• Home
  • Articles
    • Instrument Pedagogy
    • Concert Band
    • Beginning Band
    • Theory & More
    • Motivation
    • Recruiting & Retention
    • Band Director Jobs
    • Collaborative Posts
    • Seasonal
  • Resources
    • Beginning Theory
      • Aural Skills
      • Musical Symbols & Terms
      • Note Names
      • Rhythm
    • Books for Band Directors
    • Brass
    • Cut Time
    • The Garner Ensemble Project – Rhythmic Ensembles
      • The Garner Ensemble Project – Set 2 (2021)
    • Instrument Overhauls
    • KHS America/Jupiter
    • Method Books
    • Music Stores
    • Percussion
    • Travel – Green Light
    • Woodwind Resources
  • Newsletter
  • Distance Learning
  • Freebies
  • Shop
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Band Directors Talk Shop

The Non-Bassoonist’s Guide to Equipment

14 Jan
Bassoon Equipment

A common issue that I have observed among many band directors at both middle and high school levels is their reluctance to purchase certain equipment for their bassoonists because of their uncertainty as to what would be the best fit for their students.

This includes incredibly vital pieces of equipment, such as:

– bocals
– seat straps
– hand rests
– balance hangers
– neckstraps

all of which play a fundamental role in their student’s success as a player. This article addresses bocals and hand rests.

Bassoon Equipment

Bocal
For example, one of the most important, delicate and expensive pieces of the instrument is the bocal (or crook). It is the easiest way to immediately improve a bassoon’s tone quality, sound projection and intonation. There are such a wide variety of brands, materials, bends/angles, and lengths that it can be quite overwhelming to try to find the right one. I will go into much more detail at the TMEA clinic but for now I’d like to share a tip for selecting the best bocal for your student bassoonists.

The bassoon does not have a tuning slide, so the bocal length is one of the most important parts of the instrument that can affect the pitch center. Bocal lengths are numbered 00 to 4, with 00 being the shortest (and sharpest) and 4 being the longest (and flattest). Most reed styles will play in tune within the range of bocals of length 1-3 depending on the brand, and the proper length of bocal will allow a student to play fairly in tune with a slightly firm embouchure (no biting the reed) and solid air support.

Hand Rest
Another example of beneficial equipment is a hand rest, or crutch (for the right hand). The purpose of the hand rest is to position on the fingers over the tone holes and/or keys in the most relaxed and natural way possible, hand rests exist for both the right and the left hand, though the right hand-rest is the most common. Whenever possible, purchase a crutch that has threads on the metal insert so that the student can adjust the distance it pushes his or her hand away from the instrument.

Dr. Nathan Koch is the Assistant Professor of Bassoon at Sam Houston State University. He has appeared as a workshop clinician and lecturer at Southern Methodist University, Sam Houston State University, and many area middle and high schools. He has also presented at the conventions of the Texas Bandmasters Association and the International Double Reed Society, most recently in Tokyo, Japan, with his double reed quartet, Quartex. Dr. Koch received his BM, summa cum laude, from Wichita State University under the guidance of Nicolasa Kuster and his MM and DMA from the University of Texas at Austin with Kristin Wolfe Jensen. You can learn more about Dr. Koch here. 

Woodwind Instrument Resources for Band Directors and Private Lesson Teachers

Related Reading:
YouTube Finds (Woodwinds)
Best Tips for Teaching Oboe and Basson (Collaborative Post)

Do Bassoonists Really Need to Use the Resonance Key?
4 Clarinet Hacks – Better Clarinets in 30 Seconds

If you would like to receive our weekly newsletter, sign up here. 
Don’t forget to like us on Facebook too!

Learn. Share. Inspire.
BandDirectorsTalkShop.com

Facebooktwitterpinterestmail

Filed Under: Double Reeds Leave a Comment

Previous Post: « Explore, Expand and Energize the Flute Section!
Next Post: Conducting: The Three Fundamental Test »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Sign up here for our newsletter




SEARCH ANY TOPIC HERE

Categories

About Band Directors Talk Shop

Band Directors Talk Shop is all about helping you be a better band director so your students can be better musicians.  It is a collaborative effort of band directors, former band directors, private lesson teachers and fine arts administrators. Learn.  Posts will strive to teach you something you can use in your classroom today. ... Read More about About Us

let’s connect

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Featured Articles

To Perform or Not to Perform?

band video game

Beyond “Gamification”

COPYRIGHT © 2023 BAND DIRECTORS TALK SHOP, LLC · Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs