Just a shot in the dark here, but does anyone have a bassoon sitting around collecting dust that they’d like to sell? My wife is a former oboist who had to quit because of severe headaches. She’s always had a hankering to try bassoon, with it’s lower wind pressure (and you thought some whistles had a lot of back pressure?). If you hear of any, please let me know. Thanks.
The bassoon player in our community orchestra got a rebuilt bassoon here-
http://www.wichitaband.com/used.html#bassoon
It came with a two year warranty and she is very happy with it. The wood is gorgeous.
Oh, darn. Bad timing. I just threw two of them out last week.
djm
A few years ago, after listening to Richard Stolzman play the clarinet on CD’s that I own, I decided that I wanted to play the clarinet. However, after acquiring a reasonably nice clarinet to begin my studies, I found that the back pressure resulting from the clarinet embouchure caused me to have headaches and my blood pressure to rise. Long before I began to sound anything like Stolzman I decided to give up the clarinet. The flute embouchure with very low back pressure seems much more to my liking.
Isn’t it strange how things effect folks differently?
It had never occurred to me that the clarinet even has any back pressure.
But years of playing it did wreck havoc with my “bite”. (another excuse to play oboe 
- don’t want to mess up all that dental work )
I played Trumpet all throughout high school - it has a little back pressure as well but not like the Oboe. And some whistle players have the nerve to complain about backpressure - I think that falls in the k’vetching category.
I distinctly remember attending a recital by a professor of trumpet at the Interlochen School of Music summer program in Michigan. The middle-aged professor’s face became so red that I was worried about whether he was going to be able to finish the program. I don’t play the trumpet, but I would say that the Dizzy Gillespie expanded cheeks are the result of more than a little back pressure. And these guys are pros.
Hi
While Dizzy’s playing is legendary, I would say that his expanded cheeks were probably more a result of not learning right in the first place.
And… If you still have that clarinet, I’m in the market for a reasonably good clarinet. I lost my much beloved Noblet Artist in an accident two years ago (along with everything else I owned). I bought a new Palmer plastic clarinet a year ago as it was all I could afford, but it is a horrid piece of machinery, not even in tune with itself. A new Noblet Artist is more than $1000, way out of my budget for the moment. I actually pulled the Palmer out today, but don’t have much patience with it. I need a better instrument to inspire me to start playing again.
Regards,
Owen Morgan
Yacht Magic
Anchored in the lagoon, St Maarten
My new blog.
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Would have been one for Paul’s wife, and one for me. I played a bassoon in college. Liked it. I’m a fan of Gryphon.
Them’s the folks. Perhaps a bit more of the later, rockier stuff
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gdQ0eeQXtAo
At least you managed to get the right band, not that OTHER one.
I had a bass crumhorn, but sold it a few years ago.