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0:00/2:59
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I'm So Tired 2:230:00/2:23
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0:00/2:36
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Small Doses 3:290:00/3:29
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F'ing Technology 3:290:00/3:29
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You Are Not a Market 3:470:00/3:47
Bassoon Resources
- BASSOON MUSIC BY WOMEN, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA COMPOSERS- and the list keeps growing!
- Bassoon Racer App: A lil app that can be helpful for beginners with fingers, bass cleff, and playing reasonably in tune.
- Bassoonists United: An active facebook group that includes major symphony players, renown bassoon techs, and beginners alike.
- Fingering Diagram Builder: Wanna build your own fingering chart, or just create a few diagrams? This free resource from Bret Pimentel is invaluable!
- International Double Reed Society (IDRS): The largest, most helpful group of bassoon and oboe nerds anywhere.
- Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition and Bassoon Symposium: a three-day event dedicated to bassoon master classes, presentations, performances, and the live semifinal and final rounds of a competition for young women bassoonists from the Americas. The events of the symposium are open to all. The competition itself is for women bassoon players.
- MuseScore: Free music composition and notation software. Wish they had this when I was in conservatory! Did I mention, it's FREE?!
- Music and the Bassoon: an excellent resource by Kristin Wolfe Jensen, especially for beginners, with free sheet music and video demonstrations
- The Orchestral Bassoon: Dr. Brett Van Gansbeke's incredible resource for an in-depth look at bassoon excerpts, includes sheet music, recordings, and advice.
- Orchestral Excerpts for Bassoon (David McGill): Former principal of The Cleveland Orchestra AND Chicago Symphony, David McGill offers incredible helpful advice to some of the most asked-orchestral excerpts on bassoon auditions. Main link is for a Youtube Playlist, but it's also on Spotify.
- Orchestral Excerpts for Bassoon, Volume II (Chris Millard): Chris Millard, principal of Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra and former principal of The Vancouver Symphony and the CBC Radio Symphony, recorded and excellent follow-up to David McGill's recordings. The album is also on Spotify.
- Scholarships for Non-music majors: This list was put together by Elizabeth Crawford. I wouldn't blame her if it's not forever and always up to date, but it's a good start!
- Tunable- My preferred tuning app for bassoon. Allows you to select different temperments and displays intonation over time via line graph.
Double Reed Specialty Shops
*Personal favorites are in bold
See my list of recommended reed tools here.
Please contact me if you think something should be added to this list.
- Advantage-USA: This online only store offers many low priced reads, tools, and other supplies (I can't speak to their quality) .
- Aria Double Reeds
- The Bocal Majority Store
- *Barton Cane: High quality GSP cane in a variety of shapes and profiles)
- Charles Double Reeds: Offers a large selection of tools, cane, instruments and accessories. Has one of the largest inventories of used bassoons.
- *Christlieb Products: An old standard with unique tools, cane and more)
- Crook and Staple: Although they are based in Wales, they have an outpost in the US so you can pay in US dollars and domestic shipping.
- Edmund Nielson Woodwinds: NW Arkansas has a double reed shop!
- *Florida Reeds: Makes some of the best and most affordable reed cases around.
- Forrests Music: Great selection of tools, sheet music, reeds and instruments, including bassoon rentals.
- Hodge Products: Great deals in their "scratch and dent" section.
- Innoledy: (one of very few, if only, Monnig dealers in the US. Large selection of accessories and instruments)
- Jeanne-inc: Large and unique sheet music selection in addition to reed tools
- *LC Double Reeds: I love their mandrel pins especially, great reed knives too!
- *Midwest Musical Imports: Very good selection of accessories, cane, and sheet music exclusive US dealer of Puchner, Wolf, and Walter bassoons, plus Heckel, Fox, Yamaha. Also has used instruments and rental bassoons.
- Miller Marketing: Exclusive US dealer of Moosman, M, and Nobel bassoons, plus other accessories
- *Nexus Woodwind Supply: I love their reamers and pliers, which are very affordable. Great prices on dial indicators and cane as well. The profile is rather thick, which some prefer and can be good for developing knife technique.
- Nielson Bocal Supply: Very large selection of primarily Heckel bocals.
- Portland Bassoon Company: Run by bassoonist Adam Trussel, they sell new Fox bassoons as well as used instruments, reeds, etc. They also have a rental program.
- RDG Woodwinds : Los Angeles double reed shop
- Symphony Duck: Offers a large selection of used instruments.
- *Trevco -Varner Music : "The world's foremost purveyor of sheet music for double reeds"
- Weisberg Systems: The Weisberg System is a double octave key system that eliminates the need for "flicking" or "venting" while improving the pitch, tonal unevenness and preventing the cracking of the notes A2-D3 on the bassoon.
- *Womble/Williams: Co-run by Principal Bassoonist of the Detroit Symphony, Robert Williams. Sells cane as, well as Rieger and their own custom-made tools as well as other reed supplies and "heavy duty" instrument stands.
