Bassoon NOTES

Wren Saunders

July 19, 2024

• Buying used bassoons 

  • Require professional opinion, call Wren

• Switching instruments

  • Students need to be physically bigger (wouldn't start 5th graders)

  • Clarinets have the easiest switch

  • Sax, flute, and trombone are also common

    • Flute and trombone have easier with embouchure

    • Clarinet and sax sometimes bite on the bassoon reed

  • 4 criteria

    • Students need to want to be challenged

    • Are comfortable standing out

    • Drawn to the sound

    • Financial commitment  (Student Renard is $12,000)

• Reeds

  • Brands

    • Miller Marketing (Philidelphia) JBR cheapest student reed 

    • Stay away from Jones for bassoon; they are too hard and tend to be flat rather than round in construction             

  • Should be very easy to produce a sound

  • Reed needs to go on bocal about 9MM

  • Tools/Equipment

    • Reed case

    • Reamer - remounts the reed; opens up cane from the center so reed fits on the bocal.  Reed needs to be dry

    • Mandril 

    • Plaque 

    • Pliers - if the tip is not correct, squeeze at the first wire (closer to tip) to close or side to open up

      • Second wire controls tone

        • Round second wire = sound is darker; slightly difficult to play

        • If they are buzzy a, round out the second wire.

        • Flat second wire = brighter sound and the easier to blow

    • Reed knife - take off a little bit of cane from the tip out of the box; 1 mm (crescent shape)

      • 400 grit sand paper also works, but it also takes a while

  • Reed needs to be completely soaked through (wires included)

    • 1 minute for new reed; 5 minutes of old reed or winter humidity.

    • Do not leave in water because the reed won't respond if too long. 

    • In the winter it needs to soak even longer

  • Can put plumbers tape on the bocal if the reed is too large

• Parts

  • Bocal 

    • Bocal needs to be cleaned with warm soap and water (monthly)

    • Metal in from cork side

• Carrying

  • Always carry by the boot and near the body

    • Never trust the joints

• Seating

  • Bassoon comes to you

  • Music stand to the right

• Reed embouchure

  • Low whistle and tuck bottom lip under

  • Hot pizza analogy

  • Crow the reed

  • Do not squish the reed, firm limps

• Disassembly

  • Bocal

  • Long joint

    • Swab top down 

  • Boot - Big side first 

• Assembly 

  • Terry Elwell  - online youtube video on assembly

  • Boot joint on thigh

    • Pancake key is facing your body

  • Wing joint goes into smaller hole

    • Lines up with hole

  • Long joint

    • Boot goes on the floor

    • Line up and use the body lock at the top near the bocal

  • Bell joint

  • Bocals are about $300

    • Bocals are numbered 1, 2, or 3

    • The higher the number, the longer the bocal

  • Seat strap; no neck strap

    • Goes on the right side, toward the front of the chair

    • NEED A NEW SEAT STRAP

• Intonation

  • No physical manipulation of the instrument, everything is done with the embochure

  • Low register = toward the tip of the reed; loose embouchure

  • Middle register = half of the reed 

  • High register = almost whole reed in the mouth; firm embouchure

• Articulation

  • Underneath the tip of the reed

  • Duh 

• Flicking or venting

  • Top of staff:  A, Bb, B, C

• Method Books

  • The New Weissenborn Method for Bassoon

  • First Complete Weissenborn Method for Bassoon

• First lesson

  • Teach E, D, C

  • Have them match C to test their set-up/embouchure

  • E is a sagging note (you can add the pancake key as well

  • Whisper key is the reverse octave key

  • How to put your instrument down

    • Take off bell joint

    • Place so the water side (short wing side) is down in the case)

QUESTIONS to ask in private lesson:

How long before reed dries out?

If a bocal is bent, is it no longer usable?

How far in your mouth should the reed go to crow?

Is the 5th left hand thumb key only on pro horns?

Bassoon 1 - better for adult (Serial # )

any pads that need replacing

oil keywork

Bassoon 2  - better for little hands  (Serial #14916)

Needs work!

Something in low register is not sealing (low F?)

BOCALS

Case fox with = https://www.bocalmajoritystore.com/fox-bassoon-case-rain-jacket.html

LISTENING

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzSmZ6iiqBY