2015 Auerbach

Teaching Beginning Bassoons
CLINICIAN:
Dr. Jennifer Auerbach
Texas Bandmasters Association

2015 Convention/Clinic
JULY 23-26, 2015

HENRY B. GONZALEZ CONVENTION CENTER
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

Beginning Bassoon

Texas Bandmasters Association Clinic 2015

Jennifer Auerbach
Jennifer@bocalmajority.com
940-‐206-‐4527

July 25, 2015

Clinic Handout

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Bocal Majority Band Director Boot Camp
Bassoon

Recruiting and selection
• Unique instrument – see handout about instrument selection
• Demonstration of the instrument
• Can the student match pitch? ( I have them sing “Happy Birthday”)
• Can the student form the right embouchure (based on the shape of the mouth) – some people
struggle to make a comfortable, relaxed embouchure
• Grades, high achiever, self-‐starter and a leader socially
• Piano background
• Hand size
• The “overbite” issue…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beginner Testing for Bassoon and Oboe
General Information about Selecting Bassoon:

Selection of bassoon players is EXTREMELY limited. I strongly recommend piano experience and note
reading ability. Students who choose the bassoon will be required to take private lessons.

Physical Characteristics:
A slight overbite is okay for students wishing to play bassoon, however, a student with an under-‐bite
should avoid bassoon. For oboe, braces inhibit sound production – if possible avoid.

Other Considerations:
The oboe and the bassoon are two of the more demanding instruments. Students selected should be
intelligent, independent workers, who enjoy a good challenge and doing something special and unique
(only a few are selected for this instrument). Students who are selected to play oboe or bassoon are
required to take weekly private lessons with the applied lesson teacher.

Interview of a Potential Candidate:
What kind of grades you do get?
Best answer: “As” or possibly “As and Bs”
Are you in the gifted program?
Best answer: “yes”
Do you like to do what lots of other people are doing or something more special and unique?
Best answer “special and unique”
Have you taken piano lessons and do you read music?
*when testing, maybe have them read a few notes in treble or bass clef (if a bassoon candidate
*when testing, maybe have them read a few notes in treble or bass clef (if a bassoon candidate)

For bassoon: I have them play only on the reed, bocal and wing joint, since it is easier to produce a sound
that way. I have them make a round shape with their mouth like saying the word “toe” and I demonstrate
that (they must be able to physically make the correct embouchure). I also play for them.

We also have a conversation with parents before completing the deal explaining that: in order to insure
the success of their student on this instrument, private lessons are required (or highly recommended,
© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls
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etc…) We explain the cost of lessons, reeds, and that reeds need replacing frequently (monthly,
sometimes more often); we explain the difference between machine-‐made reeds and hand made, and
about the beginner camp which we require, and we hand them the brochure for that and ask them to sign
up right away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Embouchure
• Top lip is farther on the reed than the bottom lip
• As natural as possible – no forced jaw tension
• Emphasize the “oh” or “toe” shape (not tee) – “ smiling” not desirable
• Corners of the mouth pulled inwards like drawstrings on a bag
• Make a large space between the back teeth, like a yawn with the lips shut
• Top and bottom lips over the teeth
• ¾ of the blade of the reed goes in the mouth – too little causes the sound to be thinner and closed
off
* (this is a variable issue among professional bassoonists)

Getting ready to play
• Reed should be soaked for 3-‐5 minutes in warm water – NOT the mouth NOR by running under
water in the fountain.
• Students should get their reeds soaking before they start putting the instrument together when
they arrive at class. It takes longer to “put together” and “put up” a bassoon.

Assembling the instrument
• Students should do this the same way every time – I spend a lot of time on this with students at
the beginning. Tell the students there is only one way to do this

About bocals
• Most bocals with the instruments your school has are probably regular bocals, but some are meant
to be played standing up. It is important to be able to recognize the difference between the
“sitting down” and the “standing up” bocals. If a student plays sitting down with a “standing up”
bocal then they could potentially develop undesirable hand and sitting positions and possibly an
undesirable embouchure. A basic bocal (for about $250-‐300) is a good investment. A good/really
good bocal enhances the sound of the instrument a great deal ($600-‐1,000)
• The bocals need to be cleaned out well periodically with warm soapy water and a bocal brush
(every time report cards come out – is a good way to think about the timing). Use bocal swabs
once per week.
• The students should be aware that bocals are very delicate and they must not drop them, bend
them, or sit on them. I encourage students not to leave bocals on the music stand since they could
be knocked over. They are probably safer on the ground or placed well inside the bassoon on the
ground.
• Bocals have numbers on them. The smaller the number the shorter the bocal (the higher the
pitch). A “1” is the shortest you’ll probably encounter and a “3” is probably the longest.

