On this page, you'll find everything that hasn't found a place anywhere else on this site.
Previous 'Sayings of the Month'
March 09: ''Le hasard ne favorise que les esprits prepares'. ('Chance favours the prepared mind').(Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)).
April 09: 'Western music is fast because it's not in tune', (Terry Riley (1935-), the seminal minimalist composer).
May 09: When Abraham Lincoln was asked how long a man's legs must be, he replied: 'Long enough to reach the ground'. So when a student asks how much practice they should do ...!
June 09: 'Keep calm and carry on'. (British Government's Ministry of Information 1939).
July 09: 'Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet'. (Variously attributed to Aristotle, Jean-Jacques Rousseau or an Afghan proverb).
August 09: 'It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming naked'. (Warren Buffett).
September 09: 'I believe he has received eleven different kinds of canes in the last three weeks'. (Mark Twain referring to US President Andrew Johnson).
October 09: 'I beseech your Lordships to be merciful to a broken reed'. (Francis Bacon (1621)).
November 09: 'When you practise slowly, you learn fast'. (Alexander Dumas).
December 09: 'If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough'. (Albert Einstein).
January '10: 'Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results'. (Albert Einstein).
February '10: 'Never mistake activity for achievement'. (John Wooden the renowned basketball coach).
March '10: One who has been bitten by a snake startles at a reed'. (Sahili proverb).
April '10: 'I can't wait for the contras to march into the town and liberate it'. (David Horowitz, American right wing activist, 19 Jan 2009).
May '10: 'The little reed, bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over'. (Aesop).
June/July '10:
'There once was a brainy baboon
who always breathed down a bassoon
for he said, ''It appears
that in billions of years
I shall certainly hit on a tune.'' '
Ezra Pound (1885-1972).
August '10:
'Learn to listen; Listen to learn.' Balan Gothandaraman.
Please click here to see various Gadgets that might be useful to bassoonists.
Musical Instruments on Aeroplanes
In 2006, there were very strict regulations in force regarding cabin luggage on aeroplanes in and out of Britain. The Musicians Union in the UK reached an agreement with the Department for Transport which took effect on 22 September 2006. The changes mean that:
Passengers will still be allowed just one item of hand baggage. However, the size of the bag is being increased to 56cm by 45cm by 25cm.
If your instrument can be carried in a bag with these dimensions it should be.
In addition, each passenger is allowed to carry through the airport security search piont ONE musical instrument in its case, if it cannot be carried within a bag with the dimensions above.
Note that:
no items other than the instrument and its accessories may be carried in this case;
no liquids, such as valve oil and slide ceam, can be placed in cabin luggage;
and musical instruments will need to be screened, as usual.
So, well done to the MU!
But, don't forget: no knives, blades, pliers, screwdrivers, spare reed wire etc. Also, if you keep a small bottle or 35mm film cannister for water for reeds, empty it or put in your hold luggage.
Thinking of learning the bassoon?
This website: http://www.paythepiper.co.uk/bassoon.asp gives advice on starting to learn to play various instruments. They recommend a CD of Daniel Smith playing Scott Joplin, Largo al Factotum, Smoke gets in your eyes, Yankee Doodle etc. I would rather recommend Laurence Perkins 'The Playful Pachiderm' (Hyperion CDA67453) which includes lots of 'lollipops' such as Senaille: Allegro Spiritoso, Lucy Long, Funeral March Of A Marionette, The Carnival, The Old Grumbler, The Bassoon Song etc. There is some very fine playing here to inspire budding bassoonists.
Bath CD's
If you have difficulty tracking down a classical CD, try Bath Compact Discs in the UK http://www.bathcds.btinternet.co.uk/ .Give them a ring and you will get helpful advice from people who know what the're talking about.
