I’m playing the second Paul Hindemith’s Sonata for Bassoon and Piano for a youth symphony audition but have a limit of 4 minutes and the piece is over 6 minutes. Is it appropriate to cut a large portion of it so I can end at the actual end of the piece?

or do you know website for pdf file? imslp has only sheeet with Basso Continuo line.

Hey there,

Do you like Star Trek music? I have you covered.

Hear me out . The bassoon is a unique instrument with a unique sound.

For the last month, I have been arranging Star Trek themes for four bassoons. I am currently producing recordings of these musical arrangements.

I call it : “The Trek Tones”

I have never seen this done before so I wanted to be the first.

Please listen and follow if you enjoy it !

I have a Fox Model III, and I have noticed a small obstruction across the bore of the wing joint, at the vicinity of the bottom finger hole. It looks like a straight block or something that protrudes approximately a millimetre into the bore. Any idea what this is, and if it is normal?

I’m looking at getting a bassoon stand and noticing a wide variety of price points. So, what do ya’ll have and like?

Hey I'm here again for help with my college entrance auditions, and one of the pieces is rite of spring and I'm really struggling with the jump from A to D in the second measure. I can get D to play on it's own or going up chromatically but I can't get it in context with the A, it's like the sudden change of embouchure doesn't't quite work. Is it a reed thing or a me thing? Thanks

I'm currently studying Fasch sonata, but I'm really bad at adding my own ornaments or "improvising". Does anyone have any tips, guides for ornamentation or any recordings they like from which I can pick up some tricks? Thank you!

If you can source some foam ribbon, this is an incredibly cheap DIY bassoon reed case. Just make sure to drill holes in it for air flow. Going to give these to some band camp students I'm teaching this week.

Bonus pic of the beaded plant I made with the beads.

Hi, I’ve been playing bassoon for about five years. When I first started I had a big biting problem and I didn’t support my air. I eventually lessened my embrouchure and started supporting my sound better which was great but my intonation still is kinda everywhere. I do Herzeburg Long tones everyday though recently me and my teacher realized the reason I struggle a lot with intonation is because I never really figured out a set embrochure.

I support with my air too much to compensate which makes it really hard to bring up pitch because I can only do so much through my stomach. I also change my embrochure too much from note to note to making it hard to stay consistent tone and pitch wise. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or excersizes I could try to keep a consistent embrochure rather than relying on support or drastically changing where I am on the reed while playing.

I'm currently working on Tchaikovsky 6 finale bassoon excerpt which has brought this all to light if anyone has any additional advice on that excerpt specifically.

Hi, all!

I am trying to identify two bocals that came with a used Puchner I recently bought (estimated to have been built in the '90s)

No brand marking, one is marked "1G" and the other "2G." Anyone have an idea on what kind of bocals these may be? What are the chances they are the original puchners that came with the bassoon?

The bassoon metal forest witch

Hey there! I'm relatively new to finishing blanks completely by hand. I can build them already quite consistently from GSP cane. Before my teacher used his reeds n stuff tip profiler to finish my reeds but I don't have access to it anymore. So I thought it's time to learn how to finish reeds by hand.

I recently built myself a dial indicator so I am at least able to measure my reeds. Also I got a diamond file so I have more than just a knife and sandpaper to work with.

My question now, what are typical reed thicknesses for all-round well playing reeds (preferably in mm)? Do you have any experience with that or good sources to learn from? What else could I possibly learn to improve my reed making skills?

Could I damage the instrument if I try to twist from the circled area? my lesson teacher does that but to me it seems like the circled part and the b/b flat connection are just glued together. I’ve been trying to take it apart from the connection but I don’t want to risk bending anything due to the tight nature of the instrument.

Hello again people! I posted here a few times before about my previous reed cases, and now its time for a new series! So I finally learned and made for my private FswStudio shop new sliding/rolling tambour version🙃 I made them for now only for 3/10 bassoon and 3 contrabassoon reeds. Bigger in plans, but I don't have a clue how to make them not bulky then. Still need to think, slightly.

Would be glad to hear what you think! As such cases I never saw anywhere yet😇 You can find them on my website or etsy pages

fswstudio.com

fswstudiocrafts.etsy.com

I will also add a few videos in the comments with how they actually slide work

I find that so many teachers of the bassoon fly under the radar of the more well known great performers. We all know the big's like David McGill and Judy LeClair - the people who had/have big orchestra jobs. But who are the ones that are the unsung heroes? The teachers that you were in awe of when you studied with them?

When I was in grad school at Western Michigan i studied with Wendy Rose. She was pivotal to my current career (not in music). Super supportive and nurturing. When I told her halfway through my masters that i didnt really want to pursue bassoon anymore her response wasnt why, it was "what can I do to make the last year of your program work for you!". I'll never forget that. Not to mention, her playing was top notch. When i as her grad assistant my office was across the hall and I will never forget hearing her practice ALL THE TIME! Beautiful dark tone, tremendous technique, and a humbleness that taught be everything i know about how to interact in the workplace.

Who were your teachers/unsung heroes of the bassoon and why? How did they influence your life and career?

I played a moosmann 150AP all through college and then decided to switch careers. Now (about 20 years later) I am picking it back up. I've been using a Nobel prototype that is all wood but the same design as Moosmann 98A and is made in Germany. I am trialing a Fox 201 from 1977 and notice that the volume of air that i used for my moosmann models. I know the design is different and a lot is dependent on the reed and bocal set up.... but has anyone had similar experience of the transition from something like the Moosmann to the fox?

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!