Upcycle your bassoon

Upcycling: transforming well-loved items into something new, improved and ready to live again.

We often think of upcycling as simply to do with old furniture. But at Double Reed Ltd. we feel the bassoon is perfect for upcycling.

Often a bassoon has been enjoyed and played for a few years. Eventually the owner decides bassoon playing days have come to an end. Perhaps time is now too short or there are other instruments to be played. Sometimes a bassoonist owns a relatively new bassoon, but has decided it’s not for them. The bassoon goes away into a cupboard or the attic.

We don’t think that should be the end of such a wonderful instrument. Many bassoonists are passionate about finding good homes for their well-loved instruments, and so are we.

Many of the best bassoons are second-hand. If well looked after, they can last almost forever. We regularly hear from bassoonists looking for the right second hand instrument for the next phase of their career. They are perfect for the teenager just starting to play the bassoon, as well as for the professional playing at a high level.

If you have a bassoon looking for a new home, please contact us. We will carefully disassemble it, clean, adjust and oil it, change the pads, and if necessary give it a complete overhaul. Soon it will be in nearly-new condition, complete with a 12-month warranty, ready to be enjoyed and played by someone new.

To discuss bassoons, visit www.doublereed.co.uk. All our bassoons are eligible for Try Before You Buy and many are part of our Buy Back Scheme. 

Big Double Reed Day 2016

Many intrigued bassoonists

We had a brilliant time at The Big Double Reed Day last Sunday 27th November. We enjoyed catching up with many previous happy customers, and hearing how their bassoon playing is advancing. It was great to see that bassoons sold by us, ranging from Kohlerts to Heckels, are well-loved and well-played.

Our stall with its 20 second hand bassoons proved very popular. Earning particular interest were our 4 year old Heckel bassoon and our baroque bassoon (circa 1750-1810). One professional bassoonist was particularly thrilled with our pre-war Kohlert, which apparently has a sound as smooth and rich as a Heckel!

Oliver giving bassoon-related advice

It is always particularly good to meet young bassoonists. It was interesting to see how many young students have started with mini-bassoons, which indicates that the future of bassoon playing is bright.

As usual, there were some excellent professional bassoon recitals and masterclasses from top British players, and enjoyable bassoon playing from bassoonists of varying ages and abilities. 

Our thanks go to the event's organisers, in particular Rosie Burton and Bob Porter, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. 

Were you at the Big Double Reed Day 2016? If so, please share your experiences!

To discuss bassoons, visit www.doublereed.co.uk. All our bassoons are eligible for Try Before You Buy and many are part of our Buy Back Scheme. 

21 years to find the perfect bassoon

How long does it take to find the right bassoon? Many professional bassoonists play different bassoons for years before finding one with the right sound and play-ability. For Hing Sang Chin, Principal Bassoon with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, it took 21 years.

We were recently contacted by Hing Sang Chin, who was interested in one of our Heckel bassoons. For Hing Sang, it was to be the end of a long search. He has kindly offered to recount his experience, for the benefit of other bassoonists in a similar situation. Here is his story:

Hing Sang Chin, Principal Bassoon of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta

'In 1995 I started to work in the Hong Kong Sinfonietta orchestra. At the beginning I was playing a not very professional instrument, the Premier model of Püchner. It was not bad, but it didn't have even the high E key and, most of all, it didn't have the right sound for professional playing. For every single piece we performed, I had to put in extra effort for the most complicated fingering patterns.

The search for an ideal bassoon sound and, of course, an ideal bassoon is the normal path that every bassoonist takes.

I tried a 6000 series Heckel from München. However, the wood was rotten after only 2 years of playing. Then I had experiences with Moosmann and Yamaha. Well, they were good, but not what I was looking for.

Only after 21 years did I finally meet Oliver at Double Reed Ltd. Again, I wanted to try a 6000 series Heckel. I was really sceptical at the beginning. An instinctive feeling of trust in Oliver brought me to the UK. After the first day of the trial I fell in love with the bassoon. After testing it for three more days in all aspects, I decided to buy it.

I am really happy with this 6000 series Heckel and grateful to Oliver for introducing it to me.'

We thoroughly enjoyed meeting Hing Sang Chin, and it was a pleasure to provide him with his Heckel bassoon.

Double Reed Ltd. currently has two Heckel bassoons in stock, a Heckel 7000 and a Heckel Crest. We have a regularly changing supply of bassoons, including Heckel bassoons, so get in touch if you too are searching for the perfect bassoon.

                                                            Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Sebastian New makes a surprising discovery

Sebastian New was a highly esteemed British bassoonist, regularly playing as guest principle bassoonist in the UK's top orchestras. He was principle bassoon player with the Orchestra of Opera North for 25 years. He sadly passed away a year after this article was originally published. We have now amended this article in memory of him.

The Orchestra of Opera North

For 25 years I played on two different Heckels  (a 9000 series & a 7000 series). They were both lovely instruments, nice even sound, fairly good scale etc. Just the sort of thing a lot of players aspire to, particularly if one has not played on a Heckel before. 

Just over a year ago I was browsing the Double Reed Ltd. website and noticed a Moennig compact bassoon for sale. I have always had a nostalgic feeling for the Moennig brand because I had a very good one when I was a student. In fact I did the first 8 years in this business on it and those that didn't know thought it was a Heckel.  

