I would like to learn the bassoon since I was in high school tho my music teacher never let me play it, instead made me play the trombone, he said it sounded the same as the bassoon, but he didn’t understood that I was in awe of the sound and the looks of the bassoon. Which brand of bassoon would you recommend me to start off with?
Ernesto! I’m so glad you’re thinking of starting bassoon, it’s never too late!! I highly recommend trying to rent an instrument, as bassoons can be quite expensive to buy. If you decide to purchase a bassoon, I would only recommend starting with a Fox bassoon because this is the most reliable and affordable brand in my opinion. The cheapest would be a model 41 or 51 (non-wooden), but you should also check out the 222, 220 or 240 models down the road! Good luck, and let me know if you need any further help!
To agree with the channel creator, do NOT even consider buying a bassoon to start. Even if you find a really fantastic deal somewhere, it's likely to cost you an enormous sum to have it tuned, repadded, etc - for something you may not enjoy. The reeds alone are very expensive, even if you end up making your own. Rent, and if you can, get plastic reeds to start with. As for brands? Fox is a good starter, Linton can be good, Schreiber, especially the older ones, are very nice, and then you get into the really expensive ranges. Just rent for a few months.
@@nyancs7098 - Bassoons and trombones often play the same parts. I was sometimes handed trombone parts to play on the bassoon because the composer didn't _make_ a bassoon part.
Troy Belding sometimes they do but if you look at scores then bassoons often play with euphonium and tenor sax as a counter melodic tenor instrument which is great as this shows the lyrical tone the bassoon has.
The bassoon has always stood out to me, I love how it looks and it’s sheer size. I love how it sounds (I’m biased towards my low reeds). I bought reeds and a reed case and they should arrive this week, im super excited! I’m also interested in other low reeds like the bass clarinet.
I've always been curious about the bassoon. I've only seen the bassoon played in an orchestra and wasn't sure what it sounded like. Also the look of it is so unusual. Thanks for this video so I could hear what a bassoon sounds like. It sounds very mysterious to me.
Awesome! Yes you don’t often hear bassoon as easily in the orchestra as other instruments unless there is a solo so it can be hard to understand what it sounds like for sure. Thanks for your comment!
in concert band, bassoon plays mostly the same parts as the euphonium does, which is great as we often get beautiful melody’s and counter melody’s, I think the two work well together as they both have Beautiful tones and I have played both parts in band on my bassoon and the parts are both fun and similar to me, good video tho! *pls can I have tips on Weber’s bassoon concerto, it’s fun but annoying haha
You’re right - bassoon and euphonium do have a lot in common in bands! Couple general tips for Weber - particularly in the first movement, make sure that the dotted eighth-sixteenth rhythms are accurate and that they don’t sound like triplets. You can make sure that the rhythm is accurate by practicing speaking and playing the full sixteenth note subdivision before playing as written. Then, when you play, keep that constant sixteenth note subdivision in your head. Another general tip is to play all the technical passages, the scale runs and such, with different articulations (all slurred, all tongued, slur 2/tongue 2, etc.) to make sure that your tongue and finger alignment is precise. Also never practice any part faster than the tempo you can play perfectly or else you’ll develop bad habits. Weber is tricky, so good luck!
Fun trivia: The bassoon is the only instrument in any of the orchestral sections that requires all 10 fingers to operate. (Well, that is also true for some, not all, bass clarinets. Also, the piano is not traditionally in one of the orchestral sections which are strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Although some try to put the piano in with the "strings" and some with the "percussion". Very little orchestral classical music has a piano part outside of concertos.)
Thank you for creating this superb presentation. Perhaps you will encourage somebody, for example, currently existing in a sea of clarinets to change to the more unique existence and challenge of the bassoon. (That's just what happened to me a lifetime ago.) Also, at some point I opted to study the perhaps even more difficult French horn and ultimately ended up going fully to the dark side - yes - the trumpet. But I miss the bassoon but don't really miss dealing with the reeds - brass mouthpieces are immeasurably more stable and long lasting. I also don't miss having to count out 286 measures of rests.
