Hey there I have a few problems on the bassoon..
I've been playing for 2 years now.
I started with the Bb Clarinet for a year then I switched to the bassoon. I don't have a teacher or tutor and I play in a concert band..
1) I'm really used to this brand of reeds called 'Jones' and then now its unavailable.. My conductor orders other brands now and I'm finding it really difficult to get used to the other brand. Some reeds are smaller and softer and some reeds are bigger and harder.. Not used to them.. What should I do?
2) How do I know when my reeds are over-used and should not be used anymore?
3) My high notes sound kind of 'thin' and aren't really pleasant..
4) I lock my whisper key all the time.. Is that good or bad? Does it affect anything?
5) My notes keep cracking especially the higher notes.. And its really getting on my nerves..
6) Is there a way to solve bassoon intonation problems? (My conductor says the only way is to adjust the embouchure and the bocal should be pushed in completely..)
7) Is it a must to soak the reeds before and after playing?
8) My bassoon is starting to have a weird smell I don't know why. (I use vaseline as my cork grease is it related to the smell?) I swab after every practice so I don't know why there's this smell...
9) If I practise long tones, how should I go about practising it? And how long would it take for me to notice any improvements?
10) Does the bassoon sound depend mostly on the quality of the reed?
11) How to I form a more relaxed embouchure?
12) I tend to tighten my embouchure when hitting the higher notes.. How do I solve this problem?
13) Is it a must to use the octave keys?
14) Do bassoons squeak? Because I think I do.. Lol.
Thanks!
Thanks!! (:
Dawn from Singapore

Wow Dawn!! That's a lot to answer.

The brief answer is that you really need to find a teacher who specialises in bassoon to be able to sort that lot out.

Many of the problems are connected to breathing I think....anyway to go through the list.

1. All reeds are different even from the same maker. All you can do is try various makes until you find some that suit you - what works for one person won't suit another.

2. When they don't work well.

3. You are probably not using enough breath support & consequently squeezing the reed too much. A reed that is too soft doesn't help here.

4. The whisper key shouldn't be locked all the time otherwise many of the upper notes notes (above G# - top space)won't speak properly or will be out of tune - this explains some of your problems.

5. See 4!

6. I assume you are talking about individual notes being out of tune with the rest of the instrument here. Many notes on all bassoons need adjusting - even on professional instruments. Having said that a good reed, plenty of breath support, a fairly loose embouchure & a good pair of ears are required to get the best out of the bassoon. See other replies regarding use of whisper key lock & 'octave' keys.

7. It's a good idea - especially before. If you clean your teeth or at least rinse your mouth out before playing cleaning after playing is not so important.

8. Possibly connected to 7. Do you clean the bocal out as well?

10. Not entirely - the instrument (including the bocal), reed & player all have a great effect.

11 & 12. See 3.

13. Yes! A lot of your problem notes will speak much more cleanly & in tune if you do.

14. Sorting out breathing, embouchure & reeds will cure a lot of this.

Finally - Maybe the bassoon needs a service to get it working effectively. Is it yours or does it belong to the band? What make & model?

Finding a tutor who is a bassoonist will help you sort all this out far easier than trying to get answers on any forum, especially the breathing aspects. He/She will also be able to assess what problems are due to the instrument rather than you.

Good luck.

Hi Dawn,
Contra448 has answered many of your questions. I'll try to put in my two cents, for what it's worth.

1. The Jones reed-making company went out of business last year and so reeds were naturally unavailable from them. They have recently started up again but are making reeds on a more limited basis and only supplying them to distributors and music stores. You might ask around to find out if any places near you in Singapore now have them again. Alternatively, Miller Marketing in the U.S. is now making what they call a "Jones clone" and you might be happy with their reeds. They ship anywhere. www.millermarketing.com

4. It's not a good idea to lock your whisper key, unless you never play a note above G near the top of the staff. Much better to get used to using the whisper key as needed. Soon it will become automatic. The reason is that you cannot unlock the key in time if you are doing a fast passage - it's not a reliable way to learn bassoon fingering.

6. I'm not sure about pushing in the bocal all the way - it could make your horn too sharp. If your bocal has good cork on it, find a place where most of your notes are in tune and always put it that far in. The rest is usually solved with embouchure and breathing, and occasionally, different fingering. There is a lovely article on bassoon intonation, found on the internet at:
http://www.idrs.org/Publications/Journal/JNL8/corey2.html
Lots of good information there.

7. Always soak your reed before playing. Set an egg timer for 3 minutes; don't do less. Afterwards it's enough just to rinse it out; swish it in the water you used for soaking. This dilutes or rinses out the saliva, which, since saliva is a food digestor, will ultimately digest your reed and turn it to pulp. After rinsing it, let it dry completely in the air before storing it, if you can. If you can't, open your reed case when you get home and let the reed dry overnight.

