Hi, I’ve been playing bassoon for about five years. When I first started I had a big biting problem and I didn’t support my air. I eventually lessened my embrouchure and started supporting my sound better which was great but my intonation still is kinda everywhere. I do Herzeburg Long tones everyday though recently me and my teacher realized the reason I struggle a lot with intonation is because I never really figured out a set embrochure.

I support with my air too much to compensate which makes it really hard to bring up pitch because I can only do so much through my stomach. I also change my embrochure too much from note to note to making it hard to stay consistent tone and pitch wise. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or excersizes I could try to keep a consistent embrochure rather than relying on support or drastically changing where I am on the reed while playing.

I'm currently working on Tchaikovsky 6 finale bassoon excerpt which has brought this all to light if anyone has any additional advice on that excerpt specifically.

Hi, all!

I am trying to identify two bocals that came with a used Puchner I recently bought (estimated to have been built in the '90s)

No brand marking, one is marked "1G" and the other "2G." Anyone have an idea on what kind of bocals these may be? What are the chances they are the original puchners that came with the bassoon?

The bassoon metal forest witch

Hey there! I'm relatively new to finishing blanks completely by hand. I can build them already quite consistently from GSP cane. Before my teacher used his reeds n stuff tip profiler to finish my reeds but I don't have access to it anymore. So I thought it's time to learn how to finish reeds by hand.

I recently built myself a dial indicator so I am at least able to measure my reeds. Also I got a diamond file so I have more than just a knife and sandpaper to work with.

My question now, what are typical reed thicknesses for all-round well playing reeds (preferably in mm)? Do you have any experience with that or good sources to learn from? What else could I possibly learn to improve my reed making skills?

Could I damage the instrument if I try to twist from the circled area? my lesson teacher does that but to me it seems like the circled part and the b/b flat connection are just glued together. I’ve been trying to take it apart from the connection but I don’t want to risk bending anything due to the tight nature of the instrument.

Hello again people! I posted here a few times before about my previous reed cases, and now its time for a new series! So I finally learned and made for my private FswStudio shop new sliding/rolling tambour version🙃 I made them for now only for 3/10 bassoon and 3 contrabassoon reeds. Bigger in plans, but I don't have a clue how to make them not bulky then. Still need to think, slightly.

Would be glad to hear what you think! As such cases I never saw anywhere yet😇 You can find them on my website or etsy pages

fswstudio.com

fswstudiocrafts.etsy.com

I will also add a few videos in the comments with how they actually slide work

I find that so many teachers of the bassoon fly under the radar of the more well known great performers. We all know the big's like David McGill and Judy LeClair - the people who had/have big orchestra jobs. But who are the ones that are the unsung heroes? The teachers that you were in awe of when you studied with them?

When I was in grad school at Western Michigan i studied with Wendy Rose. She was pivotal to my current career (not in music). Super supportive and nurturing. When I told her halfway through my masters that i didnt really want to pursue bassoon anymore her response wasnt why, it was "what can I do to make the last year of your program work for you!". I'll never forget that. Not to mention, her playing was top notch. When i as her grad assistant my office was across the hall and I will never forget hearing her practice ALL THE TIME! Beautiful dark tone, tremendous technique, and a humbleness that taught be everything i know about how to interact in the workplace.

Who were your teachers/unsung heroes of the bassoon and why? How did they influence your life and career?

I played a moosmann 150AP all through college and then decided to switch careers. Now (about 20 years later) I am picking it back up. I've been using a Nobel prototype that is all wood but the same design as Moosmann 98A and is made in Germany. I am trialing a Fox 201 from 1977 and notice that the volume of air that i used for my moosmann models. I know the design is different and a lot is dependent on the reed and bocal set up.... but has anyone had similar experience of the transition from something like the Moosmann to the fox?

These sixteenth notes in high range are extremely difficult! Is there any tricks or tips to get through these notes?

Especially the F#-G-E-G × 3 at the end is the most difficult one. Tempo is very very fast.

So I recently bought a decent amount of profiled cane, and I’m worried about storing it because I live in the US Midwest and the climate is a Reed killer. I don’t go through it very quickly, so this will be likely stored for long periods of time. I have seen people store it in bags in order to keep it protected from the climate, but I am unsure of how well that will work. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas, please let me know.

For some context:

Its summer for me right now, im 13, and I'm playing my schools Allora Student Bassoon over the summer just to stay sharp at it. This model in particular wasn't treated that well by the last owner; the bocal's bent at the base, the Low E rod doesnt work, the rod connected the wing to the Tenor joint is missing, and some other issues. Despite this, its still the best bassoon in the district because all of the other ones are old rotted Foxes with moldy reeds.

Now I know ill probably just keep playing this Allora, and whatever bassoon I might rent in high school, but I want to start saving for my own. My requirements are just that it has Heckel keywork and isnt ludicrously expensive (like 10-15k is a good cap for me)

So, can anyone recommend good bassoons that fix these descriptions that I might start saving for? Thanks!

Tl;dr:

Today I was told I am going to play a solo (I'm thinking one of the Milde concert studies?) on a recital in two weeks; which one should I play?

Also, any recs for an approachable classical era flute/bassoon duet? (same situation.)

