TubeNet

to just mess around with from our school.. Where is a good place to start?

We dont' have one in our band, and he hasnt' ever had anyone play it.. So I asked if I could take it home, and since he didn't say no I went and found it this morning @ our jr high storage room, bought a reed.. and proceeded to learn a few notes..

Any suggestions where to start? I've done some searches, but besides fingering charts I havent' found much. Normally when I learn a new instrument I grab a beginner book and go from there, but as you can believe my local store didn't exactly have a bassoon beginner book;) I'll prolly order one, but until then any online resources?

So far I can play Bb C D Eb E F G A Bb C D E Eb .. and ya thats it so far.. but with that I can play a few simple songs:D .. Any suggestions where to get some info?

Jacob"who thinks bassoon has a very interesting sound"Morgan

P.S. this is for sole enjoyment, and i practice it when I dont' have a tuba around, such as weekdays @ home..

On the reed, All the way up to the wire??

I've been doing about half..... and ablet o get pitches out..

I was suprised the music store had any reeds, they had 3.. most were unmarked cept one a Rico "medium" So I got it..

If i need to play all the way up to the wire I will, but that pretty much makes tonguing impossible? cuz Im pretty sure I just have to do it by air if I have the reed that far in my mouth..

Here's a nice little booklet by Hugo Fox about the bassoon for beginners:

http://www.foxproducts.com/pgbassoo.pdf

Enjoy!

Thanks for the link, that fingering chart is about 100x better then the one I had found before.

I found a very cool site(I think)

http://www.people.vcu.edu/%7Ebhammel/ma ... chart.html#

Its just pretty much a interactive fingering chart, incase someone else needs it.

Also the pdf you gave me also says to have that much mouthpiece in your mouth. So my apoligies looks like you were right Bloke.

Thanks for the help guys, I think this instrument will almost be llike a course in ear training since ever note can be altered so easily, and many times played different ways... O well it'll be a fun challenge to do on the side:D

Jacob

To play that thing real good, you're gonna have to grow at least two more thumbs!

to Joe's advice, all reed instruments play better when you get more of the reed involved with the buzzing process. There is a point on every reed that you get to the optimum point of reed area working, and then you go past the point and get into squeaking. With double reeds, this is usually at the area where the wire meets the reed.

With single reed insturments, it is at the point where the reed meets the mouthpiece behind the tip.

Most beginner and unexperienced reed players tend to take enough reed/mouthpiece in to make a sound that is somewhere in the ballpark when you consider focus and tone. More reed will get you better sound if you continue to set your mouth correctly (also good advice from Joe), and use a good air flow.

Tom Mason

TubaTinker wrote:To play that thing real good, you're gonna have to grow at least two more thumbs!

Right now I wish I had smaller hands, hitting some of those lower keys with my pinky and having all the bottom hole covered with my other finger can be quite tricky as they just are so close together:P AND im still trying to figure out where ure thumb is suppost to rest when not being used!

By the looks of things if I want to get some decent reeds i'lll need to order online(other option be to drive atleast 1 hr). Any suggestions where? I haven't looked at wwbw.com yet but figured they may have some. As well while im at it im going to have to order a support strap thing for it, it didnt' have one and i've been using a sax strap for the time being.

I think this will be a fun instrument to learn, and i've been complaining about my lack of ear ability. Well just playing this for a day as so I am realizing I know more then I "thought" as when playing I can usually 'hear' the pitch im wanting, then I just have to find it. Ofcourse I could use quite a bit of improvement. Which I think playing this may actually help improve.

Keep the help coming,

Jacob

Jacob Morgan wrote:.....AND im still trying to figure out where ure thumb is suppost to rest when not being used!

........ As well while im at it im going to have to order a support strap thing for it, it didnt' have one and i've been using a sax strap for the time being.
......

Jacob

I don't think your thumbs are suposed to rest if you're playing bassoon

Quite a few bassoon players I know use a leather belt with a hook attached to the end. Get a belt, make a small hook out of some scap metal, put the hook through the hole provided therefore in the metal bottom cap of the bassoon, and sit on the belt. Easy, cheap & effective.

schlepporello wrote:I got away from it though after it became apparent that finding an affordable bassoon in my area would be impossible. You've got access to one that's not being used and you've got time on your side. Go for it!

I know that feeling. I've always like th sound of double reeds (better than single reeds:) ) but man, no "cheap" instruments seam to exist. Not even an oboe or english horn, let alone an bassoon or, better still, a contrabassoon.

cheep, plastic, student oboe = $800
cheep, plastic, student english horn = $3000
cheep bassoon = $2400
cheep contrabassoon = $4800

Not the kind of money most have for playing around

I've watched ebay, but none ever go cheap.

The one im playing on is a Linton Bassoon.

This morning I sat down with a tuner and found to be in tune most of the time playing the way I was before, which is much more comfortable then all the reed in my mouth.

With the reed in my mouth to the wire, the notes are alot less secure and tend to jump up/down the octave or do some funny multiphonic. Maybe this is in part because of the cheap read? No doubt its the player as well. Just wondering if I should play whats in tune, or the "right" way.

