All you need is Love (Prologue)

Actually playing bassoon will take a bit more than that. Sorry Beatles. To get very far in this blog you will first need a few things to accompany your journey.

1. A bassoon. duh
2. A reed. preferably a few.
   
3. Seat strap, swabs, and other bassoon case supplies
4. Music
5. Money. buying things for your bassoon is the true never ending story.
   

This part is rather self explanatory, but who knows. Sometimes i leave my house but forget my keys; its good to have a list of what you need before you do something than realize later you forgot something rather important.

Now, Onward!

The First Steps

Right now i'm guessing you are staring down at your bassoon case wondering what is what and what goes where (If not please do so). Please don't be afraid, you and this instrument will now get acquainted in a process that you will repeat many times over: Assembling the Bassoon.

Now simply follow my lead and you will have your bassoon together before you know it!

1. Get some water in the little cup and let the reed go for a swim.
2. Take the butt(boot) joint in one hand and the tenor joint in the other. Insert the corked end of the tenor joint into the hole of corresponding size on the boot joint. Be sure to handle all joints in a way that does not harm the keywork, and use a twist-push motion when putting all pieces together. The tenor joint has an inner curve that should be lined up with the larger hole in the butt joint.
3. Set this now joined piece down in a safe location and now grab the bell and the Long Joint. Press the B flat Key down on the Bell and join these two pieces together, again using the twist-push motion. Be sure the B flat key is correctly aligned.
4. Take the Butt-Tenor combo and attach the Long-Bell combo to it. Be sure the joints are aligned so that the keys are in a comfortable playing position and can move freely.
5. Take the Bocal and insert it into the bassoon carefully. Hold at the base so that it does not bend; that would be bad.
6. Take the seat strap and place it on the seat, and attach the hook of the strap to the bass of the Bassoon. Pull or release the strap as needed to adjust to a comfortable height.
7. Retrieve the reed from the water and "crow" it, trying to make as many high and low overtones as possible.
8. Attach the reed to the bocal and you should be ready to go!

There you have it, The Bassoon is together! Now go and read another post!

The First Words

The Beast (bassoon) is now both assembled, now what? Excellent question.

We play the Bassoon!.. wait, first a couple things to cover.

Holding the Bassoon

I will try to explain this part quickly because i can tell you want to get to playing. Garfield may be standing, but is otherwise a good model.

• Sit on the seat strap and attach the bottom of the bassoon to it. Sit Straight!
  
• Position the bassoon so it is 45-degrees across the body and perpendicular to the floor
• position the bocal so it is parallel to the ground and pointing at your mouth
• pull seat strap as needed to accommodate bocal/mouth connection
• the left hand should cover the top holes, with the thumb resting around the multitude of keys in the back
• the right hand will cover the lower holes and the lower of the 2 similar long keys, with the thumb resting around the keys behind that

That should be all you need to knowfor that! Now for something just as important: embouchure!

Holding the Bassoon: FACE STYLE

• The Reed contacts only the lips when making a sound; no teeth should be involved
• The reed should be roughly parallel to the ground
• A slight overbite of the jaw should be used, meaning the upper lip is further on the reed than the lower
• The chin should be pulled down in a yawning position to allow a very open chamber inside the mouth for resonance
• Tight corners; dont pinch!

There you have it! Now go forth and make beautiful sounds on your bassoon!

The first Breath

No, not literally the first breath of your life, c'mon, you aren't actually taking me seriously are you? Hopefully you've been breathing for awhile.

Anyways, I'm referring to Bassoon breathing, which is not the same as the breathing you may be used to. Here are some things to keep in mind when breathing Bassoon style.

• Breath through the mouth
• Inhale quietly
• Fill the lungs starting down at the bottom of your gut and going up
• don't tense up or raise shoulders

That covers the breathing in. Now for brething out through the bassoon.

• Flex your GUT, and by this i mean diaphragm
• Push out the air with greater pressure than exhaling normally
• Use slower WARM air for low notes, and faster COLD air for higher notes

Fingerings for Dummies*

Now that you know what to do with your face and body, that leaves only the fingers, right? WRONG! Just kidding you're right.

The most basic fingering area in Bassoon would be considered in the range from Low F at the bottom of the staff to Bb at the top of the staff.

