I have been playing bassoon for two years now, and am currently in a symphony with it. I have definatly advanced quickly, but i am kind of stuck now, becuase i know everything about the bassoon that my teacher knows about, and i am looking for a private instructor. Well my band teacher told me about me, but the instructor is in the next county, so i need help with looking for an instructor, what i am asking, is where do i go to look for them.

Another question that i have is that i am looking for a bassoon, because my schools bassoon, is practically the cheapest bassoon on the market. I want a quality bassoon that i can rent to own. I have found some that i really like, that are around 3,000. What i am looking for is one that you can rent for less than 100$ per month. I mean im only in my first year in high school, and i have high expectations in myself. I really want one, so i can try out for my local symphony (not the youth symphony that i am in). I would greatly appreciate it if someone could give me help for any one of my questions.

Bassooviolin, Nick

If you live in the U.S. you could check out woodwind brasswind. their website is wwbw.com You should probably be able to find what you're looking for there. They have several different payment options to check into. Hope that helps.


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Oh and about teachers. You should probably check local music stores, university music departments, and ask other musicians you know.

For 3,000 dollars, you will probably be looking at something used. If I'm not mistaken, you could probably find a decent used Fox Renard 222 or maybe even a 220. Bassoon rentals are rare and hard to come by, and even then with WWBW, you will probably not find a pay per month less than 100 a month. I would keep your eye out for something used, maybe go to a woodwind specialty shop in your area if you have one. Bring a reed and a tuner, and just play some bassoons! Pay close attention to the tone and the intonation, also being tedious in regards to the physical state of the instrument. While I don't think you are going to find a great bassoon to carry you through to college if you choose that route, you will find something solid to progress on until you decide to upgrade later.

You should probably contact a local (or nearby) college that has a music department and see if they have a bassoon instructor or would know of someone that could help you. You could also talk to the other bassoonists in the orchestra and see if they have an instructor that they would recommend (that's how I found my oboe instructor )

As for renting an instrument, I think that Midwest musical imports would be a good place to try as they have a rent-to-own program:
http://www.mmimports.com/rent.cfm

However, the cheapest one there is $120 dollars a month, so I'm not sure if this would work for you.

I hope I can help!

Abigail

Thanks for all the help!

Ebay can be very risky, but that is where I bought my shcrieber. MAke sure that you don't buy overseas, and that the bassoon's location is near you so you can check it out first. Normally you can purchase a bassoon off ebay after checking it out, then spend some of the money you saved on fixing it up. Also, most music stores do not rent bassoons, but if you know any bassoonists,or retired musicians, they often will rent you a bassoon for a very miniscule amount.