FLicking is THE BEST thing in the world. I learned it this summer and It`s helped me in my performance so much. Its hell to learn it, but it all pays off in the long run

Yes it really does pay off.

i have played for 2 months, and within the first class, my teacher taught me flicking. i tried it and i think it sounds horrible. when the flick key is touched, it makes a breathy sound, and without it is much better.
is it really something i should learn within my first months of playing?
ps
i switched from flute to bassoon too.

hey, ive been playing bassoon for a couple of years not and i picked it up quickly. Before that i played flute, so that part isn`t the hardest.

I see many people switching from flute to bassoon! That`s a good thing, since I`m switching to bassoon soon and then I could ask for help from the flautists that went to bassoon! Good thing I play the clarinet too... I still love reeds, and flute has none... lol

from what i understand the bassoon and flute are fairly similiar and easy to switch between.

Oh, right, that`s a good thing to hear! Today, I`m going to see if the rental shop has a bassoon and if I could reserve it. yay!

maybe i should learnt he flute then... o_O

hmm... by the end of april i wanna learn the oboe or try the bass clarinet... hmm... reeds and mouthpieces are so pricey. damn. lol. if only my teacher was a bassoonist.

Ya, flutes have no reeds and doesn`t need much cork grease or oil or something.

When flicking, you want to run your finger over the key so the pad raises and then lowers back down quickly. You want to apply this "flicking" motion a split second before attack, so the hole is open when you attack. If you hold the key down when you play, you will get that airy sound. You flick a note when it isn`t speaking clearly. Also when you slur a note from fourth line F and lower to fifth line A and higher.

i would say lern how to make your own reeds then you dont have to worry about buying them and its really not that hard expencive at first but it pays for it self in a couple of reeds as far as flicking goes it helps when your the only one playing and yuo dont want your bassoon to crack. but if its a faster peice dont bother, but it really depends on the bassoon better the bassoon less flicking. or more in some case because you will habve the hi d key o yea
if you are every plaing a series of d`s (above middle c) in half or hole notes then holed down the high d key you will get a bigger sound, same with c just hold down the high c key.
i would suggest flicking though dont get ina habbat of not flicking or when you need to yuo wont know how and youl be screwed. but any way congrats on going to bassoon.
its very awsome you will love it. (and it gets yuo lots of attention )

Hi, I am doing my master`s in bassoon performance and Im writing a paper right now on the bassoon and flicking and I stumbled upon this website. Some info that might help you out, is not to think of flicking as "flicking the key." And what my teacher tells me is that the key is not hot, it will not burn you! So instead of using the flicking motion, keep your thumb as close to the key as possible, when you have to change flick keys, keep your thumb as close to the keys as possible, think of it as sliding your thumb across the keys without pressing them down. When you actually "flick" the key, your thumb moves too far away from the thumb keys, making it harder to find where the keys are when it lands, and taking much more time then if your thumb stays right on the key. I hope this helps you guys!!!!

Flicking can be useful and sadly I just dont do it enough-- I learned to do it the hard way

about the small fingers-- I dont know you so I really can`t say that this is useful-- if you start early enough sometimes your fingers grow longer because of it. Its like what happened when I started--- I started playing the bassoon and piano about the same time (which actually came in very handy) anyways my fingers were a lot shorter than they are now---now I have weird long fingers and once again even recently they have grown again-- stretched in a way.

A really good website for reeds is WWBW.com. I recommend Jones which is 7$,but my favorite by far is the Berlin Philharmonic reed which will run about 20$ but deffinitely worth the price!No matter what skill you have on an instrument always buy a medium hard reed.A reed that is too soft will not develop your chops and a reed too hard will hurt you more than help you chops and soundwise!You should soak it anywhere from 5-10 min.After that........GOOD LUCK!!

"After the first life, you put it away in a box..." umm....what do you mean after it`s first life? how does the first life "die"? i have been playing the bassoon for about 1 month now, and have already broken 2 reeds, but my teacher said it was only the reed box`s fault and she got me a way better one, but she also had me throw away the other two reeds, so what is this "diein" of the first reed?