So on a whim I got Oliver of doublereed.co.uk to send this Moennig compact up to me more for sentimental reasons than anything else as I had always regretted selling my original 1960's Moennig.
To cut a long story short I am now playing on this Moennig compact full time. It is just as resonant as my Heckels were, has a huge dynamic range. It is naturally much better in the high register (no need to change crook etc) and the intonation is better in this register too. I used it for a tour of Japan that included 4 rite of springs that just oozed out. The following month I had a couple of Ravel piano concertos where the high e just floated with no problems. Its tenor register is smooth and mellow but concentrated as well so it projects well. The bottom register is beautifully in tune and very flexible. I use this instrument with a Leitzinger MF1 crook.  

I have used this instrument to play guest principal in other UK full time orchestras as well as my own here at Opera North and had no issues whatsoever. 

I suppose the moral of this story is while top brand makes are of course a guide to the quality of an instrument one should keep an open mind as well because there are other 'corkers' out there that could be described as 'one offs' and because they don't have the 'badge' of being a top brand are consequently bargains! 

By the way although these Moennig compacts dating from the old East Germany era are quite rare Oliver has recently sourced another, might be worth a try?

A Moennig compact bassoon

A rare contrabassoon treat at the BBC Proms

If you were watching the BBC proms last Sunday (19th July 2015) or listening in on Radio 3, you may have been surprised to see and hear the contrabassoon come under the spotlight in a high profile national broadcast. Margaret Cookhorn, professional contrabassoon player and teacher, accompanied by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, premiered Falling Down, a contrabassoon concerto by John Woolrich.

Giving the contrabassoon so much air time is a bold move by the BBC and one that us double reeders must surely be grateful for. The contrabassoon plays an important role in classical music by underpinning the whole orchestra with its deep resonant sound. Even if it cannot often be heard on its own (it is not a particularly loud instrument), without the contrabassoon an important colour would be lost from the orchestral spectrum.

Margaret Cookhorn
Birmingham Conservatoire

Woolrich's music has been described by Robin Holloway as 'not music of long line, full-throated song, bright hard clarity, physical exuberance. Its characteristic movement is shy, blinking in the sun, attuned better to half lights.’ Faber Music

As a lesser known orchestral instrument, it is great to hear the contrabassoon being brought to a wider audience. Do you think Woolrich's composition brings out the best in the contrabassoon as an instrument? And can you recommend any other soloistic works for contrabassoon that would be enjoyed by a wide audience?

To see close up pictures of a contrabassoon, take a look at our website here: Adler Contrabassoon

A positive attitude to trying 'impossible' bassoon and oboe music

As a bassoon or oboe player, have you ever felt there are some passages of music and some techniques for playing your instrument which you will never (ever!) be able to master? Are there solos that you would never attempt, scalic passages that are just too fast, and staccato passages that are so fiendish that your tongue just can't keep up?

If the answer for you is yes, then a little encouragement may be in order. I recently read the blog post, On the Impossible Bucket List by Cayla Bellamy, and lo and behold even professional bassoonists have passages and techniques that they are afraid to tackle. Cayla is a professional bassoon player and teacher of great experience, one of the best out there, yet even she has challenges to overcome and has been honest enough to admit that.

Here are some quotes that she has heard recently as examples:

"I could never double tongue like that."

"We just can't make that kind of sound."

"I had the heart of a dancer, but never the feet."

"Even if I practiced for 80 years, I'd never be able to play that."

These grow and branch out, one by one, to become a tree of impossibilities looming over our careers.

It may seem obvious, but sometimes we might forget that professional players have in fact had to learn all this stuff the hard way, putting in the hours, and at one point or another facing down 'impossible' passages of music with some determination. This applies to everyone though, from beginner to professional.

The advice given is just have a go at the pieces that are your worst nightmare from a technical perspective. That is not to say that you should try and perfect them, as undoubtedly many of these passages will realistically be beyond our current skill level. But in having a go at them satisfaction can be gained from having experienced a new piece of music, challenging yourself and  maybe even eventually mastering that piece of music to a reasonable degree.

www.DoubleReed.co.uk

A Beginner's Guide to the Oboe

The oboe is one of the primary colours of the classical orchestra, capable of great beauty and expression. It has a distinctly penetrating sound that can cut through the orchestra, allowing the oboe to carry melodies seemingly effortlessly across the orchestra and to the audience. There is almost no end to the great repertoire that has been written for the oboe, both through melodic passages in the orchestral setting and also full solo works including concertos.

There is debate as to whether the oboe is inherently more difficult to play than other instruments of the orchestra. Undoubtedly, playing the oboe does have some significant challenges, but so do other instruments of the orchestra, and one would hope that this should not put one off from pursuing a desire to play the oboe. 

In the hands of a beginner the oboe has been described as sounding 'squawky', prone to squeaking and difficult to play in tune. This is partly due to the high pressure the oboe is played at (and resulting need for good diaphragm support) and partly due to the unusual nature of playing on a double reed. However, with some practice and time the lungs, diaphragm and embouchure (muscles surrounding the mouth) will strengthen and the oboe will become more manageable. An experienced oboe teacher will be a big help here in establishing good techniques and quicker progression.

Getting to a very high standard on the oboe however is more difficult as the player is beholden to the variable characteristics of the double reed they are playing on for accurate intonation and general quality and ease of sound. There are many oboists who obsess about finding or making the right reed for the music they are playing, and there are some who prefer to make do and change their reed as little as often.

Below is a recording of players of the oboists from the Royal Danish Orchestra playing a Beethoven Oboe trio. The centre player is playing a Cor Anglais, a slightly larger sister of the oboe, played with similar fingerings and sounding lower.

For specialist advice on oboes and bassoons feel free to view the Double Reed Ltd. website