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Post by arcticiceburg on Jun 20, 2006 1:49:36 GMT -5
If you are not using an overbite embouchure, you will tire very quickly. DO NOT SQUEEZE to get higher notes. The notes you are working with (A to C) are in the flick range. If you "flick" open the third key above the whisper key for the A and the fourth key above the whisper key for B flat through C, this will prevent cracking.
You should be able to reach these notes with a medium soft reed, but remember to keep your top lip near (if not touching) the first wire and your bottom lip near the tip. Also, an exercise to prevent biting (and tiring out your chops) is to cut a wine cork so that it is about three-quarters of an inch thick and placing it between your back teeth before practicing. Be careful not to swallow.
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Post by trumpetguardgirl on Jun 20, 2006 14:02:09 GMT -5
Look what I found; an anime girl with a bassoon; who'da thunk! Isn't it pretty? I printed it and put it on my wall.
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Post by alrec on Jun 20, 2006 16:02:32 GMT -5
Awesome! who would have thunk indeed. my new background for my PC.
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Post by trumpetguardgirl on Jun 21, 2006 18:12:13 GMT -5
So how do I know whether I should be playing on a soft reed or get a harder one?
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Post by alrec on Jun 21, 2006 20:40:33 GMT -5
really simple test.......which one is easist for you to play on. or which one "feels right"
reed size is not equivalent to skill.....(every clairinet player shoots me looks of death)
Just play the reed that works best. for some people it is med soft, for others its tree bark. Also strength varies by brand....and sometimes by reed.....
In all acctuality reed strength is unimportant.....its reed quality that matters. I like chartier reeds becuse the quality and cut fit my style.
find a reed that fits your style and quality needs..... then when you are sick of never having a really good reed when you need it....welcome to the wounderful world of reed making. which i just entered on monday ^_^
I recomend french cut reeds (the dont have heart......) (in other words if you hold them to light the texture looks the same across the entire blade.) they just react quicker for me. German cuts are nice, and better for solid volume, but a good bassoonist with a good french reed can take care of that without thinking too much.
trust me chartier. out of 6 reeds i have only had 1 real dud. 2 fantastic reeds, and 2 good reeds. the last one still needs some adjusting......I'll get around too it.....when my current reed breaks.....and if i am not using hand made reeds by that time......
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Post by bassoonist88 on Jun 30, 2006 10:44:31 GMT -5
What kinds of long tones and scales do you suggestto develop better tone? Just scales? Arpeggios? Octives? I use all of the above but should I be focusing more on one than the others? (I know octives help tuning a lot so I'll always practice them)
Who likes to play the note Db? I love that note, no idea why but I do. Seems lots of people hate it, but I never thought it was ackward or anything. Actually, it's very in tune on my instrument.
And speaking of which, what kind of horn to you play (and do you own it?)?
I play a Fox IV and we're getting a Fox Renard 240 next year, I'm very excited (the IV was new THIS year, our director loves us very much!... I don't expect another new horn after that for 35 years or so...). Unfortunately my friend will play the 240 because I got a new horn this year... despite the fact that I'm first chair. Well I don't mind, I love my Fox IV... a III would be nicer but I can't complain, my director really trusts me to buy me a horn. Bless that man, I was playing on a 27 year old Renard for a month before the new bassoon came. Pads would just fall off... There were scorch marks all over the silver plating where past directors had re-attached the same pads time after time after time... so sad.
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Post by alrec on Jun 30, 2006 12:02:37 GMT -5
the renard 240 is an excellant brand, but i play on a renard 220. the 240 is the better choice for student bassoonists, but the 220 works with higher level. Ideally you have both. The student learns on the 240, then plays on the 220 when they are better.....or in your case first chair
I acctually havent given any thought to the Fox models. If i recall 3 and 4 were either plastic or really expensive.
As far as tone development, thats something that should just come with time, and hardere music. well faster. While you struggle to play the faster notes you increase your tone capabillities on slower passages. becuse you learn to make the note sound off better with less statioc sound. Also a good reed helps.
I like my high Db (second octave.) i havent learned the 3rd oct. db yet.....i need to. my lower one just sounds really weird all the time.
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Post by bassoonist88 on Jun 30, 2006 14:10:20 GMT -5
My bassoons body is polypropylene. It's of course not ideal, but It plays surprisingly well compared to every other brand of poly-blend fiber bassoon I've played (and I've actually gone to a store and just played various kinds bassoons all day... it kinda ticked the guy off when I said I wasn't going to buy one of them... I dunno why, I just had him get 10 off the shelves and then he walked away, I wasn't wasting his time... haha)
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Post by arcticiceburg on Jul 1, 2006 3:31:39 GMT -5
I love my Renard 240 that I've had for 3 years now. Rather than being a less advanced model than a 220, the difference is in the bores. Alrec may consider a 220 to be a more advanced model due to its long bore design vs. the short-bore 240, but I think bore is more a matter of preference rather than advancement. All Renards are not professional models, and both the 220 and the 240 play more or less equally.