Positioning the instrument
• Adjust the strap to adjust the height of the instrument so that the bocal enters the mouth without
the student straining the neck up or ducking the head down to reach the bocal
• Instrument should rest on the outer thigh, not the chair

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• Student should sit comfortably in the chair – backside can be anywhere in the chair (even the
back) as long as their back does not touch the back of the chair. You may decide it’s simpler just to
tell students to sit at the tip of their chair, just as long as they still keep the seat strap weighted
down.
• Students should sit up straight for optimal air flow.

Hand position
• The hands and fingers should be near the “home keys” (like on a typewriter).
• “Hamburger hands” (curved fingers, relaxed and not with tension)

Bocal and reed warmups
• Have the students play with reed and bocal only at first – produce a C-‐sharp
• Left hand on the cork, right hand on the string of the reed (“resting” and “ready” positions)
• Helps them learn tonguing and builds air endurance – students can do this as the “mouthpiece”

Fingerings
• Fingering Charts – how to tell if the fingering chart is appropriate-‐ “front of the book” fingering
charts (Foundations for Superior Performance – fingering chart OK). EE = new/old editions
• A good basic fingering chart/system
• Strategies for fingerings for beginners to get them off on a good start: learn it right the first time
o Venting (also known as flicking)
o Full fingerings for E-‐flat
o Resonance key use
• Some advanced fingerings, high note fingerings, alternate fingering issues for 7th/8th graders:
o Alternate low A-‐flat
o Long C-‐sharp
o Middle F-‐sharp
• Communicate with the bassoon teacher about their preferred fingerings
• What to do about fingerings if you don’t have a bassoon teacher

Order of Note and Scale Introduction

C D E F
C B A G
B-‐flat
Low F
E-‐flat
A-‐flat, low E-‐flat
Low E, low D – then the E-‐flat scale
G, F#, then the G scale
High A, B, B-‐flat C – then B-‐flat scale, then C-‐scale
Low F#, C#– then D scale
Add high F# and high and low G#– then A scale
Then A-‐flat scale
(A-‐flat and B-‐flat)
Add high D-‐flat – then D-‐flat scale (higher)
Chromatic scale 1 octave (F to F)

? œ
? œ
5
E scale
B scale
G-‐flat scale
F# scale
Add low C, low D-‐flat – D-‐flat scale (lower octave)
Add high D, high E-‐flat, high E, high F
Second octave of chromatic
E-‐flat, E, F – three octave exercises
Add F scale upper octave
Add E-‐flat scale upper octave
Add E scale upper octave
Gb
? œ b
Add lower part of the D-‐flat scale
? œ
G
Add high D scale
Add low C, add low C scale
œ
Add low B, add low B scale
œ? ? œ
Add low B-‐flat, add low B-‐flat scale
?

Crossing the break
• The first notes the students learn over the break are G and F-‐sharp. Start getting the used to these
notes by playing the G major descending scale. Next practice going: E, F-‐sharp, G.
• The left hand position is very important here – students should coordinate the hands coming up
and going down together or else the notes will not come out properly. There is also the matter of
the half hole. On middle F-‐sharp, G, and A-‐flat the left hand first finger covers only half of the hole.
It takes practice learning to “role” the finger down to uncover the hole. Saying “rolling the finger”
is the best way to explain what happens in this process and you should watch the bassoonist to see
that they’re doing this right so they develop a good habit.
• *Check to make sure that students use the whisper key for mid-‐high F-‐sharp, G, and A-‐flat and the
resonance key for G (but not the others):
Gb G#
bœ ? œ
G
? ? #œ

?
œ?
œ
The second octave/flicking/venting

• In the second octave the notes require more air in order to make the notes come out in the correct
octave and to be in tune. The tendency is for students to bite more to get the notes to speak and
play in tune. It is important that they learn to do this with faster air rather than by biting. The
embouchure IS slightly firmer, but not bitten. I would use the verbiage: “firmer embouchure.”
œ
? bassoonists
G
G#
• Some professional vent (or “flick”) and some don’t. I teach my students to vent A, B-‐
? # œ people “flick” or lightly tap the corresponding
flat, B, and C since it helps the notes to speak. Some

