Assignment 20:
First off, if you want to play bassoon, you must know what it is. It's this unwieldy wooden stick with a curved metal stick that you put a reed on:
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| This is what you look like if you're doing it right (not really) |
It is a woodwind instrument, so it's sound is made by a reed. Handmade reeds are preferable (they can be found online), and once you get one you should soak it in warm water for about 5 minutes. This softens it up so that you can play it. While it soaks, you can figure out how to put the bassoon together (look up a picture for this), and then put the reed on the bocal (the curved metal part). To start playing you will want to find some sort of fingering chart, and then put the reed in your mouth. You don't want your teeth to touch the reed, so you form a sort of cushion around it with your lips. Once you get used to making a sound, you can fix intonation by dropping or raising your jaw to lower or raise the pitch, respectively. Buy the Weissenborn bassoon method book (which -as far as I can tell- is THE bassoon method book) and start working through it. Finding a teacher is almost completely necessary, as no one knows how to play bassoon except for bassoon players themselves. Under the tutelage of your musical mentor, you can one day do this:
And then your work will be done.
but it is sooo hard to play well!
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