I was thinking of buying a grenser bassoon by Wolf, but I couldn't find any finger charts for a classical bassoon, does anybody have charts?

I'm looking for music I can play with someone else as a beginner bassoonist. I've been working my way through Weissenborn, and have co-opted several pieces written for the cello, but haven't found much else for players at my level.

Any suggestions would be welcome!

Hey y’all, my wind ensemble director is programming for next year and taking suggestions for pieces, in the years I’ve been here I haven’t had that many hard parts/big moments, so I wanted to suggest a piece or two with some good bassoon. Does anyone have any suggestions?

For context, the wind ensemble is the top group at my university and I have not seen a piece that was too difficult for us. This is not meant at all as a brag, but just wanted y’all to know that there you should not have to worry about a piece being too difficult.

For Context: I challenged my teacher to a music writing competition, and my piece (The Inferno) has a bassoon opening solo accompanied by the bass trombone and tuba. My question is which range do you guys prefer to play in for solos? The range of the solo is B4 to B1. Let me know which range you prefer to play in for solos.

if anyone has bassoon memes/puns i would love to hear them!

So I have been thinking of making and selling reeds for quite a while now and the only thing that has stopped me was the price of the equipment and resources necessary to start production on any sort of scale.

For a little bit of backstory, I played bassoon from 8th grade all the way through undergrad and made successful reeds for my early 80s Schreiber (and that’s a feat in itself).

Would there be demand for a reed that was tested and intended for that type of bassoon? What should a finished reed cost? Would it be worth it? TIA

TDLR: I want to buy a bassoon

I played bassoon for one year about 8 years ago and it was fun. I’d like to start playing again and I want to buy one for cheap. As I live in a small country in Europe there are not many for sale (used) in my country that are at an affordable price.

I found one called Rosedale for sale at gear4music. As I will only play for fun (since my main instrument is a brass instrument) and only once in a while with a band I do not want to spend many thousands buying it. Also I found a Huller bassoon for sale for about 500$ more.

Over to my question. In fear of “swearing in the church” as we say in my country. Does anyone have experience with this particular bassoon?

Thank you for your help!

Okay that title is a bit misleading because I don't have the reed and I'm just looking for advice on what kind of reed to get. So, I have no idea yet on whether or not I'll actually be able to play a bassoon because one of my teachers/directors said that he was going to look and see if there was a free bassoon owned by the school that I could play and told me to buy my own reed. But I am asking this question just in case.

Though, I hope he actually went to look because he has told me that he would check and forgot each time lol. I think if I ask him about it tmr he's going to go like, "Oh I forgot. Just ask Mr. (high school band director)" If he actually did do it I'm so scared that he's going to say that there isn't a bassoon available even though there should be because one of the bassoons quit and she was using the school's. Back to the actual point, I was wondering what would be good for a beginners reed. Is there a specific brand? I know they can get pricey but I don't really expect a reed for a beginner to be that expensive. I do know that getting one on amazon is... well, not very good and even if it seems like it I just can't trust amazon. But, will getting one on Etsy be alright? It would definitely be hand crafted somehow because it's Etsy ofc. But is anyone against that? If someone has a better suggestion, tell me where I should buy one off of! Thanks

Does anyone have any information on his reed style and scrape?

Hi all,

I've been watching some bassoon masterclasses led by Simon van Holen. Simon is constantly working the student. I've observed the same in other masterclasses.

As a student, can you expect lessons to be of the same intensity as a masterclass? I recognize the content will be wildly different (scales, far less polished études and repertoire), but should there be the same quantity of coaching, correction, new exercises, and playing time?

Here's an example of what I'm referring to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQgJa3TyGUw

Been 12 years playing the bassoon, maybe more, and this has always been an issue. I feel like this should have stopped being a problem a decade ago, yet it persists. I follow all instructions for a proper breathing, but I'm still incapable of playing for a few minutes straight without severe pain and effort, no matter what I do (I mean, I can play for 20 minutes, but it really hurts, and it doesn't seem to be like this for others). I'm often told to not apply too much force on the mouthpiece, and that's what I try to do; I can't reduce it anymore, and still feels like doing push-ups. Am I alone?

I have an audition in about a month. I'm sufficient in scales, and I've practiced my solo/excerpts for a while now. The only fear I have is sightreading because I know I'm not that good at it. Does anyone know what I should do or what books I should look into? Is it worth my time to practice sight-reading?

What was the first piece you played alone in a recital? ( I mean by that, without playing in a group)

I get curious about my fellow/veteran bassoonists :)

If I were to post pictures of a bassoon, what parts of the instrument would be the most important? The serial number is impossible to read because of a refinish job.

I am currently in my third year of playing bassoon in college and just had repairs done on the school horn that I am using, allowing the whisper key lock to now be usable. This is the first whisper key lock that I have been able to use long term aside from trialing instruments in my 10 or so years of playing thus far. This whisper key lock is on the right hand and I often find it hard to actuate as my brain thinks of the whisper key and its correlation to the left thumb. While I know that there are left hand whisper key locks, of which I have been able to try on different horns from time to time, I was told by my professor that one of the benefits of a right hand whisper key lock is so that you can actuate it in passages where your left thumb may not have the freedom to do so, making it less stressful.

