ABC of the Bombarde

1. Holding the Bombarde
2. Playing
3. Fingering Chart
4. Reeds

Holding the Bombarde

The index, middle and ring fingers of the left hand stop the three upper holes; the same fingers on the right hand stop the three lower holes, and the little finger on the left hand manipulates the key (for keyless bombardes, read of course: 'closes the seventh hole').

The bombarde must be held as closely as possible to the perpendicular in relation to the player.

The holes are closed by the undersides of the first joints. Take care to keep the fingers supple, and not to raise them too high, so as to maintain the flexibility necessary for good playing technique.

Important advice: Be sure you have correctly placed the reed in the neck of the bombarde. (When playing in a scale in B flat, the two B flats should be perfectly in tune.)

There is only one position for the reed that will give you a B flat scale in tune.

In this regard, specify Camac reeds from your supplier, since these have been specially made for the bombarde.

Playing

As indicated in the above drawing, your lips (B and B') must not touch the ring at the top of the bombarde, but must pinch the reed where the thread begins. The tip of the tongue "attacks" the note, as if pronnouncing the syllable "te".

Tounging may be used to separate the notes, but traditional musicians prefer to use lip pressure. An excellent exercise consists of "drawing out the sounds". Attack the note very softly, pressing hard on the reed with the lips, then increase the intensity, while reducing the lip pressure. Finally, decrease the volume of the sound again.

"Drawing out the sounds" permits a correct modulation of the notes. By following these instructions, the timbre of your bombarde should be warm and gentle rather than blaring.

1. The fingerings for A flat and A natural are identical. Varying pressure on the reed enables the production of two different notes.
2. Same thing for D flat and D natural. Pinch the reed near the open end to obtain D flat.
3. Identical fingering for G flat and G natural. For G natural, pinch the reed near the wrapping.

It is possible to get reeds specifically for the bombarde, although they are hard to come by. However you can instead use a Scottish Chanter reed (not a practice chanter reed), which will also do the job.