Hey all, i've been playing bassoon for about 2 years now.However, i am unable to play the (according to my fingering chart)lowest note on the bassoon which is the low b flat.I heard that to play low notes,the air must be slow yet strong.However whenever i try to do it,i just get a normal b flat sound.(1 octave below the tuning note)I was just wondering if it was because i did not have enough air support or it is a problem with my embouchure.Intriguingly,i can reach all the other low notes up till B no problem.Only B flat.Please comment on the possible causes of this problem thanks!

Sounds like the horn has a leak. Figure out which notes you can't play, figure out what pads those keys close, and get someone to hold those pads closed tight while you are fingering the note and blowing, and see if you can get the note. If you can play the note, then it has to go to the repairman to get the leaks fixed.

I had that problem too, and my horn was fine (I had it checked out, etc)
Just expirement with the embrochure a little until you can get the note. After you get it out the first time, it's like you can get it out almost every time after that. Kinda like learning how to ride a bike: you take off the training wheels and it's like you are just begginig again, then you ride correctly for the first time, and you can ride correctly forevermore.
Also, considering your horn is fine, the problem may very well be with your air (but not because there isn't enough support). If you can play all the other notes, than the problem shouldn't be with having bad air support. Sometimes I tend to overblow my lower notes, and that makes them jump an octave.

hmm....i've also been thinking whether there's a chance that the hole in the reed could be too small,because these few practices i had had to go up to the high Gs and A flats(1 octave above tuning note)and i think i bite too hard.This might take a while to solve..........

I bet you bucks it's the reed. Do you have a private teacher? Somebody should be helping you out with dealing with reeds. It's a more sophisticated matter than clarinettists and saxophonists have to deal with.

Anyways, I had/have the same problem. I could play always down to low B-natural with no problem at all, but as soon as I tried the low B-flat, it would flick up an octave, even when I slurred. Problem for me is in the reed. The low B-flat, because it is at the very end of the tube and comes out the bell instead of a smallish tone hole, has a different resistance to it than the other low notes. I can't feel it, but I guarantee you that's gotta be why it does that. I just squeeze the throat of my reed a little bit to widen the tip before I need the note and the low B-flat will come out with no problem - but let me tell you, it took me a while to figure that out. If you get a good teacher to help you with reed adjusting, you won't have as much as a problem, I'm sure. I don't have the money to get professional instruction myself, so I'll just keep hop-skipping along squeezing my reed back open from time to time.

Yes i have a tutor.He makes the reeds and adjusts them occasionally when he comes.He come about once a week.Also,i have tried widening the tip of the reed.This allowed me to be able to play the low B flat but my high notes suffer.I guess that the solution is to find the exact correct width of the tip of the reed should be.Oh yes,what happens when you don't swab the bassoon often,because when i joined the band they apparently had no bassoon swabs and i haven't been swabbing for about 1 year.This might have gotten the pads stuck.If the pads ARE stuck,i have a hell of a problem on my hands.I have brought up the topic to the quarter master but he hasn't done anything.Time to take things into my own hands.Does anyone know where to buy good swabs in singapore?

I certainly hope you have a plastic bassoon, because if you don't swab a wood bassoon you will soon rot the wood of the boot joint. Buy yourself a pull swab from Fox, WWBW, or Hodge Products or somewhere else that will send to Singapore, and before you try to swab it for the first time you should (perhaps with your teacher) take the cap off the boot joint and unscrew the U-tube to see how much gunk is in there. You might be grossed out. Also, a big accumulation will make some notes hard to play!

check for leaks, and get cleaning! with your embrouchure, your throat needs to feel low, kind of like you are singing a low note and sometimes it helps to have less reed in your mouth, especially if starting on a low note. it's quite strange that it's just the B flat, which makes me think that it's probably a leak

i just your other comment about opening your reed which makes me think there is definitely a leak. this is because if you have a leak, you need to open the reed to accomodate for the lost air. then you blow harder, which means you can overblow and it goes up the octave. you can play the higher notes with an open reed, it just requires more air which can get pretty tiring.

Any way to know if there is a leak without sending it for repair?Cause my band seems to be in a financial crisis(no money even for swabs)Btw i'm using a wood bassoon,so......I don't really want to know what horrors lie in the unswabbed bassoon.Lol

Here's how I check - take your bassoon apart. Test each joint individually for leaks. Start with say... the wing joint. Covers the three holes (pretend with this hand that you are playing low Bb, but just on the wing joint section by itself). Now block one end of the tubing with the palm of your hand such that it's airtight and blow air through the other end. This means putting your mouth on the joint itself, so wipe it off, of course. Next you would do the boot. Basically finger the right hand part of what you'd do to play low E or lower so that all the holes are closed. Then block one end and blow air through the other. Do the same for the long joint and the bell.

What you're checking for is to see if any air is escaping. If you blow through a joint plugged at one end with your hand and all the pads are down, no air should come out until you're blowing with a good bit of pressure. If you can only hardly put any air pressure on the joint and you hear the hissing sound of air escaping from somewhere under a pad, there's a leak and you might want to try and find it. You can also perform a similar check by making a vacuum. Suck the air out of the joint without coughing (I usually don't do this with large old school instruments like bassoons for obviously reasons... ). You should be able to suck pretty hard and maintain a vacuum, like the joint is trying to resist and pull your air back in. If it does this, and when you quickly release the pressure you hear a faint "pop", that means there are no bad leaks to be particularly worried about. If you find yourself blowing or sucking air and you feel no resistance or hear a hissing sound, air is escaping from a leak.

Let us know of your findings.

i had the same problem until about a year ago. i had an old, school
owned bassoon and the actual plastic had leaks. again open up your throat as if you are trying to sing the note; it helps a lot.

No ones probably gonna see this,but the problem was a leak..........Just found out

We saw it. (Can't resist saying "I told you so.")

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