How to make your first sound on bassoon

A bassoon makes its sound when your air makes the two blades of a double reed vibrate. The reed sits on a curved metal tube called the bocal. A seat strap or another support holds up the bassoon's weight. First-day trouble often comes from a dry reed, a support set at the wrong height, or a thumb off the whisper key. The steps start with soaking the reed and end with your first four notes.

Step 1: Soak your reed

A dry reed won't vibrate well. Put the reed in a small cup of water so the blades are covered. About two minutes is a good place to start; some reeds need a little more or less. Start the timer, then put the bassoon together.

• Not too long. A reed left in water much longer than it needs can get soggy and sound dull.
• Synthetic reed? Follow its maker's directions.

When it's soaked, look at the tip end-on. You want a small, even opening:

Step 2: Crow on the reed alone

Put the reed in your mouth with your lips almost touching the first wire, close them gently around it, and blow. You should hear a rattling crow, with low and high sounds heard together. The crow is one quick check that the reed is moist and open enough to respond. It doesn't prove that the reed will play well.

Only a high sound? Check that your lips aren't pinching, and give the reed a little more time in water. Only a low rattle, with no high sound? The tip may be too open or the reed too soft, so show your teacher. See how to choose and care for bassoon reeds.

Step 3: Put the bassoon together

A bassoon comes apart into five pieces plus the reed. Put it together sitting down, with gentle twists, and never force a joint. Hold each piece by the wood, away from the long rods and keys. Ask your teacher to show you the first time. A common order:

• Boot first. If you use a seat strap, hook it into the ring at the bottom of the boot.
• Wing joint into the small hole of the boot, then the long joint into the big hole. Turn them until the two pieces sit flat against each other and lock.
• Bell onto the long joint. Hold the bell's key down as you twist, so its linking lever lifts out of the way and doesn't bend.
• Bocal last, held by its wide end, never the thin curved tube. Twist it gently into the wing joint and line up its little hole under the whisper key pad.
• Check the whisper key linkage. On many bassoons, pressing the low E key (the large, round key under your right thumb) also closes the whisper key pad near the bocal. Press it and watch the pad. If it doesn't move the way your teacher showed you, or anything sticks, show your teacher before you play.
• Reed onto the bocal. Push it on firmly, the same distance every day.
• Tight joint? A little cork grease helps. Never force it.

Step 4: Set the height

Most students use a seat strap. Some bassoonists use a harness or a stand instead. With a seat strap, sit near the front of your chair and lay the strap across the seat so you sit on it. The bassoon crosses your body at an angle: boot beside your right hip, bell up past your left shoulder. Slide the strap (or set your support) so the reed comes to your mouth while you sit tall with your head level.

• Left hand on top, right hand on the bottom. The right hand rests on the hand rest (crutch), if your bassoon has one.
• Left thumb on the whisper key, the key on the back of the wing joint nearest the bocal. It stays down for every note in this guide.

Step 5: Set your embouchure

Your embouchure (say "AHM-bah-shur") is the shape your mouth makes around the reed. A bassoon embouchure is round and relaxed, like saying "oh" with your lips shaped for "oo."

• Both lips over your teeth, a little. The teeth never touch the reed.
• Let your jaw sit naturally. Don't pull it far back into an exaggerated overbite. Your teacher can check how your jaw lines up.
• Corners in, like a drawstring bag. Don't smile.
• The reed goes straight into your mouth, with your chin level.
• Lips about halfway between the tip and the first wire, as a starting point.

Step 6: Play your first notes

To start a note, touch the tip of your tongue to the tip of the reed, build the air behind it, and let go as if saying "too." Use a slow, warm, steady stream of air.

Start with open F: just the left thumb on the whisper key, no fingers. Then add your left fingers one at a time for E, D, and C:

Common first-day problems

Your first week

Keep it short. Ten to fifteen minutes a day is plenty at first.

After each session, take the reed off and put it in a reed case. Take the bocal off and blow through it, and swab the wing joint and boot so water doesn't sit in them. Once you know a few notes, try Play the Note in Woodwind Trainer, or hold a long F against the tuner to check its pitch.