Bassoon Beginner

[Brendan Muse]

I brought home a bassoon for the first time today, and after about two hours of playing, I've achieved such a comfortable level of incompetence (I could probably sit in with a middle school group without being too much worse than anyone else) that I think I could take the bassoon on as a serious double. This brings a few questions:

1. What kind of reeds should I buy? I'm using the plastic ones that came with my school's new horn. I don't want to mess around with making my own reeds at the moment, and I don't really want to mess around with expensive or esoteric reeds. I'd kind of like something I can pick up reasonably cheaply from Woodwind and Brasswind.

2. What kind of peripheral stuff will I need? I'm not going to touch my reeds if I can help it, but I know there's other stuff I'll need.

3. How many reeds shoud I have on hand, and what strengths should they be? I cycle my bari reeds, but I don't know what kind of craziness happens with the bassoon. All I know is that all the serious bassoon players I've ever seen have had five or six colors of string on their reeds.

4. Is there anything else I should know? I mean, yes, I ought to take lessons, but I'll do that in college as soon as I can manage it, in lieu of classical sax lessons. But is there some kind of navigable and comprehensible site map on the IDRS' site?

Thanks in advance.

[Fred]

I know what I would try . . . I would just HAVE to try one of Runyon's bassoon mouthpieces. Yeah . . . I know it would be cheating. But just thinking about how it would torque the purists gives me goosebumps!

http://www.runyonproducts.com/bassoon.html

[GAS_Wyo]

Reeds - Go to Forrests.com and find the Arundo reeds. Easier playing reeds make it easier to start playing the Bassoon.

[bpimentel]

bassoon on as a serious double
something I can pick up reasonably cheaply from Woodwind and Brasswind

Unfortunately, "bassoon as a serious double" and cheap reeds from WWBW are probably not compatible! Reed needs vary depending on the player, the instrument, the bocal, the climate, and more factors, so really the only way to go is to have a real live bassoonist make and adjust reeds for you. If you're willing to give up on "serious," then try a cheap Jones reed from WWBW or wherever, but plan on poor pitch, tone, and response.

What kind of peripheral stuff will I need?

A seat strap, a reed case (a plastic one is fine), and a swab.

How many reeds shoud I have on hand, and what strengths should they be?

Bassoon reeds typically don't come in "strengths," since they are usually custom made for the individual bassoonist and his or her setup. If you are buying reeds from WWBW, and see different strengths, go for "medium." Keep as few on hand as you dare; I prefer to keep at least three or four on hand that are broken in and play well, plus a few more in the breaking-in stage. It seems that many young and beginning students just keep one on hand, or zero after that one gets broken or quits working. String color doesn't matter one bit except as a way to identify the reeds.

Is there anything else I should know?

The bassoon is lots of fun to play, but also VERY demanding. Most beginning bassoonists will never make it past the "comfortable incompetence" that you mentioned, especially if they try to learn without the help of a good teacher and fine handmade reeds.

Trying to learn bassoon with a fingering chart and a mass-produced reed strikes me like trying to learn open-heart surgery with a foreign medical textbook and a steak knife! The consequences are less dire, of course--unless there's anyone around to hear you play.

Good luck,
Bret

[Razzy]

I've always wanted to learn bassoon but continue to hold out until I have lots of money saved up for it. Lessons, handmade reeds, and the care of the instrument can go into the hundreds very quickly.

[Tim Price]

Brendon- i've played bassoon sinse 11th grade. Etc etc
It's a great instrument and_for me_an inspirational double.

Try some Arundro reeds at Forrests or Brian Charles student reeds- 1800-reed-tip

MOST OF ALL- GET YOURSELF A TEACHER.

This is not a " one size fits all " instrument. Also be prepaired to LEARN and be able to use moveable clef.

It will enhance your sax playing and it will enhance your composing.
There's some ideas on my site you might want to check;

http://www.timpricejazz.com/lessons/bassoonpractice.html

http://www.timpricejazz.com/lessons/bassoonreeds.html

http://www.timpricejazz.com/lessons/bassoonrecordings.html

Get started and get a teacher.
Practice a lot and you'll get results.

HTH,8-)

[GAS_Wyo]

Tim Price...where was all this information when we started playing bassoon????....it was all in the teachers head and a few books. There is so much more available now! Thank you for contributing this information to the public.

Brendon,
I had a great bassoon professor for 2 years. He just set me off to practice incessanty in the Weissenborn book for the 1st semester. I never heard him play once that semester! 2nd semester, I was a little more confident. When we'd meet for lessons, he'd get his old Fox out and wet a reed. When I could play a tune from the book without much hessitation, he'd then make me listen to HIM play it! :x &:D I'd watch how he approached the first note, how he adjusted his seat strap, his angle toward the bocal, how far he stuck the reeds in his mouth and how he attacked the first note. I'd watch his stomach as the vibrato just flowed out of the horn in a VERY muscial manner. I eventually saw that there's more to making music than just playing the notes...

Funny thing is, after I got that lesson down in my way, he'd make me play it for 4 more weeks and about once a semester after that. He made me understand, by example, what a "tonal concept" was. He was a big recording nut. At the end of the semester, he'd play back my 3 or 4 versions of the piece! The difference in the sound from a month, 2 months, 3 months ago was startling:shock: He made me develop a tonal concept that has stuck with me to this day. I eventually made music also and I sound a lot like him!

The point of all this...the kid sitting next to you in band can't teach you how to make music on a bassoon. Only a good teacher can do that! Like Tim said, get a good teacher and dive head-first into making music with that long black stick! If you're like me, you'll want to develop the best sound possible and that only comes from lots of sheddin' and some good advice/examples along the way. Good luck!

[Todd in Texas]

Dear Brendan,
You have some excellent questions, and I think Bret and Tim and others have given you some sage advice. For what it's worth, the first 'tool' that I have my bassoon students purchase is a small pair of snub-nosed pliers. Most of the adjustments that you will do on store-bought or 'teacher-provided' reeds will be done with a pair of pliers. Keeping the 2nd wire tight is very important to keep the reed vibrating properly and playing in tune. Also, closing & opening the tip, as well as raising or lowering the reeds pitch, can be done by adjusting the first or second wires on the bassoon reed. The beauty of doing pitch adjustment on the wires with pliers is that it can easily be reversed (many people immediate move to clipping the reed shorter to raise pitch on the reed, etc, when that is often not necessary and is also irreversible.)

Try to find a good teacher in your area, but feel free to drop me a note if you have any specific questions about reed adjustment, etc. Best of luck, and definitely GO FOR IT! :)

Todd Goranson
Instructor of Bassoon & Saxophone,
Texas A&M University-Commerce

[LazySaxman]

I'm also thinking of taking up the bassoon. Is tone development like that of the saxophone? Do you do long tones too? My current sax teacher plays the flute, but not the bassoon as far as I know. I hope he isn't too angry if I go to another teacher for bassoon :D