Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • December 2013
16
Other Suggest ions
To encourage younger players to maintain the
correct embouchure shape and healthy air stream,
it’s ideal for them to stay in the middle and lower
registers of the bassoon for the first few years of their
development. This gives them the time they need to
learn how to use their air efficiently, develop a warm,
rich sound, and avoid excessive embouchure pressure.
Too often, young bassoonists are forced to play
higher notes on the instrument much too early, which
require more advanced techniques like flicking, half-
holes, voicing, and uncommon finger combinations
– a lot of things to think about for a beginner! Their
support muscles are not properly developed yet,
and as a result, they often use incorrect embouchure
manipulations to produce the higher notes instead of
relying on air support and voicing. Their sound quality
is diminished and constricted, and their pitch will
likely get sharper and sharper over time.
Bassoon parts in beginning band are often combined
with bass clef brass instruments, which are able to play
higher in the bass clef staff earlier in their pedagogy.
To help with this, transpose bass clarinet parts for
your young bassoonists. Bass clarinet music is much
less likely to go over our “break” between F3 and F#3,
and allows for the player to focus on developing a full,
rich sound with minimal embouchure effort.
Onl ine Resources
Another fantastic tool at your disposal is the free
online method
Music and the Bassoon
developed
by Kristin Wolfe Jensen at The University of Texas
at Austin. Several of the introductory videos also
demonstrate some of the reed and reed+bocal exercises
that were outlined earlier. Located at
http://www.
musicandthebassoon.org
, this incredible resource
serves as a nice alternative to the standard method
book by Julius Weissenborn.
Music and the Bassoon
offers helpful videos, sound clips, play-along duets,
and 50 progressive units that let beginning bassoonists
develop a strong foundation in the middle and lower
registers before progresssing to the higher registers.
In conclusion, it can be very beneficial to get back
to basics on occasion. Strip away all of the distractions,
aim for a big, beautiful sound on the reed using
minimal embouchure pressure, and enjoy the positive
effects it will have on your overall sound quality.
Hal t ! Please Step Away from the Bassoon!
Dr. Nathan Koch joined the faculty of Sam Houston State University as the Assistant Professor of Bassoon in the fall of 2012. He has
presented workshops and clinics at Southern Methodist University, Sam Houston State University, and many area middle and high schools. He
has also presented at the conventions of the Texas Bandmasters Association and the International Double Reed Society, and has been a featured
soloist at the convention of the Kansas Bandmasters Association. His freelancing work has led to engagements with the Houston and Wichita
Grand Operas, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, the Austin Lyric Opera, and the Austin, Tulsa, Victoria, and Brazos Valley Symphonies.
Festival appearances include the Victoria Bach Festival, the Round Top Music Festival, the Texas Music Festival, the Pierre Monteux School
Orchestra, and the Festival de Música de Santa Catarina in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil. He has been on the faculties of the Longhorn Music Camp,
Bocal Majority Bassoon Camp, and the High Plains Band and Orchestra Camp. Several of his chamber music arrangements are available
through TrevCo Music, including works by Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Debussy.
Many thanks to all of the infuential teachers and mentors in my life, including my band director parents, and the amazing pedagogues
Kristin Wolfe Jensen, Nicolasa Kuster, William Lewis, and Kevin Clifton.