Best products from r/bassoon

tl;dr - see bolded sections.

Welcome! It sounds like you match the profile of a lot of amateur/hobbyist bassoonists. You should absolutely keep playing if you want to. (One of us! One of us!)

If you're going to college for something else, it would be totally normal for a non-music-major to still hang out around the bassoon studio, audit some studio classes, take lessons, play in the lower-ranked ensembles, and so on. The universities I attended had 1-credit lessons for non-majors and loaner instruments as well. It's less money than a lot of college students spend on other hobbies, and it's an arts elective credit. If your school has loaners, that puts off the purchase decision another 4 years or so. (At which point, well, everybody has their own pick for best "value" bassoon. I'd say Renard 41 on eBay if you're on the tightest of budgets. Other folks disagree.)

A plastic Yamaha isn't terrible, but Jones reeds often are. You should probably find a teacher sooner (not later) and take a couple lessons - they might even be a student at the university you plan to attend. Any halfway competent teacher will help you find a reliable source of cheaper-but-hopefully-not-crappy reeds, which will make your Senior year... better. They'll also provide a "sanity check" to make sure you don't have any bad habits that are making it harder for you unnecessarily.

If money is a concern, intermittent lessons are enough, if you actually do what the teacher tells you to do. Get this book, bring it to your first lesson, and have the teacher help you develop a practice schedule. (Not unlike a training schedule for weight-lifting. Your trainer will help teach your proper form, but most of the work is on your own and consistency is key.)

Since you sound pretty self-motivated, I'd say get a copy of the Weissenborn method book too, to work through on your own, and learn those scale etudes. :-)

Good luck.

https://www.amazon.com/Hodge-3BRC-3-Reed-Bassoon-Reed/dp/B002BOACCE

I used this one for 3 years in high school and I loved it. Simple but effective, hard enough to keep the reeds safe from minor bumps or drops, and theres enough room to add some sort of moisture absorber if you don't think your reeds are drying well enough. Hope that helps some and best of luck on your journey!

Here are a few bassoonists you might want to consider:

Nadina Mackie Jackson is making a career for herself as a soloist and has a lot of recordings available on SoundCloud.

Michael Sweeney has a great CD available with a brilliant take on the Mozart Concerto plus some inspiring new pieces.

Judy LeClair has a few albums available.


I also really like this recording of Gil Shaham playing Barber's Violin Concerto.

Mike Sweeney, the principal in Toronto, commissioned an amazing piece from Marjan Mozetich for bassoon, marimba and strings. It's an incredible piece-- I've never played it and I've never heard anyone but him play it, which of course he makes sound easy, but I suspect it's actually incredibly difficult. You can hear it on this CD:http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Well-Beyond-Wolfgang-Amadeus/dp/B000CAFMEC and buy parts from the Canadian Music Centre.

Another option that I used for more or less the same reason for my senior recital: do the Mozart (or Weber, or whatever) with an orchestra! It doesn't have to be a huge number of people (I think I had 13, no conductor) But it might be enough that they'll want to have a larger space and a backstage that can accommodate a small orchestra. It's also more fun and is a good exercise for your organizational and rehearsal-planning skills.

This is a great book thats spends most of the time talking about phrasing. Keith Buncke is from Curtis, as is David McGill - the previous CSO principal and author of this book. he wrote about his experiences based on the teachings of Marcel Tabuteau - one of the greatest oboists, along with his studying under Sol Schoenbach. I bet there is some definite correlation in playing between Buncke and McGill.

One thing I agree with McGill on is that discussing phrasing in great detail is very difficult to put into words - hence why it took a long time for him to complete this book. Definitely worth the read!

I honestly don't like duco cement. I don't like putting extremely hazardous materials anywhere near my mouth. I prefer [this] (https://www.amazon.com/Bob-Smith-Insta-Cure-Super-Thin/dp/B001NI4JWI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1468043557&sr=8-3&keywords=Bob+smith+glue). It dries in seconds, and forms a really good bond with not just the thread, but the wood as well, making it a fantastic sealant. If you are going to use nail polish, I'd suggest melting a bit of beeswax on the inside of the tube to protect against leaking, as that has been a major problem for me every time I just use nail polish.

Wow the Kalmus edition is must cheaper and can ship in time! Thats great.

On our secret santa page she specifically selected this version: https://www.amazon.ca/Weber-Bassoon-Concerto-Major-Op/dp/0004169115?SubscriptionId=AKIAJHTIGKBPGCU7ORQQ&tag=drawnacom0a-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=0004169115

Can you let me know if there are any differences?

The numbness is unusual, but it also seems unlikely that you managed to do permanent damage to your muscles in a single weekend. I second the suggestion to play for very short periods of time, several times a day. Don't go all the way until your lips are numb; stop as soon as you start feeling off, even if that means just one scale at a time or something like that.

You might also want to take this opportunity to really optimize your use of your air and embouchure. If you are pinching the reed too much, holding lots of tension in your face or shoulders, or have poor breathing habits, that will all decrease the amount of time you can comfortably play for. Talk to a private teacher about improving your embouchure, and you could even consult an Alexander Technique practicioner to sort out other inefficiencies in how you play. If you have access to a library that can order them, or even want to buy them, the books Oboemotions by Stephen Caplan and Playing Less Hurt by Janet Horvath might be helpful for you!

Honestly I haven't listened to many, but I've had this album in my collection for a long time and find the performance pretty solid. Birnstigl is very highly regarded.

https://www.amazon.com/English-Serenade-Bassoon-Piano/dp/B000058USZ

This is exactly what Fox uses.

http://www.amazon.com/DMC-115-5-666-Cotton-Thread/dp/B001LUJUMC

Also, always use a natural cotton thread no matter what brand or color. Certain synthetics, like polyester have too much stretch and can easily wrap too tightly around the tenon, causing distortions to the bore and other problems.

I would recommend taking it to a shop if you need to rewrap the entire tenon, as opposed to just adding a little to snug it up (which you can easily do yourself). Use any standard paraffin wax to seal and lubricate the thread and try to tie a little knot around existing thread to finish it off, so you don't have a piece unraveling on you!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Weissenborn-Method-Bassoon-Instructional/dp/1423484770/

Luckily this is both the easiest to get and the most essential to have while finding the others.

Yes, most bassoonists do. If you're serious enough about bassoon to be auditioning for an All-State band, you should have your own copy of the Weissenborn method. It's available lots of places, and isn't terribly expensive. For example, Amazon has it for $25: https://www.amazon.com/CU96-Weissenborn-Method-Bassoon-Enlarged/dp/0825801699/. If you take lessons (highly recommended!), you'll likely use the Weissenborn method. Plus, you may have other auditions in the future that ask for things from it.

https://www.amazon.com/Duco-Cement-Multi-Purpose-Household-Glue/dp/B0000A605H
Duco cement is the traditional way to seal your reeds. Some reedmakers put duco cement on after the wires are on, wrap their reeds with nylon thread, and then put on two more coats of duco. Your reeds will never leak and your tube will be strong!

Actually, Christopher Millard has the complete concerto on one of his CDs, and it is excellent. You can buy it on [Amazon] (http://www.amazon.com/Rota-Donatoni-Bassoon-Concertos/dp/B002WYX0WW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1348410854&sr=8-2&keywords=christopher+millard+rota).

A very helpful book for reed making - The Bassoon Reed Manual: Lou Skinner's Theories and Techniques

You'll probably be fine without doing anything for your school bassoon unless you live in an extreme climate. It will be fairly stable depending on the AC/heat in your school. But if you find you need it, a Bovida 49% packet works well and you can recharge them, ignore their marketing dept.