Make Your Bassoon Reeds Easier to Play | Reed Adjusting Tutorial

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In this video, I teach you several ways to make your bassoon reeds less resistant and easier to play by adjusting wires, using sandpaper, and scraping with a knife.
🔗 Download my bassoon fingering chart here: buildingabassoonist.ck.page/f...
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00:00 Intro
00:51 Tools Needed
01:46 Wire Adjustments
04:45 Using Sandpaper
07:05 Adjusting with a Knife
🛠 Equipment I Used in this Video:
Reed Soaker: amzn.to/3qaQcsS
Reed Pliers: amzn.to/3OEcuNK
Reed Mandrel: amzn.to/3IGw2gM
Reed Knife (I use a different one in the video but definitely recommend a double hollow ground style knife for most students): amzn.to/3qvrzXY
Reed Plaque: amzn.to/3MTsjhb
🙎🏼‍♀️ About Natalie:
Dr. Natalie Law is an active bassoonist and educator based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As an orchestral musician, she has most recently performed with the the Lansing Symphony, the Grand Rapids Symphony, and West Michigan Symphony. Natalie is a founding member of the Lansing-based woodwind quintet, Pure Winds, which was recently named a finalist for The American Prize and released an album under the Orpheus Classical music label. She has toured the United States as a performing artist and clinician at numerous institutions and conferences such as the Midwest Clinic and the International Double Reed Society Conference. Natalie received her DMA from Michigan State University, where she also obtained her Master's degree in bassoon performance. She completed her Bachelor's degrees in both bassoon performance and music education at the University of Montana. Her primary teachers have included Michael Kroth, Dorian Antipa, Elizabeth Crawford, and Jennifer Cavanaugh.
Natalie is passionate about teaching bassoonists. Having grown up in a rural area without a bassoon teacher for hundreds of miles, she understands the need for high quality and accessible online resources. That's why she founded and created Building a Bassoonist: to help students feel confident, successful, and enjoy learning this unique instrument!
💌 Want to get in touch? Shoot me an email at info@buildingabassoonist.com
Some of the links above are affiliate, thanks for all your support! ❤️

Опубликовано:

22 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 29

@MusicLover7545 Год назад

Ah reeds, the bane of my existence. I love the idea of using pencil marks to keep track of where you're scraping, I'll definitely try that!

@saimonmolinam.9826 Год назад

I also use the pencil marks, that really help me to have a balanced reed during the scraping and the final results are good!

@saimonmolinam.9826 Год назад

Nice video!, Very easy to understand and very well explained. Good work!

@dianedebruhl178 Год назад

Thanks again Natalie, for a great explanation and demonstration of adjusting reeds. The pencil-marking tip is very helpful. Again, who knew?? 😊Keep up the good work! You're a gem!

@MOOOOCOW 10 месяцев назад

i love you for this 💕💕

@lisaberbig1051 11 месяцев назад

This is very helpful…not able to get the low notes out when needed. I keep your suggestion in mind and “go for it”. LOL and actually hear you saying it! LOL but if that doesn’t work I know it’s a reed problem …so I’m working on that too! 😅

@katief4634 Год назад

Thanks

@lincolnhumphries79 5 месяцев назад

Hi, the link for the reed knife doesn't work. Do you have any suggestions for another one?

@tonyalamir1977 2 месяца назад

👌👌👌

@user-nk5or9tz1e 5 месяцев назад

Awesome video.. my latest problem .. one of my current reeds plays middle c# flat.... everything else in tune... and plays well in low register... suggestions?

@LT47401 Год назад

This is so helpful and you make such clear explanations, thank you. Do you have specific suggestions when a reed is not as responsive in the higher register?

@BuildingaBassoonist Год назад

This is more tricky, because generally if a reed is only not as responsive in the high register, it is too soft/too thin already and you aren't able to put cane back on the reed. When I'm making reeds and want my high register to be especially responsive, I'll leave more cane on the back of the blade (closest to the collar) to assist with this. That being said, if you are dealing with an unresponsive high register on a new reed, it will generally harden up as you play it in and the response may improve.