Bassoon Manufacturers
More reputable brands are in bold.
Please contact me if you think something should be added to this list.
- Allora: The worst bassoons I have ever come into contact with.
- Amati- Czech Republic. Their contrabassoons are somewhat popular and are some of the most affordable.
- Bell Bassoons Limited: Canada - Custom professional models only
- Bernd Moosman: Germany - Relatively new, starting in 1983, they have become increasingly popular among professionals and students.
- Buffet Crampon : France - Primary manufacturer of modern French bassoons)
- Fox/Renard: USA
- Gustav Mollenhauer: Germany
- Heckel (Wilhelm Heckel): Germany - Most recognized and oldest manufacturer of professional bassoons
- John Packer :England (made in China) - Cheap student instruments, would not recommend based of the one I have tried
- Joseph Puchner: Germany - Around since 1897, there a lot of older poorly-cared for Puchners out there, but also some diamonds in the rough. I love my 10,000 series Cooper Model.
- Jupiter: I would stay away from these, but they do make "bassoons."
- Leitzinger: Germany - professional instruments and very popular bocals
- Gebrüder Mönnig/Oscar Adler: Germany
- Guntram Wolf: Germany - I personally think Wolf bassoons are some of the best priced and most innovative bassoons on the market. I love my "Grundmann" bend bocal. I have liked some of their bassoons (of the same model) more than others. The Kronwalt (a collaboration with Rudolph Walter) is one of the finest instruments I have played under $20k.
- Nobel: USA (made in China) - Student instruments with advanced keywork. I played one that I thought was incredible and another that was terrible.
- Rudolph Walter u.: Germany - Well-respected professional instruments, Walter boasts their exclusive use of sycamore maple.
- Schiller: Germany (factory location unknown)
- Selmer: France (manufactures elsewhere) - Highly respected for saxophones. Not so much for bassoons.
- Takeda Bassoon: Japan - Student instruments with professional keywork and divided long joints. I've only gotten to play one of these, and thought it held up well against other student instruments. There are currently no US dealers for Takeda. =(
- Tempest: USA (manufactures elsewhere) - I only heard of them when I was compiling this list.
- W. Schreiber Germany - Now a subsidiary of Buffet-Crampon, Schreiber has been around a very long time. Some are excellent, some are terrible.
- Yamaha: Japan - Well respected for their pianos, saxophones, and motorcycles, and even bassoons!
Other Bassoonists' Websies
- Andrew Burn- "Historical bassoonist" creates really great and thoughtful youtube videos as well.
- Ariel Detwiler- Bassoonist, teacher, and creative re-user of bassoon reeds.
- Barrick Stees: Assistant Principal Bassoonist of the Cleveland Orchestra and Instructor of Bassoon at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Kent/Blossom Music.
- Bernard Garfield: Former Principal of Philadelphia Orchestra, legendary performer and pedagogue
- The Breaking Winds: Basically the Backstreet Boys of bassoon quartets.
- Bret Pimentel: Creator of the amazing "Fingering Diagram Builder," bassoonist, multi-instrumentalist, and blogger.
- Elizabeth Crawford: Professor of bassoon at BYU-Idaho with an excellent resource-laden website.
- Eryn Oft: An vlogger and teacher at Jacksonville State University
- Frank Morelli: Renown soloist and teacher.
- John Steinmetz: Bassoonist, composer, writer, satirist, speaker.
- Kristopher King: San Francisco bassoonist, contabassoonist, contraforte-ist, reedmaker
- Kristin Wolfe Jensen: Renown pedagogue and bassoonist and professor and The University of Texas at Austin.
- Paul Hanson: Electric Jazz bassoon extraordinaire!
- Sarah Highland: Freelance bassoonist, contrabassoonist, and professional reed maker located in Arlington, Texas, principal bassoon of the Longview Symphony, second bassoon of the Round Rock. She also caught an error in my fingering chart, so you KNOW she's detail-oriented!
- Saxton Rose: Principal Bassoonist of Winston-Salem Symphony, and Associate Professor at UNC School of the Arts
- Sophie Dervaux- principal bassoonist of the Vienna Philharmonic, one of the greatest bassoonists of our era and a total badass.
- Sue Barber: Professor of bassoon and chair of the Woodwind Area at the James Madison University School of Music. She also drew the nifty Flicking cartoon on my fingering chart.
- Tom Hardy: Well-known UK freelancer and reedmaker
- Trent Jacobs: Inventor of the "Little-Jake" pickup (electric bassoon!) and faculty at University of Wisconsin Eau Claire
- William Ludwig: Solo bassoonist, Professor of Bassoon of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, and Principal Bassoon and Teacher at the Brevard Music Center
- William Short: Principal Bassoon of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and teacher at Julliard, Manhattan School of Music, and Temple University