need help!!
this is SO LONG im so sorry you don’t have to read the entire thing
I have been in band since 6th grade, I played alto saxophone up til sophomore year. During freshman year my band director asked my section if someone would like to switch, for context all of the other members of my section were boys that were so beyond immature it drove me insane. our section would get scolded every single day because of them just acting out and my director would always say something like “all of you guys minus one need to…etc” I just truly hated it. So i immediately raised my hand. At the end of the year, i was given one of the schools bassoons, which is a Fox IV.
I had no clue what to do. I was just given a bassoon and a page of fingerings. Through the summer i tried to play but struggled really deeply and kinda just gave up because i struggled so much. When the beginning of sophomore year started, i kinda was forced to play stuff i didn’t know and ended up embarassing myself in front of everyone. I didn’t know anything about bass clef, (kinda still dont), the thumb keys on the instrument scared the absolute shit out of me and it just made me so anxious.
Eventually i would practice at home and whatnot, my band director took me into a room 2 or 3 times to go over some exercises but that’s the ONLY “lessons” ive ever taken. also im the only bassoon in my band.
(i am a junior currently i may add)
So basically to get to the point ive literally self taught myself bassoon entirely. im not incredible but i think im pretty good for having taught myself everything. There’s just so much im still lost about. ..so here are my issues that i need advice about
- There’s so much inconsistency on whether or not my sound is airy or full. I dont know how to fix that. When i adjust the bocal or the reed it sometimes fixes it but alot of the time it just doesn’t change and i kinda just have to deal.
- this might be the reason of the first one, but i don’t really know what to do about reeds. i am very broke and don’t have the money to get a singular reed for $35 but i also am not smart enough nor am i at a high enough level to be making my own. i also don’t know if i’m going to continue playing bassoon out of high school because i’m renting the schools and have no clue where im gonna rent a bassoon out. My director just has me get them from a random company and they’re not horrible but they’re not incredible
- after playing for a while liquid (probably spit) gets stuck in the bocal and it makes that clicky sound while i play. i usually just blow into the bocal and it fixes it but idk if i should be doing that or if there’s a better way…
but yeah im lowkey not great and definetly still learning. i do love bassoon and i enjoy learning new things about my instrument. sorry this was so long lol
also any other advice would be appreciated!!!!