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Bassoon for Band Directors
Workbook
For use alongside video course available at
www.bassoonforbanddirectors.com
Jonathan Bletscher - PA #2
Bassoon for Band Directors
Workbook
Table of Contents Bassoon Anatomy 3
Assembly 5
Inspection 6
Maintenance 7
Playing Position 8
Air and Embouchure 11
Building Tone 15
Bassoon Keys 16
Create Your Fingering Chart 17
Fingerings 21
Adjusting Reeds 23
Articulation 25
Intonation 26
Picking Your Bassoon Player 27
First Lesson Plan 28
Helping Your Bassoon Player 29
Additional Exercises and Resources 30
Durran Exercises 31
Tuning Tendencies 33
Wire Shapes and Tip Openings 34
Reed Adjustment Effects 35
Diagram of All Bassoon Keys 38
Buying and Repairing Bassoons 39
Workbook Sources
Bassoon for Band Directors
2016 Jonathan Bletscher PA #2 3
Bassoon Anatomy
Complete the labels for the different pieces of the bassoon:
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Bassoon Anatomy
What is the (optional) bassoon hand-rest called? _________________________
The flattened shaved half of a bassoon reed is called the _______________ and the
round threaded half is called the _________________.
Bassoon reeds have ____ wires total, and ____ of them are used for adjusting the reed.
H
I
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Assembly
List the steps necessary to correctly assemble the bassoon: What should students be taught to avoid when assembling the bassoon?
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Inspection
Explain how you would inspect the following parts of the bassoon
Bocal
Reeds
Body
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Maintenance
What details should a student be taught right away about bassoon maintenance?
What are two ways a student could easily cause expensive damage?
How is a bassoon reed soaked?
A. Only the blades (the front half of the reed) are soaked in water for 2-3 minutes
B. The reed is soaked in the bassoon player's mouth for 2-3 minutes
C. The entire reed is soaked in water for 2-3 minutes
D. Bassoon reeds are stored in water so they're always ready to play
Why is it better for a bassoon reed to be soaked in a container of water rather than a
student's mouth before use?
List at least 4 maintenance "DOs" and at least 4 maintenance "DON'Ts".
Do…
Don’t...
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Playing Position
Seat strap
Explain how the seat strap should be placed and where the player should sit.
What symptoms might a student complain about if the seat strap slips slightly or is
misplaced toward the back on the chair?
Posture
Describe the most important aspects of good posture for playing the bassoon.
What do you look for to see if a student is sitting correctly?
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Hand Position
Where should the weight of the bassoon be supported? Which hand controls the “roll” (rotation) of the bassoon? ________________ Mark the primary resting places for fingers on the front of the bassoon
Left Right
Mark the primary resting place for each thumb
Left Right
(Trick
question!)
Playing Position
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Playing Position
Hand and Finger Position
Look over the ________ side of the instrument at the music stand and conductor
while playing.
The left thumb generally rests on the ____________ ______.
Describe the position and primary use of the right thumb when playing the bassoon.
What can you teach new bassoonists to help them prevent future hand injuries?
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Air and Embouchure
In order to have a clear goal for tone development, all bassoon students need to…
Playing the reed and bocal alone should produce a ____ or slightly lower.
If I hear ____ instead, there's too much tension in the embouchure resulting in too
much lip pressure. The tone will sound pinched if the student doesn’t...
Air
Give at least two helpful illustrations or "tricks" for proper instrumental breathing.
What often happens when a young bassoonist is playing with insufficient air?
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Air and Embouchure
Embouchure
Explain the bassoon embouchure as you would explain it to a student.
List 3 methods or “tricks” to help students form the correct embouchure.
1.
2.
3.
When playing the reed and bocal alone, what pitch should you hear? ___________
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Air and Embouchure
A quick way to form the bassoon embouchure is _____________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
What makes a good bassoon embouchure? What can you look for to visually assess
whether the embouchure is formed correctly?
Name at least one common embouchure mistake you should look out for:
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Air-Embouchure Balance
What is the Air-Embouchure balance?
More air through the reed causes the pitch to go ________.
Less lip pressure applied to the reed causes the pitch to go ________.
About ____% air and ____% lip pressure from the embouchure is a good estimate to
keep in mind for the air-embouchure balance .
Crow
Describe the desired sound of a bassoon reed crow. What sounds should you hear?
What is the Bomb Drop technique for achieving a crow?
Air and Embouchure
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Reed and Bocal
What can a student practice by playing on just the reed and bocal? Describe at least
two useful exercises/activities.
Vibrato
What type of vibrato does the bassoon use? Intensity Vibrato Pitch Vibrato
How can a student start practicing vibrato?
Building Tone
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Bassoon Keys
Label the indicated keys on the bassoon.
Return to complete this page as you learn new keys:
* indicates this key is an alternate option for another key
*
* *
J
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Create Your Fingering Chart
Fill in the basic fingering for each note on the bassoon.
