These sixteenth notes in high range are extremely difficult! Is there any tricks or tips to get through these notes?

Especially the F#-G-E-G × 3 at the end is the most difficult one. Tempo is very very fast.

So I recently bought a decent amount of profiled cane, and I’m worried about storing it because I live in the US Midwest and the climate is a Reed killer. I don’t go through it very quickly, so this will be likely stored for long periods of time. I have seen people store it in bags in order to keep it protected from the climate, but I am unsure of how well that will work. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas, please let me know.

For some context:

Its summer for me right now, im 13, and I'm playing my schools Allora Student Bassoon over the summer just to stay sharp at it. This model in particular wasn't treated that well by the last owner; the bocal's bent at the base, the Low E rod doesnt work, the rod connected the wing to the Tenor joint is missing, and some other issues. Despite this, its still the best bassoon in the district because all of the other ones are old rotted Foxes with moldy reeds.

Now I know ill probably just keep playing this Allora, and whatever bassoon I might rent in high school, but I want to start saving for my own. My requirements are just that it has Heckel keywork and isnt ludicrously expensive (like 10-15k is a good cap for me)

So, can anyone recommend good bassoons that fix these descriptions that I might start saving for? Thanks!

Tl;dr:

Today I was told I am going to play a solo (I'm thinking one of the Milde concert studies?) on a recital in two weeks; which one should I play?

Also, any recs for an approachable classical era flute/bassoon duet? (same situation.)

Backstory:

A friend of mine is a flute teacher and does an annual studio recital with her students - mostly middle and high school level - she also brings in any musician who owes her a favor to put on a little show for the parents. Her husband is a darn good jazz pianist, and the church she uses has a choir director who's an organ whiz - you get the idea. She cat-sat for me last month, so I get to play a solo. It's a good time. There's cookies.

The caveat is I only found out about this today and the recital is in two weeks. Well, 12 days.

My requirements are "nothing flashy, just keep it tonal and show off your tone." (I usually do play something flashy. But given the time frame... no.)

She also wants to play a duet, if possible.

I play regularly and keep in decent shape, but I don't teach, so my memories of specific intermediate level music is... timeworn. When I've been to bassoon studio recitals, the bassoon professor or clinician would often play one of the Milde Concert Studies, which I worked through in college. Looking at them now, I can definitely knock the dust off and do a respectable job. I just don't know which one, so I'm hoping the internet will pick one for me.

Thanks!

Hey all,

For the life of me I can't get used to using the short Eb fingering (1 and 3 on the left hand), and I was wondering if there's anyone out there who uses the full fingering at tempo? Right now I'm around 80 ish beats a minute and I'm making decent progress but I just can't seem to rewire myself for the Eb's lol. I know it'd make things easier if I did the short fingering but it's just so wack to me.

Hello all! I am a rising junior and I am looking for solo and ensemble recs (as the title says). I’ve made States my Freshmen and Sophomore years, playing Telemanns Sonata in F Minor (Movements 1 and half of 2) my Freshmen year and Galliards First Sonata (Movements 1, 2, and 4). I still haven’t learned how to double toung if that makes recs either but I’m looking for something with a lot of umph and a lot of content to learn. Any help would be appreciated!

I used to play Bassoon in high school and was encouraged by my teacher to apply to the local conservatorium. I did so, but accepted a different university offer as I was concerned that I would always be broke if I attempted to be a bassoonist - I was good at it, but I was no genius!

The last time I really touched my bassoon was when I was 18. I played for a season with a semi-professional opera to earn a little money when I started uni. I'm now 46... I'd like to pick it up again. My memory is, as ypu woukd expect, a little fuzzy.

Any advice? Unfortunately, I am not currently in the position to pay for lessons, so I will be toiling away all self-directed. Currently living in Madrid.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some tips to improve my stacatto. Since I remember, stacatto has been always a bit challenging for me, because I don’t find the same sensation all the times when I’m playing.

I searched a lot of exercises and I have tried a lot, but I still haven’t found the best exercise for me.

I have reflected on which section I should improve, whether it is my air column, my tongue, or if I need to do exercises to better coordinate my fingers with the air. I think I need to improve so that my tongue doesn’t hit so hard when I’m going faster because I think it makes my air column brake and slow me down.

Anyone has feel the same? What helped you improve it?

