:

A4:

Ravel, Maurice. Bolero, opening solo. Ledwith, Austin. In Klimko, Ronald. Bassoon Performance Practices and Teaching in the United States and Canada. Idaho: University of Idaho, 1974, p. 66.

 

Note # 11 Db5: 
 x o o | o o o
d

Ravel, Maurice. Bolero, opening solo. Moritz, Frederick. "A Dissertation on the Use of Alternate Fingerings for Some of the High Register Notes on the Heckel and Heckel-Type Bassoons." The Double Reed 8/3 (Winter 1985): 34-37. Readers may find it most helpful to refer to the article itself. Fingerings for bassoons without the G# ring follow in order of first appearance in the solo:

First solo measure:

 

Note #1 Bb4:         Note #2 A4:
    Eb                   Eb
x x x | x x o        x x x | o o x
 a c#    E            a c#

Bb4:

A4:

Note # 3 G4:         Note #4 F4:   
      Eb                 Eb
1/4 x x | x o o F    x o x | x x o

G4:

F4:

Note# 6 C5:          Note #7 A4:
    Eb                   Eb
x o o | o o o        / x x | o o x
 b                   b

C5:

A4:

Measure four of the solo. Use Bb4 (Note #9) and C5 (Note #10) given above, then

Note #11 Db5:
    Eb
x o x | x o x
         E

Measure six of the solo. Use Db5 (Note #12) and C5 (Note #13) given above, then

Note # 14 Bb4:
    Eb
x x x | x x o
 b       E

The fingerings for bassoons with the G# ring follow in order of appearance in the solo:

Note #1 Bb4:        Note #2 A4:
    Eb                  Eb
x x x | x x o F     x x x | o o o F
 a c#                a c#

Bb4:

A4:

Note #3 G4:         Note #4 F4:
    Eb                  Eb
/ x x | x o o F     x o x | x x

G4:

F4::

Note #6 C5:             
             
x o o | o o o F
  a c#

Measure four of the solo. Use Bb4 given above, then

Note #10 C5:          Note #11 Db5:
    Eb                    Eb
x o o | o o o         x o x | x o x
 b                     b      (E)

C5:

Db5:

Measure six of the solo. Use Db5 (Note #12) and the second C5 (Note #13) given above, then

Note # 14 Bb4:
    Eb
x x x | x x o
 b       E

Measure seven of the solo. Note #15 use second Bb4 then

Note # 16 Ab4:
    Eb
/ x x | o o o F

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Ravel, Maurice. Bolero, opening solo.