well.) Thetongue position is quitedifier- W'GODIMIIYI'NOTES ent {high positionfor clarinet,low fcr oboe) which can also lead to problern* HINTSON SELECTINGA withvoicings on the oboefor the farmer- clarinetist.Fingerings are similarto clari- DOUBLEREED PLAYER net abovethe break. By MICHAELBURNS Bassoonto oboe. Not a comrnon switch(who has too many bassoonsin their band?)can werk okay,fingerings As a bassoonist,I haveoften been are different,embouchure is similarbut askedhow to choosesludents suitable smaller. is cf- for switching-toor starting-onthe double Saxophoneto bassoon. This reed instrurnents.Below I will outline ten one of lhe betterswitches' Embolc- is somEof the criteriaI feel can help make chure size is similar,but bassoon jaw position changes that choice: "double-lip"and to 1. A goodear for with dilferentregisters. Theretends Pitch be' 2. Aboveavsrage finger dexteritY be lessproblem with the low register embou- 3. Happytobe different(individualis' MICFIAEL causeof the larger,more relaxed is- tic) BURNS churefrom the sax. Sizeand weight EDffON an 4. Forthe bassoon'big enoughto sueshave already been dealt with to prob- handlethe sizeArueight of the instru- extenton the sax and are often less re' mentand to reachthe tone-holes. lematic. Fingeringsare differentbut They will definitelYneed to have a latedat the Sth,i.e. G=C. goodear for pitch,and good finger dex- Belowis a briefsurnmary of someof the Saxophoneta oboe. This is sftEn Embouchure terity.RemembEr, the oboe andthe bas- prcs and ccns of eachother woodwind oneof the betterswitches. "double-lip" soon are notoriousfor theirvariability of instrumentsin term oi the easeof switch- size is similar,but oboe is pitch (on some notes can vary the ing: and jaw Positionchanges with different You prob' pitch by as much as a minorthird with- Flute ta bassoon. The resistance registers.There tends to be less of the out alteringthe fingering!)and for the levelis higheron the bassoon,embou- .lemwith the low registerbecause from complicatedfingerings (including such chure is totally different,feels funny to iarger,more relaxedembouchure are very techniquesas fork-fingerings, half-holes, havea reedin theirmouth, fingerings are the sax. Fingeringsand range teach- andflicking, two octavekeys on the oboe not verysimilar, have to learnbass clef' similar,in lact many saxophone with their and multiplethumb keYson the bas- Fluteto oboe. The resistancelevel ers use oboe rnethodbooks soon). Ghoosesomeone wl'lo is a good is MUCHhigher on the oboe,embou' students. sorne musician.Some directorsdecide that chure is totally different,feels funny to As you can see there are to they needa doublereed player in their havea reedin their mouth, fingerings are trendsto notice: Goingfrom a single be bandand the naturalplace to lookseems somewhatsimilar. lf you havea flutestu' a double-reedthe player needs to lower to be at the back of one of their larger dent who plays and breatheswell but awarethat insteadof keepingthe woodwindsections (i,e. flutes, clarinets, runsout of air too easilybecause of thE jaw positionconstant as on the single- it for andsaxophones). lf the studentis strug- lowresistance of theilute then it rnayhelp reeds,they must raise and lower glingwith one of theseinstruments then to switchthem to the higherresistance differentregisters on the double-reeds. I suggestthat thingswill probablyonly of an oboe. Also, thE highertongue Positionof tho get worseon the bassoonor oboe! A Oboeto bassoon. Not a common single reeds will not work well on the possibilityis to try someonewho is per- switch(who has too manyoboes in their double-reeds.There are fingering differ- hapssecond or thirdchair but probably band?)can work okay,lingerings are dif' encesbetween allof thewoodwinds,but will not becomefirst chair in one of these ferent,embouchure is similarbut bigger' the oboeis somewhatsimilar to theflute' largersections. Choose someone who Cbrtnetto bassoon. Resistanceis so
30 NORTHGAROLINA MUSIG EDUCATOR/FAII 1999