œ
? ? ? ?
œ œ
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keys, but I find that students will develop better habits if I don’t call it flicking or venting, but
rather if I just introduce the thumb key as a part of the fingering. The high A gets the A-‐key as its
vent key and the B-‐flat, B, and C get the high C-‐key as its vent key. It is important that they learn to
use the correct vent keys rather than the wrong ones. Sometimes the keys on the bassoons go
down too far and cause the notes to be extremely sharp when using the vent keys. This should be
fixed rather than allowing students to continue to use the wrong vent keys (or no vent keys) since
this will create a bad habit they’ll need to fix later on when they get their next bassoon.
Bb œ œ
œ bœ ?
B C
? ?
A
?

? ?
Some goals for the first year

œ ?
œ
By the end of the first year students should:
• Be able to match pitches with each other and the rest of the class
• Be able to produce dynamic contrast
• Be able to use proper fingerings (incorrect fingerings can be a source of pitch problems)
œ
• Be able to play all the major scales two octaves (possibly some 3 octaves)
?
A
• Be able to play the chromatic scale 3 octaves from low B-‐flat to high B-‐flat (range may vary)
• Have proper knowledge of the left h Gand thumb key and resonance key use.
? œ
œ

?
B
What to focus o n a t f irst – “practice makes permanent”
?
• Learn the names of the parts of the instrument
œ
• Practice putting the instrument together
?
• Practice basic care of the bassoon
o Swabbing
o putting it away in the case properly
o no music in the case
• Practice how to pick up and carry the instrument + where to put the bocal
• Practice how to put the instrument down when you’re not playing
• Learn how to soak the reed, dry the reed, how to preserve the reed
• Learn how to sit, the proper hand position, how to make the bassoon embouchure

Reed selection/reed adjusting
? œand hope for the

• Some reeds from the store are not adjusted by hand. This takes a great deal of time
B and attention
and it is not cost effective, so some companies just put the reeds on the machines
best. Since reeds are made from an organic substance (cane) not every reed responds the same to
the same scraping. When a machine Gm# akes a reed instead of a person, this results in reeds that do
not play consistently and in m? # œ do not play well at all.
any cases
• Reed emergencies – quick fixes (see packet)
• I disagree with the philosophy that students should start on lesser-‐quality reeds and then switch
to better, hand-‐made reeds later. I have observed that students form their habits very quickly

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when learning an instrument. The adjustments they make in order to make a bad reed play can
stay with them for their whole career. It is harder to break a bad habit than it is to instill a good
habit from the beginning. It is more efficient to learn something right the first time.
Selecting Equipment
Buy the very best instrument that you can for the money
• Fox model 41 (plastic)
• Fox 222-‐D (adds the high D key)
• Fox 220 (complete keywork, pro bocals, nicer case)
• Fox 240 (top of the line student model, most resonant, same key work as 220)
• Amati contrabassoon ABN-‐36

Recommended Middle School Bassoon Solo List

First year players (6th grade)
Standard of Excellence: Festival Solos book
Serenade from Don Giovanni by Mozart
St. Anthony Chorale and Rondo by Haydn
Minuetto by Beethoven

Classic Festival Solos volume 2
A Little Song
March of the Bassoons
A Russian Folk Song
March of the Leprechauns
The Troubador
Gavotte by Johnson
In the Hall of the Mountain King

Repertoire Classics (ed. Kevin Fuller)
Londonderry Air
Andante by Gluck

Master Solos (Intermediate)
Romanze by Siennicki

Second year players (7th grade) -‐ Easy
Standard of Excellence: Festival Solos book
Cavatina by Mozart

Classic Festival Solos volume 2
In the Hall of the Mountain King

Ave Verum Corpus
To a Wild Rose
Bourree by Hande
Andante by Gluck
8

Romanze by Siennicki

Second / third year players (7th/8th grades) -‐ Medium
Tambourin by Gossec
Gavotte by Gossec
Panis Angelicus

Three Baroque Dances (any/all movements)

Solos for the Bassoon Player
Bourrees I and II by Bach (just movement 1 or both movements)
Entr’acte by Bizet

Third year players (8th grade) – Advanced
Solos for the Bassoon Player
Adagio from Sextet by Beethoven
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Tarantella by Rossini
The Swan by Saint-‐Saens

