Hey everyone! I decided the other day that I wanted to learn a new instrument, and one of my friends suggested I play the bassoon. My two main instruments are 'cello and tenor sax, and I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips to get started. I know that getting a private teacher is in my best interest, but I don't know anyone in my area who plays bassoon, and I'd like to play as soon as possible. Can someone tell me a good book/website with a fingering chart, setup diagrams, good beginner reeds, etc? I've never ordered reeds online before, so I'm not sure which company would be good to look at, or what exactly I should be looking for in a reed. I'd really like to be able to play bassoon in the symphonic band at my school by the end of the year, so any tips on how to get good results fast would be greatly welcomed =] Thanks in advance!!

In my opinion the best beginner book is the Weissenborn first book. If you are an ebayer, there is one right now on sale. After you get on ebay, search Weissenborn. I'm sure there are other sources as well.

I came across this PDF when I was searching for a good bassoon fingering chart. It has information about reeds, embouchure, care of the instrument, and has a good fingering chart.
http://www.foxproducts.com/pdfs/LetsPlayBassoon.pdf

try the rubank book. they're good in my opinion.

as for reeds, I like "discountreeds" and RDG woodwinds. Now I get medium reeds from RDG then shave them and tweak them to my standards. Discountreeds provides all the basic brands, and the prices are much cheaper than the RDG reeds. I gues sit depends what your standards are, and how much you know about messing around with reeds. (They are extremely touchy)