For reference, visit www.foxproducts.com/resources and click on “Let’s Play Bassoon”
Notes with very common or especially important alternate fingerings have two diagrams.
Complete one diagram for the basic fingering and the other for the alternate.
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Create Your Fingering Chart (Page 4)
Notes:
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How are bassoon fingerings related to clarinet fingerings?
Name the notes produced by putting down the following fingers (1 is the left hand
index finger, 6 and 7 are the "home" keys of the right ring finger and pinky). Assume
the whisper key is down for all fingerings:
Whisper only = __________
1 = __________
1 2 = __________
1 2 3 = __________
1 2 3 | 4 = __________
1 2 3 | 4 5 = __________
1 2 3 | 4 5 6 = __________
1 2 3 | 4 5 6 7 = __________
What are three simple tunes a beginning bassoonist can be taught to practice sets of
fingerings (include which notes the tune will help the student to practice)?
Fingerings
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Fingerings
Half-hole
What are the three most common notes that utilize half-hole technique? Draw them
on the bass clef staff.
Flick Keys
Draw the notes which use each indicated flick key on the adjacent bass clef staff.
Hint: 1 note
Hint: 3 notes
Hint: 1 note
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Adjusting Reeds
Tools
List the tools in a basic reed adjusting kit and explain the use of each tool in the reed
adjusting process
Tool Use
Adjusting Wires
1st wire
2nd wire
Adjustment Effect on Tip Effect on Tone Effect on
Pitch
Effect on Response
Squeeze sides (Make rounder)
Squeeze top and bottom (Make more oval/flat)
Adjustment Effect on Tip Effect on Tone Effect on
Pitch
Effect on Response
Squeeze sides (Make rounder)
Squeeze top and bottom (Make more oval/flat)
Fill in the effects of each adjustment to the 1st and 2nd wires For help, see “Reed Adjustment Effects” in the back of this workbook.
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Adjusting Cane
Name three common issues with bassoon reeds.
How would you check for each one?
What can you do to fix each one?
Adjusting Reeds
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Articulation
"Touch the tip of the ____________ with the _______ of the __________________"
If you notice jaw movement as a bassoon player is tonguing, what direction should
the jaw be moving? Should you ask a bassoonist to stop all jaw movement?
How can you help a young bassoon player learn to tongue more quickly?
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Intonation
What is the expected intonation problem with this note
and what can be done to compensate for this problem?
What is the purpose of having multiple bocals of different lengths?
How does the air-embouchure balance relate to intonation?
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Picking Your Bassoon Player
List 5 personal or physical characteristics to look for in a potential bassoon player:
You've just chosen a student very similar to the one you described above to move to
bassoon. What specific instructions will he need to be successful on the bassoon
based on where he or she is coming from?
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First Lesson Plan
Lay out your own plan for a first lesson.
Check the "First Lesson" video again to make sure you cover the most important topics. Pick at
least one simple tune to teach the student near the end! Revise and improve this plan as you
learn more about the bassoon.
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Helping Your Bassoon Player
How can you help your bassoon player during rehearsals? What can you do before
rehearsal to proactively help them solve bassoon-specific problems?
List 5 ways you can help your bassoonist develop throughout the school year:
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Durran Exercises
Pitch movement relative to the pitch the student plays when voicing “dew”
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Durran Exercises (Page 2)
“Leave Early” Low Jump Exercises: The placement of the letters indicates the
approximate time the thumb should either leave the whisper key or be placed
back onto the whisper key. Fun fact: Using the low E key (pancake key) holds
down the whisper key pad (seals the nib on the bocal).
Durran, Daryl. "Bassoon Clinic." American Band College. Ashland High School Auditorium, Ashland, OR. 30 June 2015. Lecture
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Wire Shapes and Tip Openings
8 Bellamy, Cayla. Diagnosing and Adjusting Your Bassoon Reed. N.p.: Caylabellamy.com, n.d. Print.
Bassoon for Band Directors
Workbook Sources
Digital Images B Burnette, Dr. Sonny. Diagram of areas to "trim" on a bassoon reed. Digital image. MUS 215: Bas-
soon Reeds. Georgetown College, n.d. Web. 19 July 2016.
H Ferree's Tools Bassoon Crutch (Standard). Digital image. Amazon. Amazon.com, Inc. Web. 21 July
2016.
I Bassoon Reed. Digital image. Bassonic Bassoon Reed. Bert Murdock Music. Web. 21 July 2016.
J M24 Bassoon. Digital image. Miller Marketing. Miller Marketing Co. Web. 21 July 2016
K C# Alternate Fingering. Digital image. Let’s Play Bassoon. Fox Products Corporation, 2000. Web.
21 July 2016.
L Bassoon Wires. Digital image. Bassoon Reeds: An Intro. Jessica Gouldbaum (Bassoon). Web. 21
July 2016.
P Standard Bassoon Fingering Keys Diagram. Digital image. Work of 京市 . Wikimedia Commons.
Web. 25 July 2016.