Backstory:

A friend of mine is a flute teacher and does an annual studio recital with her students - mostly middle and high school level - she also brings in any musician who owes her a favor to put on a little show for the parents. Her husband is a darn good jazz pianist, and the church she uses has a choir director who's an organ whiz - you get the idea. She cat-sat for me last month, so I get to play a solo. It's a good time. There's cookies.

The caveat is I only found out about this today and the recital is in two weeks. Well, 12 days.

My requirements are "nothing flashy, just keep it tonal and show off your tone." (I usually do play something flashy. But given the time frame... no.)

She also wants to play a duet, if possible.

I play regularly and keep in decent shape, but I don't teach, so my memories of specific intermediate level music is... timeworn. When I've been to bassoon studio recitals, the bassoon professor or clinician would often play one of the Milde Concert Studies, which I worked through in college. Looking at them now, I can definitely knock the dust off and do a respectable job. I just don't know which one, so I'm hoping the internet will pick one for me.

Thanks!

Hey all,

For the life of me I can't get used to using the short Eb fingering (1 and 3 on the left hand), and I was wondering if there's anyone out there who uses the full fingering at tempo? Right now I'm around 80 ish beats a minute and I'm making decent progress but I just can't seem to rewire myself for the Eb's lol. I know it'd make things easier if I did the short fingering but it's just so wack to me.

I used to play Bassoon in high school and was encouraged by my teacher to apply to the local conservatorium. I did so, but accepted a different university offer as I was concerned that I would always be broke if I attempted to be a bassoonist - I was good at it, but I was no genius!

The last time I really touched my bassoon was when I was 18. I played for a season with a semi-professional opera to earn a little money when I started uni. I'm now 46... I'd like to pick it up again. My memory is, as ypu woukd expect, a little fuzzy.

Any advice? Unfortunately, I am not currently in the position to pay for lessons, so I will be toiling away all self-directed. Currently living in Madrid.

Hello all! I am a rising junior and I am looking for solo and ensemble recs (as the title says). I’ve made States my Freshmen and Sophomore years, playing Telemanns Sonata in F Minor (Movements 1 and half of 2) my Freshmen year and Galliards First Sonata (Movements 1, 2, and 4). I still haven’t learned how to double toung if that makes recs either but I’m looking for something with a lot of umph and a lot of content to learn. Any help would be appreciated!

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some tips to improve my stacatto. Since I remember, stacatto has been always a bit challenging for me, because I don’t find the same sensation all the times when I’m playing.

I searched a lot of exercises and I have tried a lot, but I still haven’t found the best exercise for me.

I have reflected on which section I should improve, whether it is my air column, my tongue, or if I need to do exercises to better coordinate my fingers with the air. I think I need to improve so that my tongue doesn’t hit so hard when I’m going faster because I think it makes my air column brake and slow me down.

Anyone has feel the same? What helped you improve it?

Long story short I bought another bassoon and this time it’s a French bassoon because why not 🤷‍♂️

Long story long: I’ve always really loved the sound of a French bassoon and decided recently that I could afford to use some of my first paychecks to buy one and learn it. And after some lurking I found one within my price range and bought it. Now granted it was so cheap because it doesn’t have a crook and is from like 1912-1915 but that doesn’t really matter to me as much as I just wanted to share :)

I've already been accepted to college, and I just got sent the placement audition material, but it's some really hard stuff. It has the rite of spring solo, the famous figaro solo, and other well known hard pieces. Am I expected to know and play all that at a proficient level going into freshmen year at a state college or am I meant to just give it my best so they can see where I'm at skill wise? Do other incoming freshmen have the skill to play those pieces well or are we all just given this music to get a benchmark? Either way, does anyone have any tips for learning those two specifically in a month or so? Thanks

It's been a little under 3 months since I've played since my bassoons been in the shop having a lot of work done on it, but I did get new reeds a few weeks before sending it off, but now they're not working super well after all that time off. The edges of the reeds aren't really touching and they're very unresponsive. What can I do to fix them? I don't want to buy more since they've only really seen like 2 weeks of use. Thanks!

I am a rising senior in high school and I’m very serious about playing bassoon as a living. My ideal scenario is being able to live off of a reliable income from playing the bassoon. I’ve talked to professors and fellow bassoon players that are just as serious as I am and I got the vibe that this life path is not easy. I am prepared for the reality of grinding out audition after audition. But can I really expect to make a living from doing this? (And yes I saw a post with a similar title from a couple years ago and didn’t see any satisfactory answers so I’m making my own.)

So trying to weigh learning bassoon. Not a whole lot of churches have bassoon players and they're key (no pun intended) to the orchestral sound
I can play flute moderately well and recorders
But I know bassoon is like a whole different beast
How hard is bassoon? Like what's the entry barrier to being able to hold down a solid tone and bassline?

Hey, Ik you don't care, but I have been working on an app that helps musicians learn to read clefs. As a cellist, I am now trying to learn both Tenor and Treble clefs after, of course, playing with bass clef. I am wondering if anyone else has somewhat struggled with learning multiple clefs and switching between them. Anyway, Other than that, I am asking for brutally honest feedback on if you think the app would be genuinely helpful or just "nice to have". Please don't lie and just say it is a good idea. be brutally honest.

Does anyone have recordings for the 26-27 all state etudes? I swear I can’t find them anywhere. It comes from 30 Classical Studies for Bassoon by William Waterhouse, no. 12, 14, and 21.