How long does it usually take for you to develop decent vibrato?? I'm sort of in a weird position because I've only been playing bassoon for three years, and I'm doing my Grade 8 this summer. I can play all the notes etc, but I've never really done vibrato and I really want to improve my tone!

Any help would be really appreciated

Hmm. Vibrato on the bassoon is a difficult one... there's no set way to do it. Basically, whichever way feels most comfortable is the one you use.
I don't use vibrato a whole lot, only really on very expressive pieces - you say you're doing grade 8? don't suppose you're doing ABRSM? which pieces are you playing? anyway, I started doing it on the grade 6 Tansman piece (middle movement, the easy one!) without even realising it - it made my teacher happy, that's how i found out. It's not really something you consciously think about that much, as far as i'm concerned. you get some bassoonists who put really heavy vibrato on everything, but i think that sounds awful.
I started on flute, so I kinda use air pressure for vibrato. Some people do something with their throat, and (though i doubt it's a very good habit) you'll find the odd person who moves the bassoon to create the wobble.

Just mess around and see what you come up with. Or ask your teacher what they think.

Oh, forgot to say - you can get a beautiful tone without vibrato it's all about support, and finding the centre of the note.

I am doing ABRSM, doing the first movement of the Mozart Concerto, and the last movement of the Saens Saints sonata, and a Weissenborn (sp??) study.

Its the Saens Saints where I really think it would help me, the slow section. I just wonder if I'm not 'getting it', so to speak. I know several other bassoonists who seemed to be able to do vibrato really quickly, but they all sang/played flute/clarinet before taking up the bassoon. I've never played another wind instrument, is this a huge disadvantage? My teacher has tried to explain vibrato to me, I just physically can't put into practice what he says!

Oooh, the saint-seans is beautiful, I did that one for my grade 8. But I thought it didn't really need all that much vibrato, there weren't any particularly long notes in there, and I thought vibrato would disturb the beautiful serenity at the beginning. I got 27/30 for that piece, so I must have been doing something right.

If you played the Fasch (like I did) then vibrato might be quite nice, but you're not, so it doesn't matter :p

My teacher wasn't brave enough to take me through more than the very basics of the 1st mvt of the mozart, knowing that it would haunt me forever, lol.

Which weissenborn are you doing? I did number 34 (I was rubbish at the study though).

I wouldn't worry too much about vibrato. You'll probably pick up your bassoon one day and suddenly have a hint of it in a particularly lyrical piece that you particularly like. I don't think vibrato is a must have for all pieces, I much prefer it as light decoration. It is good to be able to control speed (I think starting really slowly and speeding up on a sustained note is gorgeous) but that comes with time, and interpretation. Vibrato is a LOT easier singing or on flute, and probably clariet too. No one really makes a big deal about vibrato.

Maybe there's something wrong with my diaphragm, but I've never been able to do that kind of vibrato. I always resort to a sort of lip/throat vibrato. It was funny, because when we were playing Mahler's 4th, the 3rd bassoon asked me if I had played saxophone before bassoon, because you use lip vibrato for sax. I had taken oboe before bassoon, so that kind of stumped him.

Lip/throat vibrato is fine as long as it doesn't affect tuning etc. it's just whatever works and feels comfortable for you.

There's another thread going on vibrato.But I think ruth88 is right you do what works and feels comfortable.It'll probably end up being a mixture of techniques anyway.Important think is it shouldn't make intonation and tone worse and it should always be under control.

ya i agree with others that itll just come eventually...but my teacher also says u can practice it by kind of panting into the bassoon using ur diaphragm...sounds weird but it could work?

I always have used vibrato from my diaphragm, as it helps me when playing long passages. I don't run out of breath as quickly, and I have a more controlled vibrato.

Me too