Bassoon Study at Hartt

Overview

We are all individuals, learning and developing at different paces, with our own unique strengths and weaknesses. Your path to becoming a better bassoonist may not follow the exact same trail as the one I followed. Improvement is a self-discovery process, and we will work together to:

Learn to hear things the same way
Establish areas of concern
Establish a standard to be met
Work through understanding technique and how what you do physically affects sound, pitch, articulation, vibrato - in short, every audible sound that you produce
Establish practice techniques that will allow you to examine your own technique and musicality and make measured adjustments

You will improve not so much during our one-hour lessons, but rather in the hours of daily practice and self-critique that separate those lessons. You are learning to be your own teacher, and must practice in that fashion.

I keep a log of lesson notes on my computer, emailing comments and observations from our lesson—it helps to refer back to it as you work things out during the week. It may also serve as a practice journal and a way to keep track of problems that arise that you want to address in upcoming lessons, and it becomes a reference file solely about the bassoon, reeds, and your work in a given year, an excellent review resource that helps you see the totality of your work.

Lessons and Studio Class

I teach all private lessons (14 hours each semester) and an additional weekly Studio Class, where we cover my preferred scale routines, standard orchestral excerpts, common audition repertoire, and reedmaking. We will play together and perform individually, and everyone will have a chance to participate in all aspects of class—playing, making comments, and showing reedwork. In addition to the Studio Class time, I may schedule the odd "reed marathon," but after a few weeks on basics, I hope that you'll all be producing enough working reeds to handle any needed adjustments between our regularly scheduled studio classes and your individual lessons.

I think it is easiest when first learning your teacher's reed making technique to work with the same tools that you see at your lesson; this is why I recommend specific tools at the outset. Get them if you can. The school owns a profiler, shaper, and dial indicator, which are available in the bassoon studio reed room.

I ask that you make lots of reeds, and provide you with detailed drawings and measurements in Studio Class. Emphasis is placed on consistency and repeatability. While each piece of cane has its own particular quirks, learning how to make a consistent tube and a fairly repeatable scrape will help weed out unusable cane, saving you time, aggravation, and practice hours in your quest for more accurate, subtle, musical playing.

Auditions

For undergraduate admission, prepare at least 2 contrasting movements of a standard concerto (Mozart, Weber, or Vivaldi would all be fine) as well as 2 contrasting etudes, preferably from the Milde Concert Studies. For graduate study, make that the Mozart concerto, all movements, a single movement from a contrasting concerto, the 2 etudes, and add to that a 20th century sonata (or a piece for bassoon alone, e.g. Osborne Rhapsody) and 3 orchestral excerpts.

Each semester we hold a screened audition for ensemble placement and seating assignments. The required excerpts are drawn from audition lists for professional orchestras, and the experience provides excellent practice that will serve you well after graduation. Using the screen to ensure a "blind" audition not only is good training for what is now a standard practice in most orchestras, but also provides the opportunity for any student to place as high as their preparation allows, regardless of experience or seniority.

The Hartt School is a "Conservatory within a University." Admission is by audition only and we offer many different degrees and degree combinations. You can browse them in the Admissions and Programs, Undergraduate and Graduate sections of this website.

General Advice on Playing

Self discipline—a must have for improving in the practice room. I'll let you know if you're not doing enough work, but I won't yell at you to help you do more. It sounds simple, but if you can't find the will to work on your own, you won't master your instrument.

Keep things simple. Music is emotional, subjective, and the language that we use to talk about music can be easy to confuse with the same language that we often use to talk about self worth - good, bad, beautiful, etc. Don't let your own feeling of self get tied into how you sound at any given moment; rather than "I was terrible", try "I rushed in the first bar and the last note was sharp." Specific criticisms are practical, relatively easy to address, and help to keep your motivation up and frustration level down. Your inner self should be tuned to how hard you're working and how well your long-term goals are being met.

Improving your playing will in all likelihood not happen smoothly. There may be a period of uncertainty as you discard one technique before you're entirely comfortable with another. Use whatever tools you have—metronome, tuner, recording—to keep from getting yourself tied up with the feeling of discomfort rather than the result. If you're working well, that in itself is something to be proud of, even if the result is less consistent or comfortable than you would like at that very moment.

That said, most good techniques will soon prove to be comfortable with a bit of practice.

Some General Advice on Choosing a School

Visit. Talk to the students. If possible, sit in on classes or concerts. Most of all, try to have a one-on-one meeting or lesson with your potential teacher. It's important for you to see how you interact; unlikely though it may seem, it is possible that a fantastic student and a terrific teacher will find themselves completely at odds on a personal level, unable to communicate effectively because of some quirk of personal chemistry.

Events

The Bassoon Studio presents a joint recital each semester, with all students participating. There are ongoing master classes with visiting guest artists, which in the past have included Steven Dibner (Associate Principal Bassoon, San Francisco Symphony), Daniel Matsukawa (Principal Bassoon, Philadelphia Orchestra), Patricia Rogers (Principal Bassoon, Metropolitan Opera), and Richard Ranti (Associate Principal Bassoon, Boston Symphony Orchestra). This November will include a Double Reed Festival, something that Professor Lucarelli and I have hosted a number of times, offering master classes, guest artists, music and reed tool vendors, and performances by students and faculty.