@0630Part2 Год назад

Thanks for this helpful video. I have a question that I don‘t know when I should replace a reed.

@BuildingaBassoonist Год назад

It depends on how often you are playing and rotating your reeds (try to have at least 3 reeds in rotation at any given time to extend their life), but good reeds can last anywhere from 1-6 months. You can tell when you need to replace it because it is becoming more difficult to play/control the sound, the tone becomes a little bit more dull/muted

@alirezaamirkoorjani876 Год назад

Very helpful, just fixed 5 reeds for my daughter, I just couldn't find the link for tools

@BuildingaBassoonist Год назад

They are in the video description just below the video - if you still have trouble finding them shoot me an email! info@buildingabassoonist.com

@randyreynolds6645 11 месяцев назад

After I get my reed playing well and I play it a few times it gets hard to play again. Should I do the same thing again or is there a different way? Light overall sanding seems to work best for me.

@BuildingaBassoonist 11 месяцев назад

Keep sanding! Usually it takes a few playing sessions for the reed to really settle down, so it’s normal for it to harden up again. Just keep adjusting as needed.

@DavidSkis 9 месяцев назад

Thank you Natalie! Can that spine get relatively too thick compared to channels? What does that start to sound or feel like?

@BuildingaBassoonist 7 месяцев назад

Yes - sometimes I will narrow the spine when I feel like the reed feels too stuffy and resistance and I’ve tried the other avenues of making it easier to play. Be careful not to go too far though as it can tank the reed if you remove too much of the spine

@witchicken5077 Год назад

Hi, I just started the bassoon. Do you have any recommendations for good reeds?

@BuildingaBassoonist Год назад

You're welcome to give mine a try! buildingabassoonist.com/product/reeds/

@MackSuperb Год назад

The same concepts apply to oboe and english horn reeds. I'm about to take my knife to two new reeds recently purchased from a professional bassoonist. Wish me luck.

@BuildingaBassoonist Год назад

How did it go??

@MackSuperb Год назад

@@BuildingaBassoonist Things are coming along. I learned the hard way long ago to GO SLOW. Reed #1 is now playable and I played on it yesterday for 70 minutes. Reed #2 is coming along, but needs a bit more adjustment. Both reeds still require more work. R1 has a dull woody tone in the upper register, and not as responsive as I would like. My assessment is to remove just a bit more wood from the "rooftop" and use a little sandpaper to bevel the tip. From there adjust wires a bit it the reed is still too open. R2 is behaving like R1 was so it will follow the same procedure. Both need more playing time to continue the break-in period. To be continued. It appears that this reed builder prefers to leave more wood on the reed leaving the rest for the musician to adjust to desired behavior.

@MackSuperb Год назад

@@BuildingaBassoonist Repeated the process with R1 as it is still too resistant. Played today about 1.5 hours. Note I also closed the tip by adjusting the first wires just a bit, maybe by 1/4 mm. Now far less resistant. Can play low Bb to high C. Will now put R1 in regular rotation with my favorite and only useable reed, so that is good. Next R2 gets another round of adjustments.

@BuildingaBassoonist Год назад

@@MackSuperb Sounds like things are coming along! It takes me 2-3 weeks of regular playing and adjusting before I feel like my personal reeds are fully broken in and at their peak in terms of tone and response. But it's different for everybody of course.

@WastingTime8340 Год назад

I found using a diamond file easier than a knife. I never got the hang of the knife and my reeds ended up unbalanced.

@BuildingaBassoonist Год назад

I use files as well but only for specific instances where I need to blend areas of the reed! Using the knife definitely takes some getting used to, and it's more of a specific spot type of tool rather than a blending tool. There are some reed makers who hardly use the knife at all and only use files to finish the reed!