I played for about 20-30 minutes this morning when I had time i'll prolly put a good hr or so in here after lunch (free periods). Main thing im working on really is the coordination and reflexes of seeing a note and then playing it. So far i've just been thinking of tunes I know from tuba (Dueling banjos, Amazing grace, Crazy train) and just figuring them out on bassoon and playin those. I'm making sure to make a connection tho to the notes and location and all that.

Yestarday, I played with the 6th graders since the few notes they've learned I had managed to figure out earlier that day (F, C, D Eb, Bb).. and I just read from the clarinet book(only woodwinds comes to highschool). and played along. I think i'll continue that. And yes I know clarinet is what bassoon reads;however, I just tranpose to concert pitch in my head like I do when I play tuba and play the correct notes.

Thanks for the help, and especially the links. The fingering chart is very nice and very large. I printed it off and put it in a binder so I can just flip through and quickly find fingerings. Makes it much easier.

Keep the help coming

Jacob

Jacob Morgan wrote:By the looks of things if I want to get some decent reeds i'lll need to order online(other option be to drive atleast 1 hr). Any suggestions where?

My niece plays bassoon at Ohio State. What toys I've bought for her I've either bought from Mid-South Music (where Mr. Bloke, whose wife is a pro-trained bassoonist and whose daughter is a pro oboist, is the proprietor), or from Forrests, linked here:

http://www.forrestsmusic.com/

Rick "who wishes he could afford to give her a bassoon" Denney

This will probably draw a few flames but.... I experimented with a bassoon (among other things) a few years ago and got very good results from synthetic reeds. They are expensive... upwards of $30 for the bassoon ones. I also use synthetic reeds for my bari sax and bagpipes. My wife uses synthetic reeds on her alto saxes, also. We just don't like to spend a lot of time fussing with reeds. With the synthetic ones you 'pick up and play'... once you settle in on which one is right for you.

Bloke, if looking to order online should one still get the jones reed you spoke of before?

Remember this is for a beginner, I dont' wanna make it seem like im blaming the reed for my inabilities. Just wanna make sure not to order something that will make it harder to advance..

Thanks for the help.. I think i've played a lil too much for a beginner these past 2 days.. inside of my top lip feels about like it used to when I had braces and played tuba too long. O well.. Im making quite a bit improvement. Now if just my hands coordination will catch up with my lips/mind.

Yes I saw the shipping on wwbw, and figured If I went that route I should get atleast 2-3 reeds.However, how would I need to pay you for the reed and such if you were to send some via a padded envelope? If you want I can pm you about this matter.

I've also found that its a pretty common thing to have to modify store bought reeds with a special tool. I think i'll ask my director if by some fluke he has one of these/knows how.

As far as lessons and such, that isnt' going to happen. I live in a small town with only a community college and the closest "real" college being 2 hrs away. As well this is just for a hobby and pure enjoyment, tuba is still my primary instrument which I intend to pursue in college. Bassoon is just cool
However, I do believe our new band director's wife was as all state bassoonist so I do plan on speaking with him about some tips and her for that matter. I have a feeling I'd learn a whole lot more in one session with a experienced player, then I will reading about it.

Thanks for the help,

Jacob

tuba4sissies wrote:Mister TubaTinker, I've been thinking aobut syntehtic reeds for my bass clarinet. Do they wear out? How are they compared to a regular reed? And do you just find your right strength and just use it forever?

Just like Joe said... with one great addition: I have my bari sax sitting in the corner of music room. I keep a Fibercell reed loaded in the MP all the time. I don't play it very often, but when I do, all I have do is sit down and play. There's no soaking the reed and waiting for the reed to soften up. It's ready to go all the time.... hot or cold. I would think this would be a vital asset to someone who plays a variety of saxes/clarinets in a dance band. The Fibercell is my choice. It's going to cost you ten times what a cane reed will cost but they are very stable and like Joe says "last maybe six months". There are also some solid plastic reeds out there. They seem to be getting better and I know some philharmonic folks using them... but the ones I messed with a few years ago still had a ways to go.

I found a plaque online

The knife, Im seeing different kinds, such as beveled, concave.. etc .. would a straight edge one work? Also, I dont' suppose you could just pick up this kind of knife from a hardware store?

Joe probably knows this, but just in case.........

I did my undergrad degree in clarinets. In the program, the clarinet professor told us how to make reed knives using the blade from a craftsman planer and a slot handle (all available at the local Sears).
You had to be able to get to a good stone and spend some time reshaping the cutting edge on the blade, but in the end you had a reed knife.

This was back in the days before internet and quick shipping on merchandise. Therse days, you are better off getting a reed knife and other related materials than you are trying to make do with the hardware store type tools.

Tom Mason

Well today a trombone player said he'd play euphonium in the 2nd band. So I went up with the idea to try out my bassoon playing in the band. At first he wanted me to play trumpet since "they already had a problem tuning.. lol"

however, after playing through the pieces and deciding my lack of ability on trumpet would prolly make me more out of tune playing trumpet then bassoon. That and I know I cant' play a concert on turmpet then a concert on tuba and have chops for tuba.

So I played bassoon:D, I did pretty good. I knew all the fingerings, and all the pitches came out and I felt like I was in tune. I did however leave with a headache from sitting by the flutes(but thats another story.). But ya it was quite alot of fun. Challenging and I think our director was shocked with the ability i've manage to develop in 6 days on bassoon.

Jacob"who needs to find a different fingering for E natural"morgan