I love a good bassoon warm up.
On busy days at the end of the semester when I don’t have time to work on new literature, my practice time is regulated to Warm Ups. Sometimes this is all there is time for in-between final classes, grading papers, and lessons.
Warm Ups keep my technique strong, remind me to breathe low and deep and keep my embouchure in tip-top shape.
This week I am sharing my favorite Warm Ups that I and my students have been doing in our daily practice sessions.
Before I create my videos and blogs I speak with other professional bassoonists and bounce ideas off of them. As I was speaking with my colleagues about this video I noticed a hole in my current teaching and practicing… LONG TONES!
I’ve done Long Tones regularly in the past but they have sadly slipped to the side as time has become more and more of a premium.
And then there was the challenge of presenting them in a positive light to other bassoonists. Everyone knows they should do them… but no one ever has the time. 😉
How would I convince you that Long Tones are Valuable?
Lucky for me Chris Weait suggested that I read Dr. Maya Stone’s article on Long Tones.
Dr. Stone speaks about Long Tones in the most insightful way.
Her light tone combined with her suggested practice techniques inspired me to pick up my bassoon and Add Long Tones back into my Bassoon Warm Ups.
I spoke with Dr. Stone and she has graciously allowed me to repost her article which originally was published in The Midwest Double Reed Society here.
I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I did and it may even inspire your practice, too.
YES! It’s Worth It!
Special Thanks to Maya for allowing me to repost this valuable information. If you live in the Nashville area and would like to work with Dr. Stone here are links to her Teaching Website and Facebook Music Page.
Happy Bassoon-ing, Everybody!
erynoft 
Hi Eryn,
You post a lot of great information! I’ve enjoyed watching your informative videos. A grammatical suggestion: fewer capital letters. You seem to capitalize a lot of nouns unnecessarily. Just a comment. Keep up the good work.
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Hi Jeff,
Thanks for keeping up with my bassoon adventures. Yes, I break punctuation rules. I view blogging as a sort of journaling- the same is true of my YouTube. In it I am sometimes looking for symmetry on the page or my mind is extra attune to the portion that I am speaking about and feel a little extra spark might be what the sentence requires… there are so many ways a sentence can be read with different inflections.. she whispers… I am glad you enjoy my blog and hope you will stick around. Crazy punctuation and all.
Eryn
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Forty-eight years after quitting bassoon (7th and 8th grades), I have taken up bassoon again (now playing in my church orchestra in Nashville, in which I have been playing alto sax the last 15 years). I am taking lessons from Maya. She is a fantastic bassoonist, person, and exceptional teacher. And yes, she has me doing long tones. : ) Age is no excuse for starting an instrument again. Loving my new Püchner!
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