The bassoon is also excellent as a sort of very large lever with a delicate reed on the end where you can swing this lever up into playing position and hit your teeth with the reed ruining it. At least, that's my main takeaway as a former bassoon player.
I mainly play bass clarinet but I love the tone and the feel of the bassoon! I'm eager to learn how to play it; if I had to switch instruments I would choose this one :)
@@BuildingaBassoonist there is not even a single rental of any instrument here, if there is any i would for sure try a lot of instruments before i picked one
Ugh that is so frustrating, I’m sorry! You might try looking into some online music rental places. I know Midwest Musical Imports - www.mmimports.com/services/instrument-rental/ has an instrument rental program that you might check out!
@@BuildingaBassoonist i live in indonesia, online rental doesnt exist as well, the only rental that exist is rehearsal space that rent rock/pop rock band format instruments and a room for band practice. still bassoon is my favourite woodwind even if i play violin
I have a strong suspicion, that there's so few bassoonists, because it's absolutely unaffordable, as well as unavailable (both buying and renting are rare/hard to come by) and that double reed. Not even because it's hard to play, but because you have to build it yourself...
You’re absolutely right - playing bassoon can be a very expensive endeavor and in some cases, nearly impossible to play due to the financial barrier. If you’re a student or have a connection to a local school or college, that is usually the best way to rent a bassoon for relatively cheap. I always recommend for anyone interested in playing the bassoon to reach out to a professional bassoonist for help locating resources. If you can’t find someone in your area, you can always reach out to me and I’m happy to utilize my network of colleagues to find the right person to help you. Yes, playing bassoon can be expensive, but there are also a lot of people (like myself) who can help prospective bassoonists reduce that barrier to entry and find ways to make it work. 😊
i want to switch from oboe to basson but my band directer will be dissapointed if i switch and we dont currently support basoon. also our concert is coming up and i dont have time to learn. and nobody will help me :(
Maybe after your concert you can politely ask your band director to try bassoon out for a little bit, and if it doesn’t work out you can always switch back to oboe 🙂
I hear you and (mostly) agree with you, but let me reframe that for anyone who’s thinking about learning bassoon. 🙂 Expensive? Yes, if you are planning to actually buy one, but luckily there are often less expensive options to rent or borrow. Fragile? Yes, just like any other instrument or anything with value, the bassoon requires care and caution, but it’s not difficult or complicated to learn how to take care of it. Hard to learn? Sometimes, because anything that is worthwhile takes effort to do and is sometimes difficult. However, the rewards of learning how to play the bassoon (or any instrument) far outweigh the effort it takes to get there. Thanks for your comment!
@@BuildingaBassoonist, I always enjoyed to listen to the warm tambre and voice like tone of the bassoon. But it's just not for me, though. I recently had the interest of learning a woodwind, so looked through the woodwind family and found that alto saxophone would better suit my needs....
It’s unfortunate that reeds (and the bassoon in general) can be quite expensive! However, if you are rotating reeds regularly and taking very good care of them, it is possible for them to last several months or more depending on how much you play.
An Old Man Story: In about 1979, I saw a bassoon in a Pawn Shop window in Hampton VA. I really would have liked to have it and learn to play it, but IIRC, it was like $800. Also, it didn't include the part that the reed fits into (mouthpiece?) on it that leads to the bassoon part. Too much money for something I might not have made to work. I seem to remember some nice bassoon work in Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition."
$800, even then, is a pretty cheap price for a bassoon, but you probably dodged a bullet in that it would have cost you a lot in repairs/maintenance to get it up and running! Pictures does have some nice bassoon moments!
I tried switching from clarinet to bassoon about 40 years ago. My thumbs got confused and tired, so I ended up with the bass clarinet. Too bad. 😥 Good luck to others to try and succeed.
