Q&A for How to Play the Bassoon

Yes, but try not to bite down and make sure you are using your lips for pressure, not your teeth because that leads to poor sound and you could break your reed.

No, use water. The reed needs to be wet on the inside as well as the outside.

Yes. If you have one at home and don't ever need to take it apart, it is still a good idea to grease it every few weeks.

You can get left-handed bassoons too.

It will still be different and the fingering may be different. However, they're both woodwind and, if you have had experience playing one instrument, it won't be so hard taking up another.

Yes it can, the middle of the clef is middle c or high c.

Up to more than $28,000 brand new, or maybe less than $1,500 if you can find one used, at a pawn shop for example.

The clef is different, but you will get used to it in a few months.

It may be challenging at first. You may want to check out similar instruments, such as clarinet or oboe. The clarinet is probably the best choice for you, as it requires the least amount of air. Bassoons and oboes require a lot of air, which is one of the most challenging aspects of a wind instrument. You need to have a constant, steady air stream.

It will be hard at first, but you will get the feel for it in a month or two. Look at exercises to see how the embouchure works.

Pretty hard. The reed is double reed, which might seem simple. Don't be fooled! A clarinet reed is a simple reed, bassoon reeds require pressing your lips together and it can hurt the first couple weeks, but you build up calluses. The main reason it is hard is the embrasure. Way different from any brass instrument.

You don't have to clean it all that frequently, but I recommend you take it to a music shop and have it professionally cleaned every couple of months.

I currently play both and it is definitely very different regarding embouchure. However, it is still possible. I would choose which one you want to focus on as one may mess up the embouchure for the other. I only play trumpet in marching band as the bassoon is my primary instrument. I also started on trumpet and I learned bassoon in my freshman year of high school. Now, I'm about to graduate college with my music degree. If you want to learn it, just try it out! It may be a little intimidating at first, but it is definitely worth it.

It is definitely possible! The only issues you may have are the fingerings. They are very different from flute, clarinet, and saxophone. The fingerings can be awkward, especially with thumb keys,but nothing practice can't fix!

This depends on a lot of factors. This can result from thick corks that can easily be sanded down, or if you have string around it, you can clip only a little off that to loosen it up. With string, make sure you don't unwind it too much, maybe only twice. To put the string back where it needs to be, I usually stick it under another string, but I would look up other possible ways to do this. Also, this may also result from weather as it can mess with the instrument as well. I would find what is causing it to happen before doing any of the above.

You could look into a mini bassoon. The keys are the exact same as a full sized, but it will be easier to manage and get your fingers covering all the holes.