the bassoon is the lowest of the four main instruments of the woodwind family. like the oboe, it has a double reed. the reed is attached to a curved metal mouthpiece called a "crook" or "bocal" which is joined to the main part of the instrument. this consists of two parts called ‘bass joint’ and ‘wing joint’ (or ‘tenor joint’). these two are joined at the bottom by a u-shaped piece called the ‘boot’. at the top of the instrument is the ‘bell joint’. the instrument is quite heavy. some players have a neckstrap around their neck to support the weight, but usually they use a seat strap that connects at the bottom of the boot and goes across the floor. the bassoonist, a person who plays a bassoon, then sits on that strap. the bassoon is held to the right side of the bassoonist and the top of the boot joint is usually level with the players hip. the bassoon, when played right, can sound very beautiful. the bassoon has one of the largest note ranges, going from low b flat to a high f on the top line of the treble clef. the bassoon can also play in tenor clef, but usually plays bass clef.