Editing Bassoon (section)

===Modern fingering===
[[File:Standard Bassoon Fingering Keys Diagram.png|thumb|right|480px|Diagram describing the keys on a bassoon]]
[[File:Bassoon showing left and right hand finger positions.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Holes and keys operated by fingers on left hand (above) and right hand (below)]]
[[File:Bassoon showing left and right hand thumb keys.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Keys operated by left thumb (above) and right thumb (below)]]

The fingering technique of the bassoon varies more between players, by a wide margin, than that of any other orchestral woodwind. The complex mechanism and acoustics mean the bassoon lacks simple fingerings of good sound quality or intonation for some notes (especially in the higher range), but, conversely, there is a great variety of superior, but generally more complicated, fingerings for them. Typically, the simpler fingerings for such notes are used as alternate or trill fingerings, and the bassoonist will use as "full fingering" one or several of the more complex executions possible, for optimal sound quality. The fingerings used are at the discretion of the bassoonist, and, for particular passages, he or she may experiment to find new alternate fingerings that are thus idiomatic to the player.

These elements have resulted in both "full" and alternate fingerings differing extensively between bassoonists, and are further informed by factors such as cultural difference in what sound is sought, how reeds are made, and regional variation in tuning frequencies (necessitating sharper or flatter fingerings). Regional enclaves of bassoonists tend to have some uniformity in technique, but on a global scale, technique differs such that two given bassoonists may share no fingerings for certain notes. Owing to these factors, ubiquitous bassoon technique can only be partially notated.

The left thumb operates nine keys: B{{Music|b}}<sub>1</sub>, B<sub>1</sub>, C<sub>2</sub>, D<sub>2</sub>, D<sub>5</sub>, C<sub>5</sub> (also B<sub>4</sub>), two keys when combined create A<sub>4</sub>, and the whisper key. The whisper key should be held down for notes between and including F<sub>2</sub> and G{{music|#}}<sub>3</sub> and certain other notes; it can be omitted, but the pitch will destabilise. Additional notes can be created with the left thumb keys; the D<sub>2</sub> and bottom key above the whisper key on the tenor joint (C{{music|#}} key) together create both C{{music|#}}<sub>3</sub> and C{{music|#}}<sub>4</sub>. The same bottom tenor-joint key is also used, with additional fingering, to create E<sub>5</sub> and F<sub>5</sub>. D<sub>5</sub> and C<sub>5</sub> together create C{{music|#}}<sub>5</sub>. When the two keys on the tenor joint to create A<sub>4</sub> are used with slightly altered fingering on the boot joint, B{{music|b}}<sub>4</sub> is created. The whisper key may also be used at certain points throughout the instrument's high register, along with other fingerings, to alter sound quality as desired.

The right thumb operates four keys. The uppermost key is used to produce B{{music|b}}<sub>2</sub> and B{{music|b}}<sub>3</sub>, and may be used in B<sub>4</sub>,F{{music|#}}<sub>4</sub>, C<sub>5</sub>, D<sub>5</sub>, F<sub>5</sub>, and E{{music|b}}<sub>5</sub>. The large circular key, otherwise known as the "pancake key", is held down for all the lowest notes from E<sub>2</sub> down to B{{music|b}}<sub>1</sub>. It is also used, like the whisper key, in additional fingerings for muting the sound. For example, in [[Ravel]]'s "[[Boléro]]", the bassoon is asked to play the ostinato on G<sub>4</sub>. This is easy to perform with the normal fingering for G<sub>4</sub>, but Ravel directs that the player should also depress the E<sub>2</sub> key (pancake key) to mute the sound (this being written with Buffet system in mind; the G fingering on which involves the Bb key&nbsp;– sometimes called "French" G on Heckel). The next key operated by the right thumb is known as the "spatula key": its primary use is to produce F{{music|#}}<sub>2</sub> and F{{music|#}}<sub>3</sub>. The lowermost key is used less often: it is used to produce A{{music|b}}<sub>2</sub> (G{{music|#}}<sub>2</sub>) and A{{music|b}}<sub>3</sub> (G{{music|#}}<sub>3</sub>), in a manner that avoids sliding the right fourth finger from another note.

The four fingers of the left hand can each be used in two different positions. The key normally operated by the index finger is primarily used for E<sub>5</sub>, also serving for trills in the lower register. Its main assignment is the upper tone hole. This hole can be closed fully, or partially by rolling down the finger. This half-holing technique is used to overblow F{{music|#}}<sub>3</sub>, G<sub>3</sub> and G{{music|#}}<sub>3</sub>. The middle finger typically stays on the centre hole on the tenor joint. It can also move to a lever used for E{{music|b}}<sub>5</sub>, also a trill key. The ring finger operates, on most models, one key. Some bassoons have an alternate E{{music|b}} key above the tone hole, predominantly for trills, but many do not. The smallest finger operates two side keys on the bass joint. The lower key is typically used for C{{music|#}}<sub>2</sub>, but can be used for muting or flattening notes in the tenor register. The upper key is used for E{{music|b}}<sub>2</sub>, E<sub>4</sub>, F<sub>4</sub>, F{{music|#}}<sub>4</sub>, A<sub>4</sub>, B{{music|b}}<sub>4</sub>, B<sub>4</sub>, C<sub>5</sub>, C{{music|#}}<sub>5</sub>, and D<sub>5</sub>; it flattens G<sub>3</sub> and is the standard fingering for it in many places that tune to lower Hertz levels such as A440.

The four fingers of the right hand have at least one assignment each. The index finger stays over one hole, except that when E{{music|b}}<sub>5</sub> is played a side key at the top of the boot is used (this key also provides a C{{music|#}}<sub>3</sub> trill, albeit sharp on D). The middle finger remains stationary over the hole with a ring around it, and this ring and other pads are lifted when the smallest finger on the right hand pushes a lever. The ring finger typically remains stationary on the lower ring-finger key. However, the upper ring-finger key can be used, typically for B{{music|b}}<sub>2</sub> and B{{music|b}}<sub>3</sub>, in place of the top thumb key on the front of the boot joint; this key comes from the oboe, and some bassoons do not have it because the thumb fingering is practically universal. The smallest finger operates three keys. The backmost one, closest to the bassoonist, is held down throughout most of the bass register. F{{music|#}}<sub>4</sub> may be created with this key, as well as G<sub>4</sub>, B{{music|b}}<sub>4</sub>, B<sub>4</sub>, and C<sub>5</sub> (the latter three employing solely it to flatten and stabilise the pitch). The lowest key for the smallest finger on the right hand is primarily used for A{{music|b}}<sub>2</sub> (G{{music|#}}<sub>2</sub>) and A{{music|b}}<sub>3</sub> (G{{music|#}}<sub>3</sub>) but can be used to improve D<sub>5</sub>, E{{music|b}}<sub>5</sub>, and F<sub>5</sub>. The frontmost key is used, in addition to the thumb key, to create G{{music|b}}<sub>2</sub> and G{{music|b}}<sub>3</sub>; on many bassoons this key operates a different tone hole to the thumb key and produces a slightly flatter F{{music|#}} ("duplicated F{{music|#}}"); some techniques use one as standard for both octaves and the other for utility, but others use the thumb key for the lower and the fourth finger for the higher.