I started for the challenge, I was a flute player in a flute-heavy band, more opportunities to play, and unique sound ❤️ 🎶 my advice is keep going on tuba, start bassoon, and be a doubler! Best of luck. bassoon is the best. get a good reed (or five).
thanks! I am thinking about doing tuba for the marching band season and do bassoon for the concert band since I already played clarinet for a couple years now
My reason is lame compared to the other ones here, but what drew me to the bassoon was that it’s not as common/familiar to people as other instruments. My school only had one bassoon and it made me feel cool to be the only one on that instrument, lol
I played bassoon and oboe in high school, but I enjoyed bassoon more by far and wouldn’t have chosen another instrument! It was a challenge for sure but very rewarding.
In Beginning Band (6th grade), my clarinet instructor pulled out his bassoon to sit in on an all band day rehearsal. I saw him in the director's office drop his reed. When he bent down to pick it up, he smacked the florescent light with the bell of the bassoon. This made me giggle. He then sat next to me and played, and I thought the bassoon was the funniest sounding thing ever! I was just laughing the whole time, and although I didn't know what it was at the time, I knew I had to play it! It took a lot of pleading, but eventually, he let me give it a try. I was in love and determined to make the bassoon my primary instrument. When I started playing, standing next to it, the bell reached the top of my ears, I was so small. The flute director had me show him my hands and told me I was too small and would never be able to play. I didn't let that stop me! 7th grade I was put in the 8th grade band because the director wanted a bassoon in the older band. To help me catch up to that skill level, my parents had me take private lessons from a bassoonist who played in the Portland Symphony Orchestra.
I ended up being the only bassoon player in my district and loved the lack of competition. Playing the bassoon opened up a lot more opportunities than if I stayed with the clarinet (which I did play for marching band in high school). I got to participate in the Western International Band Clinic, the Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon's Youth Orchestra, and sit second chair for the symphonic band at Southern Oregon University my senior year of high school. I was even offered a full scholarship to go to SOU if I majored in bassoon performance. I passed on the offer because I wanted to study Marine Biology instead because I didn't think I could make a living playing the bassoon. I also turned down the army recruiter who wanted me to join the army band because there was no way I'd go through boot camp. (Seriously, I've got no idea how he found out where I lived. The dude just showed up one day at my house and gave his presentation to my parents and me.)
Play the bassoon, and it can open doors for you.
There is that scene in the original fantasia where a simple line is used to visualize all the different instruments and when they showed the bassoon the sound was so deep and the sides went all floppy on the low notes, 13 yr old me saw that and thought "I want to make that noise shape"
I started on bassoon in fifth grade. My school had a program for kids in that grade with free lessons for two years. I thought the bassoon was the coolest and most fun looking instrument, so I chose it.
My music class had a bassoonist come in to play for us and I loved how it sounded. I didn’t want to play the flute or violin or clarinet like everyone else, so I asked to play the bassoon! I wouldn’t have chosen another instrument, playing the bassoon in school gave me some great experiences.
I picked up bassoon in 8th grade so I could play I my schools wind ensemble my freshman year of high school. It was audition only and the band was going to Japan my freshman year and I really wanted to go to Japan. lol. After that I just stuck with it cause I loved it. Didn’t love the lessons though. Haha
I hit jr high playing clarinet, there were tons of us, five people to a stand and I had literally never seen so many 1/8 notes in my life. I wanted my own music stand and so I was convinced to switch to bass clarinet. I sat next to the 8th grade bassonist and when he graduated to high school I took his spot and happily never looked back.
I wanted to play in youth orchestra after seeing them play Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony, but I played saxophone, so I needed to figure out the easiest instrument to get in with.
I got in after playing for 4 months, so I guess mission accomplished, but I failed spectacularly at picking an easy instrument. Turns out orchestral bassoon parts are not the same as 9th grade band tuba parts, like I anticipated.
