Chances are, when you ask a young student interested in playing an instrument which one they want to play, the answer will not be the bassoon. Looking back on my interest in playing in the band while I was in the third grade, I didn't even know what a bassoon was, let alone what it sounded like. Yet, if I could go back in time, I would have chosen the bassoon over the flute. The bassoon is such a unique and versatile instrument, almost like the "cello of the woodwinds".
To inspire some of the younger players to fill some of these "obscure" parts within a band, I think it is important to show them exactly how versatile and interesting these instruments can be... and what better instrument than the bassoon!?
Several of my classmates have posted videos from Eastman School of Music's Bassoon Ensemble, The Breaking Winds (very clever), in their blogs this week. I think some of these videos could be great at building interest in the bassoon... it might even create "too much" interest, if there is such a thing. It would be a great problem for a band teacher to have too much interest in a variety of instruments than to have instruments completely neglected, sitting on the shelves to collect dust. As a firm believer that students being exposed to any kind of music enriches their creativity, using contemporary songs in order to bring a heightened level of interest is paramount at getting the students to internalize certain concepts. I have embedded one of this group's YouTube videos below, and it is a collage of songs from Lady Gaga.
You can also access the group's page on YouTube here.
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