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<ophone,and clarinetabore the break, prefersto be a 'loner'rather than part of somewhatsimilar, embouchure is difier- whilethe bassoonis similarto the clari- a crowd.In mostbands you areunlikely ent - bassoonis "double-lip"and jaw po- netbelowthe break and the otherinstru' to havernore than a singlebassoonist or sition changeswith differentregisters mentsrElated atthe Sth. Physicalsizeis oboist. Some peoplethrive on being (Manyclarinetists who switch to bassoon an iEsuewith the bassoon. lt is a big 'alone'in the band,while others prefer havea hardtime relo<ingthe loweriaw andheavy instrumentwith awido spread the seeurityof a largersection. Notonly enoughto get the low registerto work betweenfingers. The playeralso needs clef, and later this, but when a Youngdouble-reed well).Thetongue position is quitediffer- to be able to learn bass playeris startingout somerather unusual ent (highposition lor clarinet,low for bas- tenorclef for the bassoon. and sometimesembarrassing sounds soon) whichcan also lead to problerns I havealso had somevery success- canhappen and the playerhas to be able with voicing on the bassoonfor the ful switchesfrom brassinstrurnents, from to handlepossible ridicule fromtheir col' former-clarinetist,Fingerings arE very recorder,from string instruments,and leagues. Oftenthe personattracted to similartoclarinet beneath the broak. evenfrom piano. Generally,the success- the oboe or bassoonis somewhatindi- Clarinetto oboe. Resistanceis ful doublereed players choseto playthe vidualisticin naturean) Atayand likesthe higheron the oboe, embouchurEis dif- bassoonor oboe becauseof its charac- distinctcharaster associated with these ferent- oboe is "dotlble-lip'and jaw po' ter and werenot dauntedby its idioeyn- instruments. sition changeswith differentregisters' crasiesand the difficulties. Rather,th€y Most double reed PlaYersswitch (Manyclarinetists who switch to oboe ofien se6m to want the challeng6ttsae fromanother wind instrumentrather than havea hardtinne relaxing the lowerjaw instrumentspresent and enioytteoirirdi- startingout on the bassoonor oboe. enoughto get the low registerto work viduall$. 30 NORTHGAROLINA MUSIG EDUCATOR/FAII 1999 .