When my colleague had her oboe stolen in 2006, I was very surprised to find that there seems to be no central web site that anyone can use to notify the public of the loss of a musical instrument. There are some web sites, however, that may be of some use. I have found these: http://www.allianzmusicalinsurance.co.uk/stolen_list.asp .This is the insurance company that the majority of professional musicians use to insure their instruments. They only list high (monetary) value instruments that they have insured.
http://www.idrs.org/publications/journal2/JNL26/Stolen.pdf The International Double Reed Society: Oboes and bassoons only, mostly American.
http://www.bassoon.org/stolen.htm Bassoons only, Mostly American.
http://www.heckelbassoons.info/bassoons.html A list of Heckel serial numbers which highlights those that have been reported as stolen.
http://www.musictag.co.uk/about.php? A UK service (costing £15) Where you register your instrument, you get a tag with a code to attach to your instrument case and anyone finding it can contact them.
http://www.cornetconnection.com/lost.htm American site for brass instruments. http://www.flutenet.com/stolen.htm Flutes only, mostly American.
http://www.vannbows.bc.ca/stolen.htm Violins only, mostly American.
Please let me know if this list can be added to.
For my colleagues who are worried about a visit from the burglars when they are away from home, I would like to recommend installing a gun safe. These are advertised in shooting magazines such as Shooting Times. Or a Google search comes up with sites like http://www.attacc.com/acatalog/SENTINEL_desc.html . One big enough to hold 6 shot guns is probably the right size for a bassoon case, but do check. It would also provide a useful space for other valuables. They are bolted to a secure wall and are very difficult to break into.
Using a leg Rest
Of all the methods of supporting a bassoon, the one I am happiest with and have been using now for many, many years is the leg rest. It is a method much used in Holland which is why it is sometimes called a Dutch Crutch. It takes all the weight off the hands, is well balanced and allows the player some mobility when playing.
There are, however, three draw-backs.
First, another solution has to be found for standing up to play.
Second, fixing them can be a real problem; strapping them to the butt joint with something not unlike a 'jubilee' clip will compress the bore at that point distorting tone and/or intonation. A good repairman should usually be able to find an alternative solution.
The third problem is this: last year, a freelance player in the UK developed a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) while using one. Apparently, the chair she was using was pressing on her thigh right opposite where the leg rest was. I hear that her doctors have now given her the all clear, but she has had to be on warfarin (to thin the blood) for six months. DVT is potentially an extremely serious condition, so I would urge all leg rest users to ensure that they are very careful only to use chairs that minimise this risk and to rest the instrument on the floor when not actually playing.
Don't carry your Bassoon by the Bell
I've thought about giving this advice before but thought it was a bit obvious. I was carrying my bassoon by the bell when it was only one week old. The bell came apart from the rest of the instrument which then landed on a stone floor. All the keys down the front of the instrument were bent and some of the varnish was damaged. Now I hear that one of my fellow second bassoons in a major London orchestra has done the same. On a concert platform this time; the tenon on the wing joint got broken off. I'm pleased to report that all is now mended though. So, please, never hold your bassoon (or anyone else's!) by the bell joint. You never know how tightly that tenon fits.
Audition Preparation
Please note: There is currently a vacancy for Principal Bassoon at the ROH but what follows was written a couple of years ago and has no direct relevance to this vacancy.
I've had an e-mail from someone who says that there's a second bassoon vacancy in an opera/ballet company coming up at the end of 2007 (not in the UK). There will be auditions and she wants to know what she can expect so that she can start preparing in good time.
1) Make sure you won't need to take your instrument for an overhaul a week before the audition.
2) Make sure you don't hit a reed crisis a week before the audition.
3) If the job is second bassoon and they ask you to play a piece of your own choice, don't choose something whizzing around the very top of the instrument. And choose something that you can play note-perfectly every time. There will be too many other distractions for you to be worrying about your fingers. But, having said that, don't play mechanically. They will be looking for a player who is not only bomb-proof but also a great musician.