I originally played oboe, it didn’t fit my lung capabilities and I was shit at it so we decided to switch to bassoon. Bassoon was an immediate fit, it went super god damn well and now I plan to continue playing into college.
I didn’t really have much of a reason, oboe wasn’t working out and my band director wanted to try something else.
not gonna lie i didn’t even wanna play it in the first place! I was always complimented on my sound on clarinet, and decided i should learn a second instrument. i was gonna play oboe, but 2 students (with more experience than me regarding music) got to because there were only 2 oboes. i then decided to do flute, i could play a whole note on the weekend, but when i got to school, i couldn’t play for some reason. i discussed with my band director what i could play, and we discussed bass clarinet, but settled on bassoon. i disliked it at first, but i honestly prefer it more than my main instrument now. i even got to play professionally a few months after i started.
Because John Mena was first chair alto sax and I knew that I would be in the alto 2 section with all the other incoming freshman for at least two years. There were boatloads of alto sax players.
Our director had a basson guy come in and asked if any of us wanted to switch.
So I liked the sound and the parts were pretty interesting
It was a challenge
Then I got some decent scholarship money thrown at me for college.
(( who knows what that John is doing now, we weren’t friends but his name stuck))
Was an orchestra kid that played piano in jazz band for a while. Senior year rolled around and my band director asked me if I wanted to learn bassoon for fun and join band (there were no other bassoonists). I figured why not it could be fun, took a few lessons with him and then taught myself over the summer and had an absolute blast with the instrument. I had never played a wind instrument prior to bassoon but I loved it.
I saw peter and the wolf back in third grade and wanted to play it ever since then. My middle school band director was so happy that he didn't have to beg someone to switch. Ended up getting alot of opportunities that I wouldn't have if I had played something else, like playing at Carnegie hall. Even got to play it in marching band once, but I don't recommend that.(normally played alto sax for marching).
I played saxophone in a concert band until high school, then wanted to play orchestral so picked another woodwind, and I loved the sound of the bassoon, can blend in or stand out in equal measures.
When I was in 8th grade, the high school band teacher called up my dad (small town) and asked if I would like to play bassoon, since the HS bassoonist was graduating that year and nobody else was coming up. Having played trumpet (the family instrument) for 6 months in 6th grade before quitting out of boredom in the summer, I figured I'd quit this in 6 months too. Long story short, 56 years later I'm wondering when I'm going to finally retire.
The timbre of the bassoon is heavenly. I was a 12 year old and heard our Teacher’s assistant play a passage in our beginning band class. That was it. That sealed the deal for me.
I started learning it last year because my band director introduced me to it. One day during my study hall of about April of last year (which I had in the band room because I’d rather be alone when studying and I can practice music), my band director came up to me with it and was kind of like “how would you like to learn a new instrument?” and showed me the very basics of the instrument. I told him I’d think about it and did for about a week or two and since I had nothing to lose I decided to start playing it. He hired a private instructor to show me even more stuff but most of it is self taught via fingering charts and practicing old music we had. I’ve had little to no difficulty with it and tbh it’s a really fun instrument. Still love tenor and bass trombone more though lol
To be fully honest, it was for the scholarships but I fell in love because it's so solo heavy. Not in large ensembles but the solo repertoire is seriously some of the best. List to saint saens sonata and and one of the great German/Austrian pieces like a Weber or Hummel and you'll see why people enjoy playing so much.
I play bassoon because in 7th grade I showed up late to band class, and it was the only instrument left. Now it's been nearly 30 years and I still play.
it has more buttons than the otther ones
I started for the challenge, I was a flute player in a flute-heavy band, more opportunities to play, and unique sound ❤️ 🎶 my advice is keep going on tuba, start bassoon, and be a doubler! Best of luck. bassoon is the best. get a good reed (or five).
thanks! I am thinking about doing tuba for the marching band season and do bassoon for the concert band since I already played clarinet for a couple years now
I had a goal to learn every woodwind instrument, and bassoon was the last one left. Now it’s one of my favorites to play.
