W.OOD\OIND NOTES . Next, have them move their lips up over the wrap of the STRATEGIES FOR TEACrIIIUG reed being carefulto not jab TIIE BASSOON EMBOfICIil.}RE themselves with the reed wires! Now,have them try to By MICHAELBURNS play the C again. lf their breath support is sufficient This articleis aimed at giving a few thena C willcome out (witha suggestionsand strategiesfor teaching somewhat raucoustone but the bassoon embouchurethat I have stilla C). However,it is quite learned over the past several years of oossiblethat a C-flat or B- teachingat the Universitylevel. naturalwill come out instead. First,as with many of the woodwind The studentthen needsto be instruments,there have been changes MICHAEL encouragedto usemore and and adaptationson what is considered BURNS moreair supportand air pres- to the "norm" in embouchureson the sure to try and get this note bassoon. l will outline my own beliefs, up to the desiredC. lf they which may or may not be the beliefsof can easi[ obtaina C withtheir other bassoonists. understandthe shape you would normalembouchure but can- For a great many years it was makeif you did. not obtainone when playing thoughtthat the bassoonistshould cul- Usuallyone or the other of these on the wrap of the reedthis tivate a pronouncedoverbite (i.e. the analogieswill strike a chordwith the stu- usuallyindicates to me that lowerjaw is noticeablefurther back than dent and help havethem producingthe they are controllingthe pitch the upper jaw.) | do not advocatethis correct type of shape for the embou- too muchwith lip tension and type of embouchureand the vast major- chure. Now it must be monitoredto see not enoughwith the abdomi- ity of professionalplayers and teachers how much lip is rolledin and to ensure nal supporl. that I know also do not. that the student is not "biting"the reed. 2. The "Dying Cow" Thisexercise Instead,we advocatea rather neu- Bitingis usuallycaused by too muchver- gets its name from the sounds trallower jaw positionwith teeth aligned tical pressurefrom the upper and lower that may be madewhile doing it suchthat the lowerteeth are only slightly jaws,often also accompanied by an over- resemblinga cow in distress! behindthe upper,forming what lwill call tighteningof the lipmuscles. This results Similarly,the exerciseis based a "naturalbite." The jaws will be open in a more pinchedtone, sharperpitch, around playingthe C in the staff somewhatto accommodatethe reedbut and more embouchurefatigue for the and is oerformedas follows: keepingthis natural and neutralposition- player.Instead they needto concentrate . Playthe C normallywith a full ing. The lips are going to be covering on the roundness,making the lipsapply soundand good support. the teethand thereforeneed to be rolled- evenpressure from all pointsbut concen- . Next, have them relax both in slightly,but not too much. There tratingon the cornersor sidesso that the theirembouchure and their ab- shouldbe some "pink"of the lipsshow- verticalis not exaggerated.Another anal- dominal support but keep ing- particularlyon thelower lip. A com- ogy that is used for many woodwind in- blowing.They should be able mon errorin bassoonembouchures is to strumentsto combat bitingis to describe to get the noteto drop down to havethe lips - particularlythe lower lip - the lipsas beinglike a "draw-stringbag." the C-flator B-naturalwith a - rolledin too much.The lips form a cush- Additionally,I advocatedeveloping ratherugly sound (the dying ion for the bladesof the reed and the a somewhatrelaxed embouchure and de- cow). lf they cannot get the cornersof the lips need to come inward velopinggreater use of, and controlwith, pitchto drop despiterelaxing in a nice roundedshape. The essential the abdominalmuscles and the support theirembouchure and suppoft purposefor the embouchureis to seal mechanism(this was describedin an as muchas they can it is highly aroundthe reed. I havefound two won- earlierafticle I wrote on breathing.) likelythat their lip musclesare derful descriptionsas analogiesfor the I would like to finishthis articleby stilltootight, or, perhaps there embouchureshape that work well with giving you two embouchurerelated ex- is an issuewith the reed. my students,as they are shapes that ercisesthat I employfrequently when giv- . Assumingthat they are suc- jn mostor all peoplealready know: ing clinicsand masterclasses: cessful gettingthe pitch to 1. The Drinking Straw Embou- 1. Playingon the wrap of the reed. drop, then havethem try to chure. The shapeour lipsmake This is an exerciseto illustrate raisethe note uo to the cor- when we seal around a drinking and determinehow much of a rect pitch by adding in suffi- strawis almost perfectforthe bas- note's pitch is controlledby the cientabdominal support NOT soon embouchure:Round with airstreamas opposedto the em- by tightening the embou- just a little roll-inof the lips or bouchure.Again, I advocatethat chure. I willfrequently teach pucker,and relaxed. Of course, the embouchurebe relaxedand themright from wrong by do- we will be blowing into a reed that most of the pitch should be ingthis exerciseas described ratherthan drinking in a liquid. held up by the air support. The and comparingit to a delib- 2. The WhistleEmbouchure. The exerciseis this: eratelypinching with the lips othergood analogyis the shape . Havethe studentplay a C in to get the note back up to thatyourmouth makes when you the bass clef staff (threefin- pitch. Thiswaythey can iden- whistle.Again it isa round,Puck- gers of the left hand and the tifyif they are slipping into the ered, relaxedshape. Not every- whisperkey) with a fullsound incorrectway of supporting one can whistlebut they usually and good support. thepitch (i.e. using a tightem-

