Get Your Bassoon Information Here!
On this page I will endeavour to give you all the bassoon information necessary for you to buy a bassoon or just brush up on your bassoon technique.
I am a professional bassoonist by trade and I've been playing for over 30 years
and making bassoon reeds for over 20 years!
Where should you begin?
The two main difficulties you will encounter on taking up the bassoon are the cost of the instrument and the physical size.
First of all we will look at buying your first bassoon.
Buying or renting is a personal decision. Renting a bassoon is a great way to see if you or your child suits the instrument and you can rent a bassoon for around £50 a month($100).
There are many different manufacturers of bassoons, most of which are German. Here is a list of the major manufacturers:
Puchner
Fox
Moosmann
Mollenhauer
Yamaha
Heckel
They are in no particular order although a Heckel Bassoon is considered by many to be the Rolls Royce of bassoons with models dating back to the early 1900's.
A new bassoon will set you back anywhere between £3000-£20,000! ($6000-$40,000). Which is why you'll probably seriously consider..
Now for some inspiration from the great Milan Turkovic...
Feeling inspired but need some tips? then check out this amazing resource for videos and tips on playing the bassoon
Buying a used Bassoon
But here you have to be very careful that the bassoon is in good working order. Many times the bassoon isn't in playing shape or is "barely" playable. There's nothing like a badly adjusted or leaking bassoon to dampen a beginner's enthusiasm for the instrument, since all problems will be blamed on the player rather than the instrument.
Your best bet when buying a used bassoon is to buy from a reputable shop that has it's own repair shop. Then you can be fairly sure that the instrument will have been set up and tested before you purchase and of course if you have any problems you can bring it right back again.
Prices for a good used bassoon start at £4000 ($8000).
You may come across a couple of other manufacturers in your searching. One being Adler and the other Corton. I actually began on a Corton and it wasn't too bad really. Old pre-war Adler's are much sought after, and the modern version has improved in quality over the past few years.
Most bassoons are made of wood but Fox has also made a plastic bassoon which you often find in the school cupboard, as it is pretty resilient to knocks and the misuse associated with a school instrument.
As I mentioned earlier the next stumbling block for the budding bassoonist is the physical size of the instrument. A bassoon stands about 5 feet tall and weighs around 5kgs (10 lbs). This is why you can't start young children off with a regular bassoon until they are 9 or 10 years old. And then I would suggest waiting a couple more years for the child to grow a bit more (the fingers have to stretch quite a long way and the bassoon needs to be supported without straining the child's physique).
These problems have been around for hundreds of years so it is not surprising that technology has come to the rescue and enabled younger players to start playing the bassoon.
The two kinds of beginner bassoon are the mini-bassoon and the short-reach bassoon.
The Mini-Bassoon
This was developed so very young children could start to the play the bassoon from 7 years onwards and is, as the name suggests a small bassoon. It actually weighs 30% less than a normal bassoon and is ideally suited to small hands.
Click here for information on the mini bassoon
The Short-reach Bassoon
This bassoon was developed to help children with small hands reach the keys without having to stretch too far. The most popular models are the Schreiber 5013 and Adler 1356.
The two other areas of concern when playing a bassoon are the reed and the bocal(crook).
Like other reed instruments the reed (a double reed in this case)..
is the bane of every bassoonists existence. One player I came across even said "You're only as good as your next reed".
If you need help with your bassoon reeds CLICK HERE!
Reeds can be bought from most specialist music shops and it pays to try as many different brands as you can. Unlike clarinet reeds bassoon reeds are all handmade and so vary enormously (which is the whole problem). You can also make your own, something which I have done for 20 years. Which gives you a little more control.
The Bocal
The final piece of the jigsaw puzzle is the bocal. This connects the reed to the rest of the bassoon..
The bocal is of key importance in producing the sound of the bassoon and a good bocal can transform the sound of any bassoon. They vary in price from £100-£600. Again the king of bocals is the Heckel of which there is a bewildering array of choices. But all the other bassoon makers make their own bocals so again shop around until you find one that suits you and your instrument.
Return from Bassoon Information to Which Musical Instrument
Return from Bassoon Information to Home Page
|
In Just A Few Hours:
"Understand Easily with Musical Examples No More Stuffy Music Theory Books!" Today Only $9.99!
|
||
|
|
||
