Bassoon to be able to be tuned after Turkish artists’ work

ISTANBUL

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The bassoon, a woodwind musical instrument with a history going back some 500 years, will be able to be tuned like many other instruments thanks to the work of two artists in Turkey who have developed a new design. 

Graduate student Anton Trofimov and his teacher Aşkın Usta developed the project in Yaşar University in the western province of İzmir, with the support of the university’s Office of Information and Technology.  

The bassoon has been “untenable” for nearly 500 years, but Trofimov and Usta’s innovation looks set to change this through the use of advanced technology in the design and production process.

“With the new model, which we could call a milestone for the instrument, bassoon players will be able to adjust the intonation of their instruments,” Trofimov said on Sept. 15. 

“The bassoon was not able to be tuned for 500 years, unlike many other instruments. Now, what has traditionally been an unchanging instrument in Western music will be able to be used in Turkish music with the new design that we have got a patent for. This discovery will contribute to our school, to Turkey, and to universal culture,” Usta said.