Recommended Books

While I do not have any books out of my own (yet), there are some great books that I recommend for students to work from. These are books that I typically use in lessons and assign as practice at home. Resources are listed in alphabetical order by last name. 

Hawkins, Alan. Melodious and Progressive Studies, Book 1. Southern Music, 1980.

This book is great for advanced junior high into high school level students. It is a great book for helping students become familiar with the “more common” key signatures within a band, and learning how to play with musicality. This book has exercises that specialize in each key. It also has a section with scales and arpeggios for the keys that are covered in the book. These exercises can also be used as solos when in a pinch, and they sound lovely!

Jensen, Kristen Wolfe. “Music and the Bassoon.” Musicandthebassoon.Org, University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music, 2009, www.musicandthebassoon.org/. 

This resource is great for young bassoon students, and is also a great resource for band directors who need bassoon - specific exercises. Created by a bassoonist, Music and the Bassoon walks students through the beginning stages of playing the bassoon, starting with embouchure, posture, and even how to assemble and dissemble the bassoon. From there, there are exercises for introducing notes, half hole-ing, venting/flicking, and so on. This resource is already set up into units as well, so teachers and students can easily navigate the website. It also has video lessons for more visual learners, and ear training exercises embedded into the units.I have found that this resource is good for students in review and for students who are college aged that have played a previous instrument. 

Milde, Ludwig. 50 Concert Studies for Bassoon, op. 26. Carl Fischer, 2010.

These studies are the predecessor to Milde’s studies in scales and chords. These exercises specialize in helping collegiate level bassoonists improve their musicality, while dealing with difficult technique. Each study features a different key signature, explores the entire range of the bassoon, and is great for pattern recognition. Scale studies also feature tempi of all types, and often switches between tenor and bass clef. This book requires strong technique in order for the purpose of it to be the point of learning, which is learning how to play music in all kinds of attitudes and styles.

Milde, Ludwig. 25 Studies in Scales and Chords for Bassoon. Carl Fischer, 2010. 

These studies in scales and chords are exactly as described in the title: exercises in each key signature that emphasize scales and arpeggios. Within each key signature, there is an exercise that is primarily in scales, and an exercise that is primarily arpeggios. Each exercise filters not just through the major scale/arpeggio, but also the typical chord progressions you would see in each key signature. That means also practicing the dominant key, the minor key, etc. It is good practice for modulating through different keys and recognizing accidentals. It is also good for introducing or refreshing how to recognize different chord qualities. These exercises feature the full range of the instrument, and often switch back and forth between tenor clef and bass clef. Students should be proficient in reading between clefs for these studies to be effective.

Simon, Kovar. 24 Daily Exercises for Bassoon. Southern Music, 2008.

This book features exercises to help with bassoon fingerings, the best exercise being the fifth one. Some exercises may have ranges that are too large for younger students, and do feature tenor clef. It is a great book to incorporate into warm-ups, and works to perfect intervallic and intonation issues as well.

Voxman, H., and William M. Gower, editors. Rubank Advanced Method for Bassoon. Vol. 1, Rubank Publishers, 1989. 

This book is great for students within their second through fourth year of playing bassoon. It focuses on building technique for younger students still trying to learn muscle memory and patterns. It features exercises focusing on scales and arpeggios, articulation, and melodic interpretation. It also has solos for younger students to tie everything they have learned together. Additionally, it features a fingering chart with standard fingerings and trill fingerings. It also explains different types of ornamentations with exercises to help students apply them. Finally, it has duets for students to play with their teacher, or with another student. It also has exercises in tenor clef for students who are just starting to learn. However, it does not feature an explanation of tenor clef, which would be a nice addition. This is also the current Arkansas All-Region Book.

Weissenborn, Julius, ed. Frank Morelli. The First Complete Weissenborn. Carl Fischer, 2020.

This is the most modern edition of this book and is edited by Frank Morelli. This book contains the following sections - Introduction, The Basics of Bassoon Playing, Weissenborn's Practical Exercises, Weissenborn's Daily Technical Studies, Weissenborn's Intermediate Studies, Ornament Studies, Morelli Advanced Methods for Improving Intonation, Tone Production, Tonguing, and Finger Technique, Weissenborn 50 Advance Studies, Milde 25 Scale and Chord Studies, Bassoon Fingering Chart, Bassoon Trill Fingering Chart, and Glossary of Terms. This book can be used by the beginner bassoonist all the way to the most advanced student. The opening sections include pictures that help beginner students be independent between lessons and have the knowledge to properly take care of instruments and reeds. The fingering chart is accurate and takes into account modern fingerings for the bassoon including vent/flick keys and resonance keys.  This book addresses everything from vibrato, tone, trills and turns, and more. While this is more expensive than other Weissenborn methods out there, this is a better choice due to its modernized fingerings included in each lesson, "fun facts" for bassoons and additional duets for teacher and student to perform together. It also waits longer in the book to introduce more challenging rhythms and time signatures (cut time and compound time). While this is not the exact book for the Arkansas All-State, it is the best version and still has the same etudes. 

Wilson, Jacqueline. Daily Routines for Bassoon. Mountain Peak Music, 2024. 

This resource is a great book for becoming more comfortable playing in all key signatures! This resource goes through every major and minor key, and has the following exercises within each key: long tones, articulation exercises, response exercises, arpeggios, scales for facility, and half-hole/thumb coordination. Each exercise also has specific instructions and tempo markings. These exercises also cover the entire range of the bassoon. This resource should not be used until students know all of their scales, and can play most of the range of the bassoon. They should also be able to play tenor clef. Otherwise, this resource will not be as effective, as it should not be used to teach range or tenor clef, but to strengthen those things along with intonation and finger control.