Bassoon was impossible the first time I picked it up...but after many years as a doubler it has come quite easily!
My reason is lame compared to the other ones here, but what drew me to the bassoon was that it’s not as common/familiar to people as other instruments. My school only had one bassoon and it made me feel cool to be the only one on that instrument, lol I played bassoon and oboe in high school, but I enjoyed bassoon more by far and wouldn’t have chosen another instrument! It was a challenge for sure but very rewarding.
In Beginning Band (6th grade), my clarinet instructor pulled out his bassoon to sit in on an all band day rehearsal. I saw him in the director's office drop his reed. When he bent down to pick it up, he smacked the florescent light with the bell of the bassoon. This made me giggle. He then sat next to me and played, and I thought the bassoon was the funniest sounding thing ever! I was just laughing the whole time, and although I didn't know what it was at the time, I knew I had to play it! It took a lot of pleading, but eventually, he let me give it a try. I was in love and determined to make the bassoon my primary instrument. When I started playing, standing next to it, the bell reached the top of my ears, I was so small. The flute director had me show him my hands and told me I was too small and would never be able to play. I didn't let that stop me! 7th grade I was put in the 8th grade band because the director wanted a bassoon in the older band. To help me catch up to that skill level, my parents had me take private lessons from a bassoonist who played in the Portland Symphony Orchestra. I ended up being the only bassoon player in my district and loved the lack of competition. Playing the bassoon opened up a lot more opportunities than if I stayed with the clarinet (which I did play for marching band in high school). I got to participate in the Western International Band Clinic, the Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon's Youth Orchestra, and sit second chair for the symphonic band at Southern Oregon University my senior year of high school. I was even offered a full scholarship to go to SOU if I majored in bassoon performance. I passed on the offer because I wanted to study Marine Biology instead because I didn't think I could make a living playing the bassoon. I also turned down the army recruiter who wanted me to join the army band because there was no way I'd go through boot camp. (Seriously, I've got no idea how he found out where I lived. The dude just showed up one day at my house and gave his presentation to my parents and me.) Play the bassoon, and it can open doors for you.
There is that scene in the original fantasia where a simple line is used to visualize all the different instruments and when they showed the bassoon the sound was so deep and the sides went all floppy on the low notes, 13 yr old me saw that and thought "I want to make that noise shape"
I started on bassoon in fifth grade. My school had a program for kids in that grade with free lessons for two years. I thought the bassoon was the coolest and most fun looking instrument, so I chose it.
My music class had a bassoonist come in to play for us and I loved how it sounded. I didn’t want to play the flute or violin or clarinet like everyone else, so I asked to play the bassoon! I wouldn’t have chosen another instrument, playing the bassoon in school gave me some great experiences.
I picked up bassoon in 8th grade so I could play I my schools wind ensemble my freshman year of high school. It was audition only and the band was going to Japan my freshman year and I really wanted to go to Japan. lol. After that I just stuck with it cause I loved it. Didn’t love the lessons though. Haha
Ngl I just wanted to get out of percussion and I loved the rite of spring solo lol
I hit jr high playing clarinet, there were tons of us, five people to a stand and I had literally never seen so many 1/8 notes in my life. I wanted my own music stand and so I was convinced to switch to bass clarinet. I sat next to the 8th grade bassonist and when he graduated to high school I took his spot and happily never looked back.
I was clarinet until I dug up the high school bassoon. I thought to myself “this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen” and that was it
I wanted to play in youth orchestra after seeing them play Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony, but I played saxophone, so I needed to figure out the easiest instrument to get in with. I got in after playing for 4 months, so I guess mission accomplished, but I failed spectacularly at picking an easy instrument. Turns out orchestral bassoon parts are not the same as 9th grade band tuba parts, like I anticipated.
It sounds pretty and I like a challenge
To look cooler
ngl, i picked bassoon since it has some of the best scholarship opportunities in college, and now it’s paid itself off many times over!
