My son is interested in playing the bassoon. I am concerned that it would be too hard for him. I am also concerned that his hands are big enough. Our school does not have any bassoons. I can`t find a place to rent one. Any thoughts on possible rental options or how I might get something cheap? I did the eBay thing for my daughters flute. I got a lemon (for very little $$), did research and found a great flute at a great price. Hope to get info to be able to do the smae here.

Thanks!!

If you find a deal you are interested in, post it here. I both check the Ebay bassoon section and this forum every day.

Also, if I find a really good deal there, I`ll post it here or link to it.


Bassoon is not hard if you are determined enough. Make sure he starts on a wooden reed (ms) and not plastic. First build up tone via long tones, then work on scale knowlegdge abnd fingereings), then range. Hehe, I`ve only been playing a few months and I am playing university+ music.

Can you post a measurement of hands? I can determine compatibility with a cm measurement.

Good luck.

Don`t rent, for me it was $750 CAN a school year. You will save a lot of money buying a bassoon.

I`m glad to hear your son is interested in playing! As far as the bassoon being too hard for your son, determination might overcome the difficulty of the instrument. Being smart is also a definite requirement for this instrument. As far as his hands being too small, large hands help, but I`m pretty short and can play. To me, buying a bassoon is a big investment ..especially when you`ve never played one before. Maybe there`s a spot on the internet where you could rent one.

hello! nice to hear of someone being interested in the bassoon,my advise would be not to buy one, because they`re very expensive, i would adivse you ask about, see if anyone knows of a well established or professional bassoonist, because from experience i know they are happy to adivse even lend people bassoons, or let them try it out. I know from experience that bassoons are big instruments therefore needing big hands, i my self started playing when i was 13, this is a bit late, but i am a large built person so i had no trouble at all getting used to this large instrument if you have any doubts think about `the small bassoon` or fagottini because these are a lot smaller and provide the basis for a larger bassoon, but again these can be very costly. Please do encourage your son to take up the bassoon because playing is a wonderful thing, and it ois hard at first to get a good sound out of such a large instrument, but after about 6 months of lessons the bassoon is quite a pleasing instrument to play!!

For the hands- if you can easily play a once octave stretch (both fingers playing at same time) you will be able to play bassoon fingerings. You may still ne able to play if your hands are a bit smaller.

Lasty, I have heard that there are alternate fingerings which do not require use of thumb keys. Ask an active experienced bassoonist about this, if your son`s hands are too small.

My advice, in terms of the isntrument itself, would be trying it out using a 2-month rental, then buying one.

In my opinion, buying a bassoon that the C-hole becme Key. That may more suitable for the small hand Bassoonist.

But DON`T BUY A Fagottino......it just like learning another instrument!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!It`s NOT A GOOD CHOICE.

Also you may concern buying a polypropylene bassoon. It will be cheaper and easlier for a student to pick up this instrument.

If I were u, I will mainly interest in :

Fox Renard 41 or 51
Moosmann No. 96
SCHREIBER Bassoon S13 (WS5013)
Or even a Puchner Model Start

Until your son tries the bassoon and you see that he is really determined to keep with it, you should try the best you can to find one without buying one, since they are so expensive. If you live near a big city, or even a middle-sized town, try calling ALL the music repair shops (your best option), then try calling ALL the schools (some school might have an extra one you could rent for a couple months), then look up and try calling ALL the local orchestras, bands, etc., to see who plays bassoon, get their numbers if you can, and talk to them. Networking is the way to go with this sort of thing. Trust me, someone out there has two bassoons. You just have to find him.

Difficulty really depends on who you are. I found it easy because I could already read music so i just needed to focus on technique and fingering. If your son can read music, especially the bass clef, he`ll be fine. It`s good if he plays the piano.

It`s possible to get student bassoons for smaller hands but they won`t take you up to the higher standard so if you get one you`ll need to buy a new one when he gets bigger or higher standard.

Bassoons are expensive but it`s definitely worth getting a good quality one (mine`s an Adler which is fairly middle range). I rented at first to see whether I was suited to it and then bought one after a few months. hope this helps.