I played bassoon in Jr and High school. I was playing clarinet when my band director picked me to play bassoon. I love it. My oldest son played also! ❤️
This video is pretty old but oh well I have started playing the bassoon this year and I think I'm doing pretty well, I got into region band and got an all-state call back but when I saw you play one of the pieces, I saw your bottom jaw sort of moving and I was curious if that just helps or if you're supposed to do that while playing The part I'm talking about starts at 2:18
It’s not something that you’re supposed to try to do, but it’s pretty common for our jaws to move a little bit, especially when you articulate, particularly in the low register. So don’t worry about it or try to do it, but if you notice it in your own playing it’s ok.
I was really interested in the Bassoon for my concert band. Im gonna assume it costs a lot and I don't have much funding, but I'd love to play it one day.
Most band programs have a bassoon that you can rent! If not, talk to your band director, they may be able to help you find one that isn't super expensive to rent.
I playeed the bassoon in high school, back in the 60s and really loved it. Never continued for a variety of reasons. Now I am getting arthritis and could not play even if I got one. Very cool that you have this channel.
I have always loved bassoon, and wanted to play it. The only reason i haven't got one jet is because they are so darn expensive, and i can't find any used ones in my country.
I’ve been playing the trombone for a year and a half in my school band and recently I’ve just been really stressed out with it. I’ve been looking at the bassoon recently but I’m worried about it being an issue for school. I’m a 6th grade girl and we don’t have any other Bassoon players in the band. Any thoughts?
Talk to your band director about it! They might let you try it out for a little bit to see if you like it. I was the only bassoonist in my band almost all the way through middle and high school, it's pretty normal to be the only one!
🎶👋🏾“great video”, “fantastic tone quality”👋🏾,would LOVE to learn, am a senior and have played 🎷alto, tenor saxophone, french horn n 🎹piano. would LOVE the challenge and stimulation but apprehensive about renting due to covid, “i will succeed”because i miss performing n this would complete my bucket list 😀
I’ve been trying to learn the oboe lately since I mastered the clarinet. Only problem is: 1: I’m the only one in my school band.2:I’m really impatient when it comes to soaking the reed. I just wanna be able to assemble and play.3:It’s so expensive for one reed. The packs only come with one and it costs $20 for a pack. The reeds don’t last that long either.4:My band teacher never learned to play one, so he just shouts out notes and accents and expects me to already be able to recognize notes. 5:I’m constantly being ridiculed and belittled on days I play the clarinet. I would honestly rather have the bassoon or bass clarinet as a secondary. The only problem is, our band doesn’t have a bassoon and all the bass clarinets in the band that aren’t being played are broken. Anyone got an idea of another instrument that would be easy for an advanced clarinetist to learn how to play?
Percussion, like bass drum. As long as you can follow the band director and you learn technique, you are golden. Just keep in mind you’ll have to share one braincell with everyone lol (coming from a percussionist)
Yay! Buy handmade reeds by a real bassoonist (most music stores only have really low quality reeds that don’t play well). If you can try to get even a couple lessons with a bassoon teacher, that will be the most helpful for you! Also, be very patient. Getting started on bassoon can take some time and you may get frustrated, but if you keep at it, I promise it will get easier! Feel free to ask me more questions once you get started 😊
@@BuildingaBassoonist - Were you ever taught to make the bassoon honk? (all fingers down, lift first finger up) Apparently there was a composer that actually scored for that one. My teacher actually made me work at it for a bit, both to improve control and give me some humourous rest.
@@BuildingaBassoonist - My instructor was first chair Houston SO at the time, so it was an interesting thing to practice. And funny. "Why would anyone want a donkey honking in their music?" I'm guessing dissonance.
I think what you’re referring to are multiphonics - they come up quite a bit in more contemporary music as an extended technique. I haven’t heard of using them as a way to work on fundamentals but that’s interesting!
Great question! As a beginner, you should try to rent or borrow (rather than buy) a bassoon if at all possible, which may mean that you would have limited options to choose from. You can check with local schools or music stores to see if you can rent! If you do have a choice over bassoons, generally a Fox (or Renard) brand of bassoon is a good brand. Also check to make sure that the bassoon has been maintenanced recently, and if not, take it to a repair shop to make sure that everything is working correctly. Hope this helps!
