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UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________30 May 2008 I, ________________________________________________Adam Tobias Schwalje _________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: Doctor of Musical Arts in: Bassoon Performance It is entitled: Beginning Bassoon Instruction: A Curriculum Based in Part on the Teachings of Shinichi Suzuki This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________William Winstead _______________________________Dr. Mark Ostoich _______________________________Dr. Ann Porter _______________________________ _______________________________ Beginning Bassoon Instruction: A Curriculum Based in Part on the Teachings of Shinichi Suzuki A document submitted to the The Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS in the Performance Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music 2008 by Adam T. Schwalje B.M., University of Colorado, 2001 B.A., University of Colorado, 2001 M.M., University of Colorado, 2002 Committee Chair: William Winstead Abstract Bassoon teachers can currently choose from only a few method books, most of which are not designed for the true beginner. Many are largely outdated, and contain insufficient and sometimes incorrect information. This document attempts to rectify the situation with the creation of a new curriculum for beginning bassoon instruction. The philosophical and technical underpinnings for this new curriculum are borrowed from the Talent Education method of Shinichi Suzuki. While the Suzuki Method is known mostly for its success in teaching very young students, its philosophy is widely applicable, and has been adapted for use in teaching various orchestral wind instruments. There are some elements of Suzuki instruction which lend themselves well to being included in a method book, while some elements must be left to individual teachers. Both categories are discussed in detail. I also suggest the use of the mini- bassoon, or tenoroon, in teaching younger and smaller students. iii Copyright © 2008 by Adam Schwalje. All Rights Reserved. iv Acknowledgements This document would have been impossible without the help of very many people. I can only hope to thank a few specifically, but all of my family and friends have my deep gratitude for their support. I would particularly like to acknowledge my advisor, William Winstead, and committee members, Dr. Mark Ostoich and Dr. Ann Porter. Evan Lewis and James Massol helped throughout the editing process. Jéssica Garduño gave terrific advice and logistical support. Finally, I would like to thank my wife Dr. Sasha Garver, who was, as always, tremendous inspiration and encouragement. v Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements........................................................................................................v Chapter 1: Introduction..................................................................................................1 The Suzuki Method .....................................................................................................5 Technical Issues for the Beginning Bassoonist.............................................................6 Scope ..........................................................................................................................6 Chapter 2: Bassoon and the Suzuki Methodology .........................................................9 Suzuki Philosophy and Teaching Techniques: Elements Which Can Optionally Be Included in the Teaching Approach.......................................................................11 Suzuki Philosophy and Teaching Techniques: Elements Which Are Included in My Method.................................................................................................................14 Chapter 3: Technical Issues for Beginners and Particulars of My Method................18 Intended Audience.....................................................................................................18 Size ...........................................................................................................................19 Reeds ........................................................................................................................23 Music Basics .............................................................................................................23 Rhythm Teaching ......................................................................................................24 Note Teaching ...........................................................................................................25 Fingerings .................................................................................................................25 Music Appreciation ...................................................................................................27 Bassoon or Tenoroon Method.....................................................................................28 Selected Bibliography................................................................................................106 vi Chapter 1: Introduction Many difficulties exist for the beginning bassoonist and his or her teacher. First, the bassoon student often begins study only after learning some other woodwind instrument. Formative years are thus lost from the study of the instrument, when the student could be learning bassoon-specific information and skills. Second, the bassoon teacher currently has few choices of methods to use in teaching the beginning student. While there are many pieces of music and even collections of works available for the beginner, the overwhelming majority of bassoon methods are either pedagogically unsound, contain insufficient material, or are out of print. Recent scholarship in this area has led to the creation of methods for the transitional student switching from clarinet or another instrument to bassoon,1 a new edition of the standard Weissenborn Method (originally published in 1887, with the modern edition first published in 1930),2 and a beginning book of technical studies that is focused on learning scales.3 But the lack of a pedagogically sound beginner’s method still haunts bassoon teachers. Many novice teachers are frustrated when they attempt to start bassoon instruction with the Weissenborn method, the standard method of choice – it introduces 6/8 meter on the third page, and progresses far too rapidly in all areas for most students. While the new edition of this method overcomes some of Weissenborn’s 1 Jerry R. Stallsmith, “A Self-Study Method for Junior and Senior High School Musicians Transferring from a Beginning Wind Instrument to the Bassoon” (M.M. thesis, Bowling Green State University, 1992); Gretchen Schaeffer Gainacopulos, “A Self-Instructional Method Book for Students Transferring to the Bassoon” (D.M.A. document, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1988); M. Curtis, New Millenium Bassoon Method (Oregon: MSS Publishing, 2001). 2 Christopher Schaub, “An Analysis and New Edition of Weissenborn's Method for Bassoon” (D.M.A. document, The Florida State University, 2006). 3 Cheryl Ann Huddleston, Foundations for Success: Technical Training for the Young Bassoonist (San Antonio, Texas: Southern Music Company, 2006). 1 difficulties, it does not achieve the goal of providing a truly progressive method for beginning bassoon students, and it is not (yet) commercially available. Teachers who begin by using the standard band methods like Standard of Excellence sacrifice the correct instructional sequencing in order to play in the key of Bb Major. This particular key, while perfect for most brass instruments and the clarinet, is far from ideal for the beginning bassoonist. One reason this key is inappropriate for a beginning bassoonist is that the standard fingering for the note E-flat (Eb3) is decidedly unstable even on professional instruments; on student instruments, the note can be unmanageable without the addition of extra keys in the right hand. Also, the note sequence required by Bb Major is far from ideal: at a minimum, the notes E3, D3, C3, F3, B2, and A2 should all precede the note B-flat in beginning bassoon instruction. To exacerbate the problem, nearly all fingering charts included with beginning band method books, and many of those included with beginning bassoon methods, list one of several less-desirable fingerings for Eb3 and other notes. In general, band methods do not include much bassoon-specific information; sometimes, as in the case of fingerings, printed information is simply outdated or wrong. Especially in the case of the bassoon, band methods are not designed to take the place of a dedicated curriculum. Other prominent examples in the ranks of bassoon methods, such as Curtis’s New Millenium Bassoon Method, and the first volume of Angerhöfer’s Das Fagott, are not suitable for the beginner. For example, Das Fagott introduces 5/4, 6/8, 3/8, and 9/4 meters in the fourth and fifth lessons.4 The introduction to the New Millenium Bassoon Method states specifically that it is for “the serious student of the bassoon,” especially 4 Werner Seltmann and Günter Angerhöfer, Das Fagott, vol. 1, trans. William Waterhouse (Leipzig: VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik Leipzig, 1977), 110-111. 2 one with previous knowledge of music.5 As such, it introduces a tie over the bar line on