22 NORTHCAROLINA MUSIC EDUCATOR/Spring 2004 bouchureand bitingit up),or if they are doing the way I ad- ABOUT THE AUTHOR vocate- usinga relaxedem- bouchureand increasedair MichaelBurns (bassoon)is As- throughoutNorth America and the suppon. sociate Professorof bassoonat the South Pacific,and at severallead- I hope that some of the abovestrat- University of North Carolina at ing Universitiesand Conservatories egies prove use{ulin gettingyour bas- Greensboro,and is a Yamahaper- internationally.He has recordedfor soon studentsto play with a good em- formingArtist. He holds the B.M. the Centaur, CAP, Telarc, EMl, bouchure.As withall aspects of playing, degreefrom the VictoriaUniversity of Klavier,and Mark labels. In sum- I believeit is always best if they can do Wellington,New Zealand,the M.M. mer, Burns is associatedwith the this underthe guidanceof a bassoon from the New EnglandConservatory, Eastern Music Festival and the specialistand theyshould be encouraged andthe D.M.A.from the Universityof Bandsof AmericaSummer Sympo- to take privatelessons if possible. CincinnatiCollege-Conservatory of sium. He is also an active com- lf you would like to submit an article Music. Burnshas performedin nu- poser with many of his pieces be- for publicationin WoodwindNotesp/ease merousprofessional orchestras in- ing publishedby BOCALMusic and contact Michael Burns at the following cludingthe Cincinnatiand the New frequentlyperformed throughout address: Dr. Michael Burns, Assocrafe ZealandSymphony Orchestras and the country. Burnshas published Professorof Bassoon,School of Music, played Principalin the Midland/ articlesand reviewsin the Double University of North Carolina at Greens- Odessa, Richmond and Abilene r9eed(the journal of the Interna- boro, P. O. Box 26170, Greensboro,NC Symphonies,and the Cincinnati tional Double Reed Society), the 27402-6170; (336)ffia-5970; e-mail: ChamberOrchestra. Currenilyhe TBA Journal (Texas Bandmasters' [email protected] is in demand as a performerwith Association), the NC Music Edu- the North Carolina, Charleston, catorfor which he servesas Wood- Greensboro,and CharlotteSym- wind Notes Editor,Nofes (thejour- phony Orchestras.He is also bas- nalof the MusicLibrary Association) soonist in the EasfuzrndEnsemble and on theYamaha Educator Series and the Cascade Quintet. Burns online < http://www.giles.com/ has taught at the CincinnatiCol- edu catorforu m/P DFs/b n o/Wind/ lege-Conservatory,Indiana State tips/Burns.pdf>. His mentorsin- University,and MidlandCollege. In clude WilliamWinstead, Sherman additionhe remainsactive as a solo Walt, LeonardSharrow, and Colin and chamber performerwith nu- Hemmingsen.He is archivistfor the merous performancesat Interna- InternationalDouble Reed Society PERCUSSIONIN NORTH CAROLINA (continued) tionalDouble Reed Society conven- and was co-hostfor the IDRS2003 tions, recitalsand masterclasses Conferencein Greensboro,NC. performancesite with the exactsame in- strumentsyou will be uslngfor your re- cital. Yourbrain gets accustomedto cer- tainstimuli such as the room lighting, tem- perature,acoustics, ambience, and ex- traneousnoises. Eventhough you may know your piece "backwardsand for- wards," your brain can often become 3ro confused when suddenly put into a strangepedorming environment. Percus- sionistsin particularhave this problem when performingon "strange"instru- CallBrodt Music Company with all ments. Evensubtle differences in drum- of yourprinted music needs head tensionand tone, keyboardsize, barcolors, etc. can confuseeven the fin- est percussionist. Practiceas often as Since193+ specializing in: you can in the performancehall with ex- actlythe same lighting, instruments, mal- lets,stage set up, room temperatureand ambiencethat you willencounter during Choral.6 Organ ,6 Handbellf; Vocal your solo performance. Piano,6 Band .6 Orchestra fi Instrumental Good luckand happypracticing!

ABOUT THEAUTHOR ProvidingMusic from All Publishers

Dr. Mario Gaetano is currently a Professorof Music at Western CarolinaUniversity, and is currently principal percussionist of the AshevilleSymphony.

NORTHCAROLINA MUSTC EDUCATOR/Spring 2004 z5