11. and 12. Switching from clarinet is a usual route for bassoonists, but a clarinet embouchure is a much tighter, more biting embouchure, and it is hard to get out of this habit. A teacher can help you in this, but there are many lectures on the internet about embouchure. Just google "bassoon embouchure" and you will get lots.

13. Yes, you must learn to use the octave or register keys. If you do it when you're just starting to learn fingering, it will be ever so much easier than later.

Good luck!

I have to disagree with Drew on the bocal situation. Most bassoons are created so that the bocal is pushed in the full way. Even with a tight cork, if you do not push the bocal in the full way, there is a pocket of air created in the bocal receptor, which makes for weird tuning. Or so I've heard :P

People, as well as bassoons, squeak. If you're blowing at high pressure (as you often are with a double reed) it builds up pressure in the sinuses in your head and they can squeak, sometimes loud enough for someone else to hear. At least, mine do!
Anyone got any good ideas for avoiding this one?

on squeaking: don't blow! there's no actual need to blow forcefully when playing the bassoon. all you need is to get your reed to vibrate.

and on the bocal: yes i think it's supposed to be pushed all the way in. intonation is controlled by your air support. i.e. your diaphragm. i can't really explain it in words but if your support is strong enough you will be able to change the amount of support to change your intonation.

Whether or not you think of it as 'blowing', double reeds need high breath pressure (as compared to a flute or recorder, for example) and it's this which can cause squeaky sinuses.

Just thought I'd give my two cents

1) Try and get your hands on some reeds from LaVoz, they're usually the best factory made reeds.
2) Play an E in the staff and tongue firmly, if the pitch drops almost immediately after tonguing then your reed is probably done.
3) Make sure you're using the right sized half-hole fingerings (half-hole is rarely the same size for different notes), also try and open up your throat and use fast air.
4) It will effect notes from first ledger line C up to F, but after that you're either pressing the whisper key or the high A/B/C/D keys.
5) Refer to #3
6) Reed length is a huge factor, also (I sound like a broken record) opening you're throat up when you play will definitely help notes like top space G and the F below it not be so sharp, you can also experiment with the top pinky key (left hand) if you're running sharp on a lot of notes.
7) It helps A LOT to soak them before you play, I've never heard of doing it after though. I would think if you soak them after then put them away you'd have mold start to turn up in your reeds.
8) My bassoon is starting to have a weird smell I don't know why. (I use vaseline as my cork grease is it related to the smell?) I swab after every practice so I don't know why there's this smell...
9) Just pick a scale and play whole notes up and down. Also listen to some recordings of a proffesional bassoonist so you can have a sound to model after.
10) YES. You could be the best bassoonist in the world, but with a horrible reed, you're out of luck.
11) Most of the pressure on the reed should come from the corners of your mouth. Also put your top lip in front of your bottom (like an overbite)
12) Pressure from the corners of your mouth (and open your throat )
13) ?
14) I call it a squawk, you'll do it less the longer you've been playing. Controlling your sound on bassoon is not an easy thing to do.

Hope this helps.

Hi Dawn,
I know this is a very late reply. But I thought I would reply as I'm in Singapore too.
1) You can buy reeds from several bassoonists in singapore, or try wind works shop if u don't want to order from overseas.
2) Reeds are over-used when they become too soft, and too sharp and don't react as good as you want them. When they feel limp and you have intonation problems is the time to change.
3) High notes on the bassoon have higher resistance as you go up - hence you have to push more and give more support to have an even colour and consistent quality of sound.
4) You don't have to lock your whisper key all the time, only when you are playing long passages in the low register. Other than that, you should keep it unlocked and try to keep your thumb free.
5) It could be that you are pressing too hard on the reed for the higher notes. or not giving enough air support.
6) You can practise with a tuner, tuning each note as you go up. Or you can tune to chords on the piano, with the pedal key pressed after playing a chord tuning to a sustained chord. Or you can tune to a note and play intervals to it, for example making the cadence I-IV-V-I.
7) Before -yes, after - no.
8) You have to check why this is happening. maybe bring it for a checkup with wind works.
9) This can be done in various ways with crescendo from p to ff and decresendo back from ff to piano, or doing crescendo from note to note, in a scale, for example F-G, and only switching the notes at the climax of the crescendo. You should see an improvement of tone in few weeks if you do it properly.
10) Yes it depends on the reed a good deal, also your bocal, the instrument and your manner of playing it.
11) This requires patience and you need to observe yourself in the mirror. You have to blow much more so that your embrochure doesn't compensate by tightening on the reed.
12)blowing more
13) yes when going up the register
14)sometimes they do but certainly less than clarinets

hope this helps, if you need more help you can email me at jewel_air@hotmail.com
regards
Jo Anne