How to Make New Bassoon Reeds Sound Good (No Reed Making Tools or Experience Required!)

Learn how to properly break in and adjust new bassoon reeds so that they feel and sound good. You don't need any prior reed making experience and you probably already have these tools laying around at home.

00:00 Intro
00:36 Which kind of reeds are best to buy?
00:57 Why don't my reeds work right away?
02:34 How to Properly Break in a New Bassoon Reed
08:00 Adjusting the Wires (Try This First)
11:00 Adjusting with Sandpaper
13:18 How to Get Additional Help

🙎🏼‍♀️ About Natalie:

Dr. Natalie Law is an active bassoonist and educator based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As an orchestral musician, she has most recently performed with the the Lansing Symphony, the Grand Rapids Symphony, and West Michigan Symphony. Natalie is a founding member of the Lansing-based woodwind quintet, Pure Winds, which was recently named a finalist for The American Prize and released an album under the Orpheus Classical music label. She has toured the United States as a performing artist and clinician at numerous institutions and conferences such as the Midwest Clinic and the International Double Reed Society Conference. Natalie received her DMA from Michigan State University, where she also obtained her Master's degree in bassoon performance. She completed her Bachelor's degrees in both bassoon performance and music education at the University of Montana. Her primary teachers have included Michael Kroth, Dorian Antipa, Elizabeth Crawford, and Jennifer Cavanaugh.

Natalie is passionate about teaching bassoonists. Having grown up in a rural area without a bassoon teacher for hundreds of miles, she understands the need for high quality and accessible online resources. That's why she founded and created Building a Bassoonist: to help students feel confident, successful, and enjoy learning this unique instrument!

Several links above are affiliate, which means I earn a small percentage of the sale when you purchase through my link (at no additional cost to you). Thanks for all your support!

#bassoon #beginnerbassoon #adjustingreeds #bassoonreeds

[MusicLover]

Thanks Natalie! I've made some new blanks and have been putting off actually breaking them in. Patience isn't always my strong suit so I appreciate your really breaking down the process!

[password]

Thank you so much for this i needed a video on reeds

[randyreynolds]

It's always nice to have more than one good playable reed in your reed box. If you order several reeds, what do you recommend for their workup? Start one, before starting another, or maybe start all of them.

[michaelbaptist]

This is a really thorough video. I’ve been playing for almost 6 years and for my first couple of years I had no idea how to take care of my reeds. I wasn’t taking lessons and my band teacher didn’t know much about bassoons so I was kind of on my own. I wish I could go back and show myself this video. But I’m glad I know how to take care of reeds now!

[Ben_]

I had a hard time playing a new reed I had just ordered but this video was really helpful! Thanks!

[jonathanrio]

This video was very helpful! Thank you! I just started playing after about 40 years. I just bought 3 reeds and one didn't play and I was going to complain to the seller. hahaha Now after following your recommendations, it plays

[lulachthesimple]

Thanks so much for this.
I came to bassoon after years on the oboe. Still trying to get my head around the idea of immersing the *whole reed*! I hardly dare...

[StudioBacks]

Thanks you Natalie, my 12 year old now knows what to do with his reed (and I do too)

[aafrophonee]

I'm literally on day three of breaking in two new reeds, so this was a very timely video (although, I'm not having any major issues with these reeds, so no adjustments needed yet)

[lando_kxng]

Thanks this really helped my and I’m able to play more clearly now, thanks a lot, and I just might buy some reeds👍 bc I am in need but thanks for the tips it helped a lot