I`m in ninth grade and I played for school Tenor Saxophone, Flute, and Clarinet. Naturally I want to expand my horizons and take another but, I`m on the budget from hell so...anyways my band director had gotten another bassoon and asked the flute section who wanted to learn it. My hand SHOT right up and I was chosen. What I need help with is the way the base clef is lower (I know the notes, My brother plays trombone, but why is it lower), the freakload of fingerings and this is my first doulble reeded instrument, Oh yeah its in a light brown case thats pretty old looking. Does anyone recognize this model? How well does this model fare?

Lol, a lot have old brown cases. Can you describe the wood (or is it plastic), if theres any high keys, and what it sais on the bell? I should be able to determine the instrument and quality based on that. (lol, the brand is often on the bell, so there may be no need)

Hi there!

I wouldn`t worry too much about what kind of bassoon it is right now. Kevinman is right, the name should be on the bell (the very top piece) but the important thing now is for you to learn the fingerings and how to get a nice sound. (It should sound more like a french horn than a frog!) When you manage that and see if you really like the instrument, that`s plenty of time to see if you actually want to invest in one yourself. Some people just play with their school instrument forever and when they leave school that`s the end of their bassoon playing.

Thanx, I have another question, I taugh myself to play the flute in a weekend but that was because I didn`t have anything too big to worry about like reeds. The music store that I have nearby is called Cascade Music. I`m not sure if they even sell bassoon reeds, but what brand and size is the best suited for a beginner on his very first double reeded instrument. (Btw I just came from a Chrismas Parade in Vancouver B.C. it was my first marching parade EVER. Marching is the BEST. GO TOMAHAWKS!!!) -oh and don`t worry, I played the flute for marching, playing a bassoon for marching is just plain CRAZY.

Ya, it is.

For reeds, buy Rico Medium-Soft. People say Jones are good, and they`re OK, butt hey aren`t close to as nice. However it is also a good choice, after Rico, and both are very popular and easy to get.

My tone started off like a brass+shiphorn combination. I find my tone has develloped into a very serious, sad tone, more like Daniel Smith, than the humourous qualities of Klaus Thunemann and most bassoonists.

Fingerings will become 2nd nature, just play songs in a good range, and even the hi/lo notes will be engraved in your memory.

Thanks A LOT...Right now a professional bassoonist/teacher is checking the bassoon that I will be playing because a pad is missing and a bocal is bent. I`m SO excited in playing the bassoon. Everytime I took up a new instrument I just picked it up and played. For the Bassoon I`ve been researching about reeds and different models and EVERYTHING. This is my biggest challenge yet, it will be really fun. Ok, another question. I`m pretty sure that my band director is not really experienced in the art of the bassoon, so what are the problems that can happen when playing it or getting a wrong fingering. Is it easy to tell when you have the wrong fingering for a note (soundwise)

This may take several posts as my memory is kinda weak... uh...

1) If reed is bad, it will play annoyingly loud and expressionless. This is usually from a thin opening and not enough side squeeze in the wood. If the reed is too tight, a good embouchure may close the reed and no sound will come out.

Be careful with middle G, Aflat, A, Bflat, B, they will often crack and octave lower due to the half-hole and whisper-key necessisties not being met.

D often cracks to a solid Eflat, and breaks its potential vibrato. Eflat wont go to a different pitch, but will break any vibrato.

C will be flat and hard to sharpen.

Make sure bocal is aligned nicely with whisper key pad

the lowest Bflat keys on my current new bassoon arent aligned very well, and it is impossible to hold them both down enough to allow the note. This can be a problem, though not for most.

Lowest Eflat has bad tuning.

Reed may click. See my thread on this. Just suck water out if you hear it click.

Theres a lot more I`m sure. The bassoon is SO fun, I played it 3 hours a day for the first month, easily.

Enjoy!

Thanks, I`m ordering a Rico Medium Reed....On WWBS.com I heard really good reviews. I`m a little flabergasted because My director said that Rico`s suck for ALL instruments. "If its cheap, then it sounds cheap" I used to use them for Tenor Sax and he was right. How will that effect the bassoon. Oh, and whats this about soaking them in a film canister before playing

RICOs are my band`s standard, lol, and we`re the 3rd best high-school music-wise, that is ordinary public/Catholic, in Ontario.

They can be average on other instruments.

Soak 5 minutes be4 first use, 2 minutes before all uses after that. Any water-tight container that size or a tad larger will do.

Thanks A LOT, I`m getting my bassoon next week, I CAN`T wait

Good luck with your bassooning! I have used Jones reeds with a lot of good luck, so I think it`s more the particular reed you get than the brand, although I would agree the very cheap reeds won`t sound as good. It`s a shame you have to invest so much money on a reed and then it might not suit you, but that`s the bassoon game. I certainly would not go any harder than a medium, I might have said go med. soft at first. The bent bocal sounds a bit dicey - did someone fix it for you? The bocal is the most important part of the horn, so make sure you treat it with respect and don`t bump it or bend it, or whatever. If everyone`s walking around and brushing up near you, take the bocal off until things settle down. Of course you`ll do this with the reed, too, if only because they cost so much!

Playing with a dry reed cracks them. So you have to soak them EVERY time you go to play. I soak mine 3-5 minutes before every rehearsal or practice. Maybe your mom has an old spice jar which will be watertight, if you can`t get your hands on a film cannister. That`s what I use. It`s hard to do this in school, so you might have to make do with keeping it in your mouth for the required length of time, but this isn`t as good. If you can manage a container of some sort, make sure yours is watertight, and DO NOT KEEP IT IN YOUR HORN CASE! When you`re through playing, give your reed a swish in the water again, to rinse it off, because saliva will eventually break down the reed.

The bocal thing is getting fixed by a professional really well known for the bassoon in our area. His name is Matt Metcalf, anyways I`m preparing for the days until the bassoon comes. I`m gonna practice real hard because I might do my school Christmas Concert on Bassoon instead of Flute. Has anyone here played "Glory of Christmas" Fantasia on Greensleeves or something like that. I heard our Upper Band (Wind Ensemble) play it this morning and it was really cool. I LOVE BASSOON!?!?!?!

Lol, I started on flute too. I like flute, lol in bnad id play 8ve higher. I had the whole range beautifully. Best in school.

Anyawys, bassoon is SO much fun, especially being byfar the only one. One of 2 in my town. I`m starting a university-lvl ensemble and I finally ACTUALLY get BASSOON SOLOS!

-rather than the stupid jr band base beat

I heard about the Fox Renard 222, and I was wondering if 3,000 is a good price for this bassoon. I saw a cheaper Amati, but the brand name Amati sounds really cheap(like peice of crap cheap).

Heckle= 10/10
Fox= 8/10
Schreiber= 7/10
Monnig= 7/10
Amati= 6/10

there are sooo many, but these are the only 5 ull really encounter.

3000$ is a great store price for that! For Ebay you could worm 2100$. But you should know how to use it well.