I like the idea of that ability but also like the whisper key lock being for the left thumb due to those previously mentioned reasons. I’m curious as to whether there would be a way to have both a right hand and left hand mechanism for a whisper key lock in order to be able to use either one as desired. If anyone has heard of or seen this before, I would love to know!

I am considering purchasing a 1967 Fox Model II which has been recently overhauled and is (so I’m told…) in good playing condition - I obviously want to test that out! The only thing it’s missing at first glance is a whisper key lock.

I use my WKL fairly frequently, so I’m curious how possible it is to fit one to an older instrument. It doesn’t look like there is room for a left thumb lock (which is what I have currently), so I assume I’d be looking at something down on the right hand side. If anyone has had this done, I’d love to see pictures.

Thanks for any insight!

I’m a pretty new bassoon player (only playing for a few months) but for some reason I can’t get an E3 flat out. It makes a weird sound and when I don’t use much air it makes a really weak F. Every other note I’ve tried has worked fine it’s just that no matter what I try and change the e flat just sounds really bad. How could I fix this?

I've only been playing the bassoon for a year, but recently I've been having more problems than usual in being able to play low notes (from the F below the bass clef), and often when I play these notes the sound breaks, as if it were a DVD when it is scratched. Furthermore, my bass B/Bb is very difficult to get out and when they come out it's like it sounds an octave higher???

details that might help: the bassoon isn't mine, it's been at my school for a few years, apparently it underwent maintenance last year. The reed was purchased last month by a person I trust. I hope you can help me

( sorry, bad english )

I’ve been struggling with this and just walked a way for a moment to gather my thoughts. I thought I knew the key of E. I can play the scale, I auditioned for all state years ago and that was one of the scales they asked for. But upon actually reading music in that key I’m a mess. And I’m feeling like a bit of a fraud. Maybe I just know these scales by ear, and not actually how to play in that key. Nothing is as it’s seems and I’m afraid I might just go and play an f natural in an exposed section to at rehearsal and I will die a little inside.

Hei,
I am a second Semester bassoon bachelor student at a german music college and I am searching for masterclasses to attend. I find it really dificult finding anything suitable for bachelor students. Does anyone have ideas or experiences you would want to share or any other websites to search other than musicalchairs and muvac?

I'm just curious how current Fox bassoons compare to their older offerings.

I started on a Renard made about 2000, and now I play on a Model I from about the same year. I was checking out their website last night, and noticed how different their bassoons look. New logo, different finish, different standard keywork etc. I'm wondering of these are superficial changes or if the bassoons feel and play different.

I've heard the 1990s described as the golden age for Fox, and my undergrad professor has said that he does not like what Fox is currently doing.

Hi bassoon experts,

Is it possible to just use gouged and shaped (not profiled) cane with the rimpl tip profiler?

The Miller marketing page says "eliminates the need for profiling", so I'm wondering if this is accurate.

Hey all. I need to know if I am absolutely delusional in considering bassoon as a secondary instrument.

My main is flute, but I play enough piano that bass clef isn’t intimidating to me. I’m willing to suffer through tenor clef.

I’ve taken a few months of 1:1 oboe lessons in high school and again in college. But that is my only double reed experience. I was a music major for 4 years but ultimately graduated liberal arts with a concentration in music (which is more than a minor but less than a major).

So, why bassoon? I love the sound. Especially in the higher register. Out of all instruments, I am most motivated to try bassoon. And I always tell people the best instrument for you is the one you’re most motivated to learn. And also, my geographical location is so saturated in flutists that even community bands and orchestras aren’t accepting flute players.

Why not bassoon? I know they are expensive af. They seem more difficult and certainly more complex than flute. Also, I know nearly nothing.

I found a music shop in town that will rent me a student bassoon for a few months to try it out. Should I give it a go and see what happens? Or is this bonkers?

Thanks so much!

Update: Hell yeah, you guys rule. I’m going to pick it up in an hour or two. Thank you again!

Picture at exhibition Mussorgsky art ravel

I’m having a hard time trying to find the sheet music of it. Anyone? 😭

Reedcrest restock!

Hello, fellow bassoon enthusiasts!

I am here to announce that I have a new batch of reeds available. At the moment, there are Christlieb, Herzberg, and a limited supply of Rieger 1A available. In the future, I plan to have a constant supply of reeds available rather than batches. All orders placed through the end of Sunday will be fulfilled on Monday, 4/15. Have a question about which shape may work best for you? Submit a contact form on the website or email at the address below.

Additionally, there are multiple colors of thread available. Do you not see the colors you hoped for? Email me at reedcrestreeds@gmail.com for a custom spool.

My reeds and threads are available at:

My website: https://www.reedcrest.com

Etsy: https://reedcrest.etsy.com

Thank you all! Happy bassooning!