Not from a collection
Galliard Sonata no. 3, any movement, but the Allegro is great
Telemann Sonata in f minor, movements 1 or 2
Hindemith Sonata, movement 1 only
Mozart Bassoon Concerto, movement 3 (maybe movement 2)
Weber Bassoon Concerto, movement 2 (maybe movement 3)
Vocalise by Rachmaninov
Merci Sonata in G minor for bassoon (movement 1, but can do both 1 & 2)


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Bassoon Keywork Diagram


10


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Bassoon Reed Adjustment

NOT RESISTANT ENOUGH
If the reed is too flat, hard to control, loud, buzzy, try the following one at a time (test between each
adjustment)
1. Tighten the second wire with pliers
2. Round the second wire (side to side)
3. Scoot the second wire higher (towards the collar) by a few millimeters
4. Tighten the first wire
5. Round the first wire (side to side)
6. Scrape the rails more (slightly) to make the spine more prominent
7. Last thing to try: clip the tip 1 mm with a razor blade and a cutting block (scissors will work in a
bind)

TOO RESISTANT
If the reed is too hard to blow, too resistant, and/or possibly too sharp (testing in between each
adjustment)
1. Squeeze the first and second wires from top to bottom (decreases resistance) with pliers
2. Check the tip opening – if too open, close it by gently squeezing with fingers at collar or with pliers
at first wire
3. Gently dust with the knife in the heart
4. Scrape cane away in the tip


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Vibrato
Jennifer Auerbach
Vibrato is a technique for finessing the tone. You can see string players doing vibrato by shaking the left hand
on the fingerboard. Bassoons do vibrato by pulsing the air using a combination of the diaphragm muscles and
the air. Strive to feel the pulsing of the air as low in the torso as possible.
?4 w
Start by singing a long tone on the syllable "La." La------
Set the metronome to 60 and sing "La-ah-ah-ah" with quarter notes,

but continue the tone and bump the sound with pulsing air:
?œ œ œ œ
La - ah - ah - ah La- ah- ah- ah- ah- ah- ah- ah La-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah simile
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ
3 3 3 3
Now play the following "C" and using the same muscles in the diaphragm, pulse the note accordingly:
?œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ
3 3 3 3
Vibrato is usually used for longer notes to make the tone sound even more beautiful. When performed, it is
typically not "measured" (we don't do "triplet" or "eighth note" vibrato), but rather it should ultimately seem
free and effortless.

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Let’s get started with the oboe and bassoon!
Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

Preliminaries -‐ Bassoon

We are about to embark on the journey of learning to play the oboe and bassoon. The oboe and bassoon
are double-‐reed instruments that are a special part of the woodwind family. There are single instruments
like the clarinet and the saxophone. Our instruments are double-‐reed instruments. Single reeds have a
top and bottom and are anchored to a mouthpiece. Double reeds have an inside and an outside and
anchor on the lips.

We play challenging instruments. We feel the best learning comes with patience, repetition and fun!

Private practicing is a way of reinforcing what you learn in class. In order to get the most out of your
practice sessions, here are some tips:
• Practice daily outside of your band class
• Practice band assignments as well as private lesson assignments
• Start out by practicing 10-‐15 minutes at a time. As your embouchure gets stronger, add time on
until you reach about 30 minutes per day

Here is a way you can organize your practice session:
• Warm up
• Scales
• Band assignments -‐ songs
• Private lesson assignments

Posture
• Shoulders back and down
• Straight spine
• Level head
• Backside in the center of the chair
• Feet flat on the floor
• Don’t lean back in the chair
Good posture

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Breathing
When you fill a cup with water, it fills from the bottom up, not from the top down. When we breathe, we
do the same thing. Fill the lungs with air from the bottom up.

Activity
1. Put your hand on your stomach/abs area
2. Take a breath
3. Blow air out until you have to take a breath
4. Pay attention to the fact that your stomach and ab muscles are where the air pulls back in (not
upper chest/shoulders)
5. Do steps 1-‐4 again
6. Hiss your air out as fast as you can
7. Do steps 1-‐4 again
8. Hiss air, but this time start by using a “ts” sound at the beginning. This is called “Ts-‐ing”

Activity – foot patting
Oboe players: do this with your right foot
Bassoon players: do this with your left foot
1. Your heal is anchored to the floor
2. Lift the front of your foot up and put it back down – up, down, up, down, etc…
3. Count to 4 at a steady pace
4. Your foot will hit the floor every time you say a number
5. Let’s try that: “1, 2, 3, 4” (pat your foot)
6. Do steps 1-‐5 again, and match your numbers with the click of the metronome
9. Now do the “ts-‐ing” in the following rhythm (Jen, write the rhythm ex. here)

Foot up Foot down


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Instrument assembly and care
Parts of the bassoon and how to put it together

1. First start by placing your case on the 2. Now open all of the latches or unzip the case all around
ground with the top facing up and the
latches or zipper facing towards you
while you are sitting in a chair. The
case is in front of you.