There is also the whisper key. Shhhhhh. Actually it has nothing to do with whispering per se. It is the lower right key used by the left thumb. As you have noticed in fingering charts this key is to be held down for all notes from low F to the Ab at the top of the staff

Bb and F scales are a good place to start in learning bassoon fingerings

There are many resources to find out fingerings for Bassoon bot text based and web based:

• The Pearson Standard of Excellence is a must-have for all beginners in Bassoon
• http://www.wfg.woodwind.org/bassoon/ is a good site to find Bassoon fingerings on.

* no i don't actually think you are a dummy

A Reed Read

It's that thing that your mouth touches. The REED. Technically 2 reeds attached together. It's the reason your bassoon has been making noise thus far. You've accepted its existence and usefulness thus far, but now it is time to do an in-depth 60 Minutes interview with a bassoon double reed (apparently he just called in sick so I'll have to do this instead).

Reeds are made of Cane, which basically means they are wooden. They are "living" and will change over time and in response to the climate.


To have your bassoon reed maintain that "new car smell" it's longest, follow these simple steps!

• Do not drop reeds or squeeze them too hard.
• Don't eat before you play. The food will migrate to the reed.
• Always soak the reed in water before using it for a minute or so. Don't let it live in water though, the reed will drown!
• Have more than one reed and cycle through them regularly.

Also some reed Characteristics to consider:

1. Worn reeds will have unstable intonation, limitied rage, and a thinner tone
2. Soft reeds will blow flat, not play high notes, and will be difficult to produce good tone on
3. Hard reeds will blow sharp, especially in low register, and are likely to crack notes.

A great resource for reed tips is http://www.steesbassoon.com/reeds.htm. This guy really knows his stuff, from adjusting reeds all the way to making them yourself if you are feeling ambitious.

Intonation Initiation

Just as important as playing all the right notes on the bassoon is sound of each individual note when playing with others.

What can cause pitch to change on bassoon?

• Bocal. Adjust the length of the instrument here to change overall pitch. NOt a recommended adjustment
  
• Reed. Too soft reeds are generally flat, and vice versa
  
• Embouchure. Too tight causes pitch to rise
  
• Breath Support. Poor support means wavering tone
  
• Dynamics. Playing notes too loud or too soft will cause them to blow flat or sharp. This varies by note.
• IOC. Inner Oral Cavity. This space is very important. The position of the tongue, the size of the throat opening, and the jaw position are important to consider.
  

The dumbest muscle of them all

Often when describing tonguing to me over the years, my clarinet teacher would say this about the tongue. Like on the clarinet, tonguing is used to separate notes, and stop sound on the bassoon.

Things to keep in mind:

• Top of tongue near the tip touches the tip of the reed.
• Light touch and rebound. no pressing
• Don't slap the reed with the tongue. What did it ever do to you?
• Don't use the bottom of your tongue. You're just making it harder on yourself if you try.
  

The tongue is a difficult muscle to tame, but with time it will become your loyal com padre.

Fingerings for Smarties*

Here's where things get really good. I bet you've been noticed that there are keys you haven't even used yet, and you wonder if they are really ever used. Well THEY ARE, and NOW will be one of those times!

Some of these keys are for alternate fingerings. These can be used for the reasons such as:

• Intonation. Some alternates are flatter or sharper and sound better in particular intonation settings.
• Ease of use. Some melodic lines can be a wee bit tricky with normal fingers, and this is when alternates come in to save the day!

There are also the "flick" keys. These keys are T2 and T1 according to most fingering charts, and are the upper right thumb keys in the left hand. For notes A to D on the top of the staff, these keys are pressed then released (different one depending on note), to facilitate the air and the instrument making these pitches. Isn't Bassoon crazy?! As a clarinet native i sure think so.

There is also such thing as half and quarter holes! Incredible! Its a simple concept really. Some notes, like G, require the first finger to be rolled back to allow this note to speak best. The G# requires an even greater roll back, so only a bit of the finger still covers the hole. Don't roll all the way off tho, that would be no-holing!

There you have it! You are so close to being a pro i can almost smell it!


*no i don't think you are a kind of candy

Santa's coming to town?

No wait, that's not Santa, that's some guy with a big beard practicing his bassoon vibrato!

• Bassoon players use their diaphragm to produce vibrato.
• Push are out in pulses while still maintaining a solid stream.
  
• Mouth stays still.
  

Practice "Ho'ing" with a metronome to create a steady pulse. Set it to a nice pace of around 60, then start with 2 Ho's per measure, then when that is easy, 3 Ho's per measure.

Use your newly learned vibrato to make long note sound prettier. Its like adding sprinkles and chocolate sauce to ice cream!