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Post by alrec on Jul 1, 2006 10:28:48 GMT -5
to each his own. I am of course only providing a general opinion based on my experince, and advice given to me by others.
On bores it is atleast common myth, that long bores play better solo sections, and short bores blend best with the orchestra or band......or maybe its the other way around. So the short bore is preffered for students, becuse long bores tend to have more distinct "quirks" for the sake of being optimistic. and you dont want to give new players too much to worry about. So i was not saying "240's are for babys" only that 240's are better for younger players then a 220. which objectivelly is a plus. I said first should be on a 220, and 2ndshould be on a 240 becuse the first part is ussually more exposed,while the 2nd part is supporting, or with other sections.
I did not, tho i see how i did, mean to imply that the 240 is lessor then the 220. both of them are fantastic horns, and compliment each other when together.
technically proffesional horns are simply what a proffesional usses. So if you arnt playing proffesionally you arnt using a proffesionals horn, unless your horn was played by a proffesional.
So not nearly all fox or renard bassoons are proffesional. and technically you could have a professional yamaha bassoon.
However becuse of advertising, this is now only "in name", and for all practical intents and purposses, a proffesional model is a model commonlly used by profesionals, or "made for" proffesionals. and in my defense i never said my model was proffesional, any implication is an oversight on the readers part. However most proffesional horns are long bore, unless i have my bores switched around, in which case they are short bores, but anyways the point im making is that advanced music for bassoon, specifically concertos, and solo passages, are better preformed on long bore models (or if i am wrong short bores), or at least more commonlly played on a long bore model.
without acctually seeing you play it is hard to tell you which is better for you personally. However complimenting horns is something important to have for a high school band that plans to play.....say american elegy. which was written for the colombine tradgedy, and features a nice bassoon duet as the melody......the 2nd part is not very fun though. kinda boring, we had a famous adjudicator around these parts come in and critique us on it, and he swore at the writter for not fulling utilizing the bassoons potential in the song.
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Post by bassoonist88 on Jul 3, 2006 20:28:38 GMT -5
Two very oppinion related questions:
Bocals, what's up with that? I hear very little difference between a Fox 1 CVX a Fox 2 CVX and a Fox 3 C. My pitch does not vary very noticabally at all. Is this just because I am fairly inexperianced (though I'm getting to the point I wouldn't call myself a novice at all, I practice every day, now that's it's summer usually for an hour or so average) or are different size and bore bocals purely for tuning in registers of the instrument (When I use the 3, I'm slightly flat in the upper range and when I use the 1 I'm slightly sharp in the lower, but I'm talking extremes)?
Should a bassoonist strive for a different tone in a concert band setting as opposed to an orchestra setting? I'm largely a concert band (actually wind ensam.) preformer but I am going to make All-County Orchestra when the time comes around to audition (there are only 3 of in the county and I may be the only one trying out based on circumstances). Is the ideal bassoon tone differential based on the ensam. or should I as the player be focusing on a group-oriented tone. I try to have a very full tone in my lower register and I shot for a smooth, singing tone in the upper half of the horn (Which I intensify just a bit for solos because I have to cut through the background). Is this acceptable?
Sorry for the mouth-full... I wish I could get my private instructor lined up.
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Post by alrec on Jul 3, 2006 23:32:14 GMT -5
about bocals.
I have heard a lot of nick nack about em. However they are like reeds, find one you like and stick with it. Unfortunatelly they are expensive.
If you have a cvx stick with it. i am using a number 3. The control is superb.
About the sound. I think one reason why bassoons sort of took a dump historically is becuse we heald TO close to tradition. Find and develop your own style with notes and playing. it will take you awhile, but its worth it.
Also pick up a blues piece for bassoon or trombone. If you can get some bebop, that would be great. It is important to learn the classical and baroque sounds. However classical music is already getting left behind in the dirt becuse it isnt keeping pace with the times. Bassoon ecspecially.
Have faith in your taste. If you really dont think you are developed enough as a person to have your own taste, then go out and live a bit until you do. ^_^
wow. This is an area of music that is really interesting for me right now. Well what will be will be.
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Post by arcticiceburg on Jul 4, 2006 1:57:37 GMT -5
I would agree with Alrec that if you like a bocal, stick with it. Heckel bocals are widely accepted as the best, but if you aren't playing professionally it doesn't make enough of a difference in tone to pay the difference in cost.
As far as experimenting with different styles of music for bassoon, there is one electric jazz bassoonist out there. Electric bassoon definitely has a different tone to it which some of you may like, but I'm not too much of a fan of it.
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Post by alrec on Jul 4, 2006 10:39:40 GMT -5
I knew there was a guy playing jazz bassoon, Ray Pizzi.
I didnt know the electric bassoon was anything more then a schematic yet.......
OOoOoooOOoOooooooo
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Post by bassoonist88 on Jul 4, 2006 21:32:00 GMT -5
I don't even know what it sounds like but I would like to own an electric system just for the verbal flourish of saying I play electric bassoon. People can't believe I play bassoon at all, an electric one might just make their face explode!
I agree that experimenting with various types of music on any instrument is beneficial to the player and I actively participate in this.
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