Exercises for Bassoon
This section will introduce you to some of the notes on the bassoon and how to play them, as well as instruction on articulation, and some songs that you can play right away. Make sure to take it slow and go for accuracy, not speed. This is where you will begin to build a foundation of good fundamentals that will help you through your bassoon playing career.
How to Read Notation (musictheory.net)
Now that you know the basics of the bassoon, it's time to learn the basic of reading music. A great resource for this is MusicTheory.net, an online lesson that takes you from the basics to advanced music theory of pitches, rhythms, scales, intervals, chords, and chord progressions. Before we can begin with these exercises, familiar yourself with the lessons at MusicTheory.net under the section titled "The Basics."
Producing the First Scale (F Major)
Start with open F, then add one finger at a time to produce E, then, D, and C.
Tonguing
Now that you know how to play a few notes it's time you learn to articulate those notes by using a technique wind players call "tonguing." This is done by interrupting the airstream with your tongue to stop the reed from vibrating for a split second. The key to good articulation is maintaining a full air column and a precise movement of the tongue to the reed. Imagine an open faucet with a strong flow of water, and you break up the water stream by moving your hand in and out of the water's path as fast as possible. The water represents the air and your hand represents the tongue interrupting that air. Here are some key points to good tonguing:
- Tip to Tip - When tonguing, the tip of the tongue should touch the tip of the reed. Imagine you're saying "T-OH" while blowing air through the reed.
- Up and Down - Only the tip of the tongue should move in an up and down, not a front to back, motion.
- Not Too Hard - Touch the reed with as much force as necessary for articulation. No more, no less.
Three Note Songs (C, D, and E)
With these notes and the ability to articulate them we can already learn a few tunes. Play the following songs using only C, D, and E.
Hot Cross Buns
Au Claire de la Lune
Mary Had a Little Lamb
The Rest of the F Major Scale
Now that you're comfortable with these notes, you can learn the rest of the F Major Scale: Bb, A, G, and Low F.
Play these notes in order to perform the F Major Scale, and practice the scale to become familiar with these notes. The more you practice, the easier it will become, and the more music you will be able to play. Here is the written F Major Scale.
More Songs
Now that you're familiar with more notes you can play more complicated songs. Let's start with a familiar one with a little change, and then add some more songs.
Marry Had a Little Lamb in F Major
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Ode to Joy (from Beethoven's 9th Symphony)
Now that you've got a scale under your fingers you can start experimenting. How many songs do you already know that you can play with the notes of your F Major Scale?