3. Look at the pieces as they are in the 4. Here are the parts of the bassoon as they are in the case:
case – we’ll be putting them back in the boot joint, the wing joint, the long joint and the bell.
the same way they are now. Maybe Under the main parts may be some silver tubes – these
snap a picture of what it looks like in are called bocals. You may have 1 or more of these
the case if you have a cell phone that
takes pictures


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5. Take the boot joint out of the case and 6. Now take out the wing joint and look at the foot that
sit in your chair. Observe the “curly extends from the bottom. It is going to go over the bridge
cue” on the back of the boot joint and key that is on the boot joint. There is another important
the two holes – one hole is larger and key to notice –the whisper key. That is the key with the
one is smaller. Set the boot joint on pad that sticks up off the top of the wing joint. It is
the ground so that the “curly cue is delicate, so be careful with it
facing you.” The boot joint should
stay connected with the ground for
the entire bassoon building process

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7. Holding the wing in the middle of the 8. Now take out the long joint. There is a wider end and a
joint, put the wing joint into the narrower end. The narrower end goes into the open hole
smaller hole and line up the foot so it of the boot joint. Notice the keys on the back that look
goes over the bridge. It is OK to twist like “hockey sticks.” These go facing you into the boot.
this part as you put it in. If you have This part we should not twist as it goes in, but rather it
difficulty getting it to fit, try applying goes in like a rocket ship, straight in. Holding it from the
some cork grease to the red string or top (the wider end) put it in the boot joint hole. Note that
cork. Make sure that the curve of the the body lock at the top of the long joint needs to go into
interior of the wing joint lines up with the wing joint hole. If the long joint is not in the right
the curve of the hole place, the metal piece won’t go in. In that case, twist it
slightly until it goes into place.


19
9. Dis-‐engage the body lock by lifting it 10. Take out the bell and hold the key down with your right
up – now let it go into the hole of the hand thumb. Gently twist the bell so the foot goes over
wing joint. Twist it so that it is right the bridge of the long joint. These need to line up. If it is
next to the long joint and not in the stiff, you can apply cork grease to the cork or string.
way of the hole.

11. Now take out the bocal. It has cork, metal and consists of a “c” curve. We always hold the bocal from
the curve, not from the tip since it is very delicate there and can break or bend. Holding the bocal from
the curve with your right hand, place your left hand on the bell. Gently twist the bocal so that it goes
into the hole on the wing joint. This is the part that the reed will go on and it will go facing you.

12. Put the seatstrap on the chair, pick up the bassoon from the boot and hook it into the hole on the boot.

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Do’s and Don’t For Bassoon Handling

Do Don’t

ALWAYS hold the bassoon with your right hand on Hold the bassoon from the bell only or from the
the boot and your left hand in the middle wing/long joint only (do hold the boot, too)

Lean the bassoon up against a chair
When you need to put the bassoon down, take reed

off first, take the bocal and seat strap off and put it Put your bassoon on the floor with the bocal
gently on the floor next to your chair and/or bocal and reed still in it

Hold the bocal from the tip

Put the parts on or take them off in a different
order or together with another part

Hold your bocal from the curve and protect it – it is Never put the bocal wrong-‐ways into the wing joint
delicate – it could scratch the interior and bend the bocal

Build and disassemble the instrument exactly as
explained here

Wipe off lip gloss or anything you’ve put on your
lips before playing

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How to take the bassoon apart and how to swab

1. First take the reed off and put it in the reed case 2. Take the bocal off and put it on the music stand
for a moment

3. Take off the bassoon from the seat strap 4. Holding it with the long joint rested in your left
hand and the boot joint in your right hand, take
it from playing position and carefully put it so
that the bottom of the boot joint is touching the
ground

5. Blow the water out of your bocal, put it back in 6. Put your left hand on the long joint and your
the case and put the protective latch and cloth right hand on the bell – gently twist the bell so
over it that it comes off and then put it back in the case
where it goes. This part doesn’t get swabbed