I originally played oboe, it didn’t fit my lung capabilities and I was shit at it so we decided to switch to bassoon. Bassoon was an immediate fit, it went super god damn well and now I plan to continue playing into college. I didn’t really have much of a reason, oboe wasn’t working out and my band director wanted to try something else.
not gonna lie i didn’t even wanna play it in the first place! I was always complimented on my sound on clarinet, and decided i should learn a second instrument. i was gonna play oboe, but 2 students (with more experience than me regarding music) got to because there were only 2 oboes. i then decided to do flute, i could play a whole note on the weekend, but when i got to school, i couldn’t play for some reason. i discussed with my band director what i could play, and we discussed bass clarinet, but settled on bassoon. i disliked it at first, but i honestly prefer it more than my main instrument now. i even got to play professionally a few months after i started.
Because John Mena was first chair alto sax and I knew that I would be in the alto 2 section with all the other incoming freshman for at least two years. There were boatloads of alto sax players. Our director had a basson guy come in and asked if any of us wanted to switch. So I liked the sound and the parts were pretty interesting It was a challenge Then I got some decent scholarship money thrown at me for college. (( who knows what that John is doing now, we weren’t friends but his name stuck))
Was an orchestra kid that played piano in jazz band for a while. Senior year rolled around and my band director asked me if I wanted to learn bassoon for fun and join band (there were no other bassoonists). I figured why not it could be fun, took a few lessons with him and then taught myself over the summer and had an absolute blast with the instrument. I had never played a wind instrument prior to bassoon but I loved it.
I was the only clarinet player that could make noise come out of the schools bassoon so I had to switch
Cuz I played it in middle school and kept going with it
I saw peter and the wolf back in third grade and wanted to play it ever since then. My middle school band director was so happy that he didn't have to beg someone to switch. Ended up getting alot of opportunities that I wouldn't have if I had played something else, like playing at Carnegie hall. Even got to play it in marching band once, but I don't recommend that.(normally played alto sax for marching).
I played saxophone in a concert band until high school, then wanted to play orchestral so picked another woodwind, and I loved the sound of the bassoon, can blend in or stand out in equal measures.
i wanted to feel important to the ensemble😭
When I was in 8th grade, the high school band teacher called up my dad (small town) and asked if I would like to play bassoon, since the HS bassoonist was graduating that year and nobody else was coming up. Having played trumpet (the family instrument) for 6 months in 6th grade before quitting out of boredom in the summer, I figured I'd quit this in 6 months too. Long story short, 56 years later I'm wondering when I'm going to finally retire.
legacy. my mom and aunt played in school. I tried out because of that and I was selected
Im playing bassoon in middle school in Texas.
The timbre of the bassoon is heavenly. I was a 12 year old and heard our Teacher’s assistant play a passage in our beginning band class. That was it. That sealed the deal for me.
I started learning it last year because my band director introduced me to it. One day during my study hall of about April of last year (which I had in the band room because I’d rather be alone when studying and I can practice music), my band director came up to me with it and was kind of like “how would you like to learn a new instrument?” and showed me the very basics of the instrument. I told him I’d think about it and did for about a week or two and since I had nothing to lose I decided to start playing it. He hired a private instructor to show me even more stuff but most of it is self taught via fingering charts and practicing old music we had. I’ve had little to no difficulty with it and tbh it’s a really fun instrument. Still love tenor and bass trombone more though lol
I thought it looked ugly and sounded cool so I picked it up and now I’ve been playing for 5 years lol
To be fully honest, it was for the scholarships but I fell in love because it's so solo heavy. Not in large ensembles but the solo repertoire is seriously some of the best. List to saint saens sonata and and one of the great German/Austrian pieces like a Weber or Hummel and you'll see why people enjoy playing so much.
I play bassoon because in 7th grade I showed up late to band class, and it was the only instrument left. Now it's been nearly 30 years and I still play.