Students

Call me "old school" - I still like teaching out of the Weissenborn book. It has a nice even pace, includes a variety of foci, the duets aren't hokey, and it's completely void of pop tunes! And, there is a modernized version now available on Amazon.

Fingering Chart: This 3-page PDF created by yours truly includes the single most generally important fingering for each note up to high (high!) D. Of course, there are several ways to finger most of the notes (dozens for high F#), and some others work better depending on your instrument. Stick with these if you are new to the bassoon, and I'll show you more as they are needed.

Long Tones: A staple for any wind player - young, old, novice, or pro. Looks simple...yet, deceptively difficult. Whip out your metronome and tuner, and do these EVERY DAY!!

Bassooning 101: A quick and easy reference guide to help beginners remember some of the bassoon basics. Included, are these 6 essential topics:

  1. Jaw Drop Exercise

  2. Embouchure

  3. Tonguing

  4. A Word About Air

  5. How To Start A Note

  6. Building & Un-building the Bassoon

Flick Trainer: Flicking made easy! with this single page exercise. The 4 steps in this trainer focus on facilitating the left thumb movement involved in flicking.

Vibrato Trainer: Use this 3-step exercise to work on your vibrato. Vibrato takes much control - focus on #1 first, and add the others gradually. Vibrato is achieved with air pulses controlled by your stomach - don't let the pulsations creep up into your throat or jaw!

Reed Making Basics: More appropriately, Reed Adjusting Basics, these 3 pages include...

Bassoon Reed Parts - terminology for parts of the reed

Bassoon Reed Wire Adjustments - 1st place to go to fix problems with your reed

Basic Bassoon Reed Scrapes - 6 regions of the reed and what affect scraping has on them