7. Put your left hand on the top of the long joint and your right hand on the top of the boot joint. Pull
and twist the long joint gently to remove it. Make sure not to pull this part to the side – it could break
the tenon. Put the long joint back in the case where it goes. This part doesn’t get swabbed

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8. Put your left hand on top of the boot joint and your right hand on top of the wing joint and gently pull
and twist the wing joint out. Put it down for a moment – we will swab it, but after the boot

Swabbing and swabs

Swabbing is what we do to clean out the instrument after playing. When we blow through our
instrument, water collects inside and left alone it could. If you have a silk swab, you use it for both the
wing and the boot. If you have cotton swabs, the one with the chain is for the boot and the one with the
coated rod is for the wing (or the smaller one is for the wing and the larger one is for the boot). Take a
moment to note which swab gets used for which joint. If you have two separate swabs, NEVER use the
boot swab to clean the wing joint! It is too big and it will get stuck. If ever a swab gets stuck, don’t yank it
or force it through. Bring it immediately to your teacher who will try to get it back out the other end. Do
not insert anything into the bassoon in an effort to remove the swab – this could damage the interior.

9. Take out your boot swab (which may be the same as your wing joint swab) and swab the boot joint.
Put the chain into the larger hole and hear it go all the way down to the bottom. Hold the string inside
the chamber and shake and turn over the boot joint. We’re trying to get the chain to go through the U-‐
tube at the bottom of the boot joint. The chain comes through the other end. Then pull it until it
comes out. Put the boot joint back where it goes in the case


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10. Now swab the wing join. Hold the wing in your left hand with the whisper key facing up and put the
chain down through the tube. Pull it gently through the whole part. If it gets stuck – STOP and give it
to your teacher. When you’re done swabbing this part, put it back in the case where it goes

11. Put your swabs away in the case

12. Blow any excess water through your reed and dry it off by gently wiping it on your pants, put it back
in the reed case so that it lays flat, put the reed case back in the bassoon case, and close up the
bassoon case. Close all the latches of the case


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Cost / instrument care and maintenance

• Always supply cautious behavior when you’re at school or home
• You will be using an instrument that is borrowed from the school, rented from the music store, or
one that you own. Regardless, the oboe and the bassoon are expensive instruments. Your
responsibility while the instrument is in your care is to protect it from any misuse and damage.
Due to the unique nature of our instruments, your friends may be curious. Only you should handle
and play on your instrument and reeds.
• When you take your instrument home, make sure it comes inside your home immediately. Never
leave it in the car because it could be stolen and extreme temperatures can easily damage our
instruments!
• Accidents happen. Sometimes we can be as careful as possible and yet an accident may happen. If
so, immediately contact your teacher to ask for help. Do not try to repair the instrument on your
own or with your parents’ help.

Setting up to play – you will need these items for any playing session:
• Chair without arms
• Stand
• Instrument
• Book/sheet music
• Reeds
• Water
• Pencil
• Tuner / metronome

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Bassoon reed care

Bassoon reed soaking, care, and handling
• A good reed case must be used. The plastic tubes/vials that the reeds come in are not suitable for
storing the reeds
• The reed needs to dry out after a playing session and be soaked again before ever playing session
• Always hold the reed from the string and not from the blade when putting it on the bassoon,
taking it off, or adjusting it. The blade is delicate and can crack or bend.
• Get a soaker cup or prescription bottle for soaking the reed
• Fill the container all the way with room temperature to warm water – not cold water!!! Change the
water every day
• As double reed players we have an inside and outside to our reeds. Single reed instruments have a
top and a bottom (sax and clarinet). Therefore we soak our reeds in a container of water, not in
the mouth
• The reed needs to soak 3-‐4 minutes. The reed might need to be re-‐soaked several times during a
playing session. Never play on a dry reed – it will crack. Do not soak for longer than 4 minutes.
• Wipe off the excess water at the end of your practice/lesson/class and blow the extra water out of
the reed before storage -‐ will help avoid mold.
• You need 3 working reeds in your reed box at any given time
• Make sure to store your reeds in your reed case, and make sure they're flat and not angled (the
sides could get damaged)
• Never store your reeds in the water soaker overnight
• When you're playing, careful not to bump your reed on the chair or the music stand -‐ always be
aware of where your reed is whatever you're doing
• When it's time to take your instrument off the seat strap, remove the reed first before anything
else comes off
How do you know if the reed is worn out?
• It takes a longer time to soak (up to 10 minutes) and needs frequent re-‐wetting
• It doesn't feel as easy to play as it used to
• It doesn't sound right, or some of the notes don't come out
• It looks discolored and the wires look corroded
• It is cracked anywhere or chipped on the sides
• It is warped or the blades are shifted
Worn Out Reeds