Long story short I bought another bassoon and this time it’s a French bassoon because why not 🤷‍♂️

Long story long: I’ve always really loved the sound of a French bassoon and decided recently that I could afford to use some of my first paychecks to buy one and learn it. And after some lurking I found one within my price range and bought it. Now granted it was so cheap because it doesn’t have a crook and is from like 1912-1915 but that doesn’t really matter to me as much as I just wanted to share :)

I've already been accepted to college, and I just got sent the placement audition material, but it's some really hard stuff. It has the rite of spring solo, the famous figaro solo, and other well known hard pieces. Am I expected to know and play all that at a proficient level going into freshmen year at a state college or am I meant to just give it my best so they can see where I'm at skill wise? Do other incoming freshmen have the skill to play those pieces well or are we all just given this music to get a benchmark? Either way, does anyone have any tips for learning those two specifically in a month or so? Thanks

It's been a little under 3 months since I've played since my bassoons been in the shop having a lot of work done on it, but I did get new reeds a few weeks before sending it off, but now they're not working super well after all that time off. The edges of the reeds aren't really touching and they're very unresponsive. What can I do to fix them? I don't want to buy more since they've only really seen like 2 weeks of use. Thanks!

I am a rising senior in high school and I’m very serious about playing bassoon as a living. My ideal scenario is being able to live off of a reliable income from playing the bassoon. I’ve talked to professors and fellow bassoon players that are just as serious as I am and I got the vibe that this life path is not easy. I am prepared for the reality of grinding out audition after audition. But can I really expect to make a living from doing this? (And yes I saw a post with a similar title from a couple years ago and didn’t see any satisfactory answers so I’m making my own.)

So trying to weigh learning bassoon. Not a whole lot of churches have bassoon players and they're key (no pun intended) to the orchestral sound
I can play flute moderately well and recorders
But I know bassoon is like a whole different beast
How hard is bassoon? Like what's the entry barrier to being able to hold down a solid tone and bassline?

Hey, Ik you don't care, but I have been working on an app that helps musicians learn to read clefs. As a cellist, I am now trying to learn both Tenor and Treble clefs after, of course, playing with bass clef. I am wondering if anyone else has somewhat struggled with learning multiple clefs and switching between them. Anyway, Other than that, I am asking for brutally honest feedback on if you think the app would be genuinely helpful or just "nice to have". Please don't lie and just say it is a good idea. be brutally honest.

Does anyone have recordings for the 26-27 all state etudes? I swear I can’t find them anywhere. It comes from 30 Classical Studies for Bassoon by William Waterhouse, no. 12, 14, and 21.

the spring on my upper resonance key is too strong for me. i've seen bassoonists adjust spring tension on their own instruments, but i have no idea how to do that and can't find how to do it online! is this something i/a general woodwind specialist could do, or should i find a bassoonist/bassoon tech?

I'm just staring my bassoon journey, so I'm wondering (like I'm sure many people do when they pick up a new instrument) how long it takes to become proficient. Of course, "good" is a highly subjective term (and it's not only time that matters but practice hours, instruction, etc.), so feel free to interpret that word however you wish: when did you feel you became good at playing the bassoon?

In case it matters, I have two concrete goals:

First, learn to play the very opening melody of Act 1, Scene 1 of Boris Godunov.

Later, learn to play the main melody of the day 1 Clock Town theme from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, which is faster and longer and seems generally more difficult.

I figure if I can handle both of those, I'll be able to mostly play much of my favorite music. Not that I intend to stop there, but my goal really is just to have fun with an instrument I love.

Hi, this is the symphony no.2 of Brahms, 1st mvt. These octave jumps are difficult. How can I practice this?

Hey everyone,

As the title suggests, i’m currently poking around for some good pieces for Bassoon and Wind ensemble but i’m having a hard time looking for something that isn’t that boring Ewazen concerto or James Barnes concertino. Does anyone have any favorites or suggestions? Looking for something a little flashier and a little less pedestrian like most pieces i’ve found. Also looking for one with a piano reduction so I can use it for an audition.

Thanks!

Hello everyone, i have a old kohlert bassoon that was given to me as a gift. But i was wondering how much a repair would cost for a bassoon? (2nd pic) A key is extremely loose and is very wobbly.

I don’t know how well it plays since i never played it before. I also never played bassoon before (i want to learn bassoon.)

Also i play oboe in college, so picking up bassoon shouldn’t be too much of a hassle. The bassoon is so beautiful, but growing up i never got to play one because they’re so expensive and back then oboe and clarinet was my only option hehe

I was playing though some etudes from the Weissenborn volume 2 book and when I got to #15 I am a bit confused by the notation. I know that it is in F but in the second line there is a natural next to a sharp on the B??? So, if any of you have played through this etude what note did or would you play, Bb, B, or C(B#?)? Thank you for the help.

Seems to have complete keys. Is the boot joint a clone of Fox bassoon? Any idea?

Hey all,

I'm working on arranging some pieces for bassoon quartet/quintet however it occurred to me while I was working on one that I have never had to do a high F#-G# trill lol. It'll be trilled for a decent amount of time too so I was hoping there was a good fingering to make it easier.

Hello! I'm practicing for college ensemble auditions and for the life of me cannot figure out where the second excerpt is from, can anyone help?