4) At the Royal Opera House, here in London, an audition panel these days will very seldom give unprepared sight-reading to a candidate but a fairly long list of excerpts might be sent out. This would normally be sent out at least a month in advance. But if you only get it a few days before the audition, don't whinge about it; it's probably the same for everyone.
5) If you want to get ahead of the competition, find out what repetoire the orchestra has played in the last couple of years, get hold of miniature scores or parts and CD's and see if there's anything nasty they can spring on you. Or you can get CD ROM's of complete orchestral parts put together by http://www.orchmusiclibrary.com/ . There are various alternative outlets (e.g. http://www.forrestsmusic.com/music2.htm ) Don't forget that the excerpts list will have been put together by the principal player(s) putting their heads together over a cup of coffee and, of course, more recently played pieces are going to spring to mind.
6) You might get excerpts from the symphonic repertoire as well as opera and ballet and first bassoon as well as second bassoon passages.
7) At the ROH they have a history of asking second bassoon candidates to play the Rite of Spring opening and the top E passage from the Ravel Piano Concerto. I think that's ridiculous, but maybe you should be prepared and have a high note reed and/or crook with you.
8) Likely pieces might include: Sorry, I've thought I'd better remove this list for the time being until our auditions are over.
Brahms Violin Concerto Second Bassoon Part
At the beginning of the second movement of the Brahms Violin Concerto, there is an important part for the second bassoon. I have been asked for some help with this by someone who e-mailed me as she is having to play it for an audition. Firstly, you should look at an orchestral score (see if you can get one from a library or browse in a book shop with a big music section). Also listen to a recording. You will see that the tune is on the first oboe (it crops up in their auditions also). The second bassoon part should underpin this tune and also provide a secure 'cushion' for the harmonies of the rest of the wind section. The dynamic marking at the beginning is p not pp and what an audition panel (or a conductor) will be looking for is a rock solid control in this register of the instrument and a completely smooth legato (if they want it quieter, they can always ask). Work out where you will take a breath and be quite deliberate about it i.e. don't be apologetic about it but use it as an opportunity to help with the phrasing. See where the oboist would need to breathe and match that. Don't start off with a bigger breath than you need. Being a quiet passage, you'll not be pumping a lot of air through the instrument so you'll be more likely to get a build up of carbon dioxide than to run out of breath as such (i.e. with no air left in your lungs). If you can do 'circular breathing', this would be a perfect place to show it off, but only if you are absolutely 100% sure you can consistently maintain complete control of the legato and the dynamics. With regard to the technical side of this passage: Make sure that your instrument is air-tight. Do not use a reed that is too hard. But it should still make a warm 'Germanic' sound'. Having said that, however, I don't think it is a good idea to keep swapping reeds during an audition (or a concert). Do not take too much reed into the mouth so that you can control the reed without pinching it. This should help you to get the passage smooth and even with no 'sticky-out' notes. Check the intonation over and over again. Listen extremely carefully and use your tuning machine. Do not be sharp. I repeat, do not be sharp. If you can, play it through with a good oboist. Get him/her to use a tuning machine and you then fit in with him/her. Check that your fingers are co-ordinating properly and that all legatos are free of lumps and bumps. Play the first note (low F) deliberately but with no hint of an accent. Try placing your tongue a little higher or lower on the tip of the reed. This sometimes helps. Put the crook (whisper) key lock on but don't forget to unlock it later. Then, for example, in bars ten and fourteen, when you're playing the G, your thumb can be covering the Low C key in preparation.
Harry S Truman, the 33rd US President once said: 'It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit'. A useful motto for sub-principal wind players, I thought.
Bassoon in Star Wars?
40minutes into Episode 4 of Star Wars (A New Hope), There is a band playing in a bar with a member playing what for all the world looks like a space age bassoon. It is in fact a character called Figrin D'an playing the 'kloo horn'. See:http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/thumb/f/f3/D'an.jpg/250px-D'an.jpg.