26

Bassoon embouchure: how you arrange your mouth and face to play
1) Holding the reed from the string, place the reed straight in front of your mouth so it is sticking out
like you would hold a kazoo
2) Open your mouth as much as wide as you possibly can
3) Close your lips without changing where your teeth are
4) Put the reed inside your lips all the way to the first wire, then pull back just slightly so that most of
the blade is still inside your mouth

*Make sure your lips are closed around the reed – lips touch the reed, but teeth don’t. Don’t press the
reed closed with your lips. Imagine your lips as gentle pillows cushioning the reed, but not pressing.

Bad Bassoon Embouchure

Corners too far back Not enough reed Bocal too low Bocal too high

Blowing

Blowing -‐ Bassoon
*Breathe through the mouth, not the nose. Make sure your abs and tummy area fill with air, not your
chest and shoulders area

Set – do the 4 steps above to set your embouchure
Breathe – open your bottom lip (take it off the reed) to take a breath – keep the top lip where it is,
don’t move it.
Blow – Fill up with air. Close proper embouchure around reed. Blow firm air out in a very
controlled stream.
*It’s not about the quantity of air. It’s about the quality of air. We blow air into a very small, resistant reed.
Don’t overblow (splatter paint). Blow firm, disciplined air (directional laser).
27

Metronome/counting

• When we play music, it happens in steady time
• One of the things we use to help us keep steady time is a metronome
• Tempo is how fast or slow you go
• The metronome will help you keep a steady tempo
• Count to 4 out loud: “1, 2, 3, 4”

Foot patting
• As a reminder, counting and foot patting happens simultaneously

• Turn the metronome on to 88

• Pat your foot with each click and say the numbers when your foot hits the floor

Time signature
Now that we’re counting we need to understand time signatures. The time signature is the set of numbers
at the beginning of a song and tells you the following information: top numbers is how many beats per
measure and the bottom number tells what kind of note gets one beat. For example in 4/4, the top
number is 4 and that means there are 4 beats in every measure. The bottom number is 4 and that means
the quarter note gets one beat.

28
Note types and values

Whole note = 4 beats Half note = 2 beats Quarter note = 1 beat

Activity
• With the metronome on 88, do the following exercise with your oboe reed only or with your
bassoon reed and bocal
o Bassoons: put the reed on the bocal. Hold the cork of the bocal with your left hand
thumb/index finger and the string of the reed with your right hand thumb/index finger.
Hold it straight in front of you, not down or up. The cork should be right in front of your
eyes
• Pat your foot with the metronome click
• Keep your air very steady
• B stands for “blow”

Tongue starts
Whenever we begin to make a sound on the oboe and bassoon, we use the tongue to get the sound
started.

Tongue activity #1
1) Set embouchure on the reed (no air)
2) Touch the edge of the reed with the tip of the tongue
3) Pull tongue away
4) Repeat
Tongue activity #2
Without the reed, touch the tip of your tongue to top of your mouth just above your teeth and blow a
steady stream of air, saying “tu” (not vocally, instead with air) and do this:

29

Tongue activity #3
1) Set embouchure on the reed
2) Touch the edge of the reed with the tip of the tongue
3) Pull tongue away and at the same time, start blowing
4) Repeat

Tonguing activity #4

Do tonguing activity #3 in this rhythm:

The Fingering Chart

• A finger chart is shows pictures of where the fingers go in order to play the different notes
• As you’re looking at the chart, the ones that are black are pressed down to finger that particular note
• Do the fingering exactly as shown – do not modify
• There may be main fingerings and alternate fingerings. Use the main fingering unless otherwise
instructed

Bassoon Fingering Chart – Where Hands Go


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Teaching Beginning Bassoons

Texas Bandmasters Association

JULY 23-26, 2015

General Information about Selecting Bassoon:

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

The second octave/flicking/venting

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

? œand hope for the

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

Set the metronome to 60 and sing "La-ah-ah-ah" with quarter notes,

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

© 2015 Jennifer Auerbach and Sally Bohls

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