Some bassoonists strike us as being not only wonderfully skilled artists but almost invariably in tune as well. Maurice Allard, Bernard Garfield and John Miller are three of a few who certainly have beautiful control of their bassoons in addition to extremely effective performance. Yet many other very fine bassoonists, some with years of professional experience continue to sound "out of tune with themselves" as often as not. I believe that any player can learn to play better "in tune" by listening self- critically and by following practical guidelines for improvement.
Let's assume that the player has a fine professional instrument and has played it for a year or more to know its good and bad characteristics. The instrument has been serviced by such an artist as Hans Moennig of Philadelphia: pads seal, keys articulate beautifully, as many small tuning errors of the instrument as possible have been adjusted towards "right" by the repairer (we know that no bassoon is completely perfectly in tune, but many are very well balanced and have only a few compromises for the player to deal with). The bocal is an excellent one, giving balanced octaves and a tone color preferred by the bassoonist (not too sharp in the low register and capable of emitting the highest notes of the bassoon without great resistance). The bassoonist plays on "good" reeds, ones proven dependable and excellent with consistency.
Finally, let's assume something unfortunately rare: a playing environment which encourages steady tuning. An orchestra, for example, where the basses and cellos do not play sharp will not have overtones of these foundation instruments clashing with the higher fundamentals of the violins and the violas (if anything they may tend to be just a little flat on their lowest notes - not really out of tune, but only inclining low). The orchestra has good morale and strong players in every section. The violins and violas play well in tune, listen to each other and to the winds of the orchestra, and do not incline to play much sharper at the end of a concert than they did at the beginning. The woodwinds are consistently fine players, balancing tone colors, loudnesses and tuning as well as possible. The brass are not dominating and over-brilliant, but they "fit" the orchestra, giving supporting or leading power as needed and never forcing the pitch too high.
Everyone in the orchestra listens to the keyboard instruments, tuned percussion and harp; these instruments sound "right" with the orchestra (and not flat as sometimes is the case). With this kind of playing environment every player in the orchestra will find it easier to be in tune. Even so, every instrument has some tuning problems, and the bassoon has quite a few.
With all the preceding conditions having been met, bassoonists still often sound out of tune on some common notes. I would like to explore some reasons for this and to give some practical ideas on improving this situation.
I have met some bassoonists who insist that there is only one correct fingering for each note of the bassoon and that these fingerings must be used in every situation. I know no clarinetist who holds this rigid a view, no flutist, no violinist, cellist or pianist. And I for one prefer to know many fingerings for the bassoon and to use them as an artist paints with a palette of colors, applying the right tool to meet varying situations. Anyone wishing to assess Maurice Allard's fingering habits may study his recently published book of fingerings, trill fingerings, and scales (Tablature, Trills, Diatonic and Chromatic Scales. G. Billaudot. Paris). He gives several fingerings for many different notes on the French bassoon and explains why he uses alternatives. If you can be open to the idea of using other than standard fingerings when there is a good reason to do so, you will be willing to try some of the suggestions presented in this article for improving tuning with the help of fingerings.
It is reassuring to hear leading oboists lecture at each of our IDRS conferences. Almost invariably when they discuss the reed they emphasize the need for a crow of two octave c-naturals; then they go on to discuss finer points of reed, embouchure, etc. Who talks about fundamental crow for bassoon reeds? In Heckel's pamphlet of some years ago discussing tuning, W. Heckel recommended, "Do not play on reeds which have a fundamental tone higher than f#, g, g# or a, or the tuning of the bassoon will be too high." (Help! reeds crowing even f # are way too high for my bassoon with a number 2 CC pre-war bocal!) My own criteria for fundamental pitch of the reed (for first bassoon playing) is e natural (I sometimes accept either f natural or e-flat, the former for playing very high and the latter for playing continuo when I never play higher than f, above middle c'.) I also try usually to trim my reed for a good balance of low vibrations, mid-range vibrations, and high vibrations, aiming for a smooth tone not too "dark" or "bright" and having lots of resonance with little or no "buzz."
Mordechai Rechtmann, the brilliant Israel Philharmonic bassoonist urges bassoonists to make their reeds so stable that they can play in tune with a steady tone while sliding the reed back and forth across the mouth. He recommends that every reed should pass a simple "side of the mouth" test. I will not play on a reed which cannot pass this test:
If the reed fails to pass this test and seems otherwise 'all right,' with enough resistance to the breath that you would not call it a "too soft" reed, the reed can be improved by lightly going all around the shape of the reed blades (the side edges from back to tip, the corners and the tip of the reed) with a file covered with medium fine sandpaper (small plaque inserted). This sanding encourages a harmonious vibration of the reed blades all around the shape. When it is done properly and just sufficiently it will permit a reed which was too flat before to pass the above "side of the mouth" test.
The most frequently troublesome note I hear played on the Heckel system bassoon is g above open f: A majority of players use the low E-flat key to "keep the note from being sharp". But a common negative result caused by using this key (or the low C# key beside it as some players prefer to do) is an unpleasant change in tone color for the g when compared to the notes immediately above and below it. Heckel bassoons made since the 10, 000 series have had such a stable g (above open f) that it is practically impossible to play the note sharp (with a good reed). I once had a fine student with an 11, 000 series Heckel who always used this low E-flat key for his g naturals above open f until I asked him to let me finger his bassoon in a passage of my choosing while he blew into the bassoon, keeping in mind the range of notes I would limit myself to in the test. When I approached g several times from open f (all legato), the g sounded perfectly in tune with the normal fingering (no added low E-flat key), and the tone color was beautifully consistent with that of f and other notes surrounding the g. When I approached g a few times from the a just above it, the g sounded just a little sharper (the student was not aware in advance that he would be descanting from a higher note to g, so he maintained the same air speed in the instrument for both a and g. After discussing this for a moment and advising him that g would follow the next a I fingered (but I did not tell him in advance the timing of the change), we tried the test again. He played the g perfectly in tune by slightly adjusting his breath pressure only. Ever since that lesson this student has been able to use the plain g fingering for almost all passages, and he is very pleased with the improvement in evenness of tone color which came from his discarding the use of the low E-flat key for the note g.
This test with a second player can be very revealing to any player. If another player will finger the bassoon while you play it (and will tell you the range of notes to be tested within half an octave from lowest to highest) you will soon discover while playing some note that you thought was "sharp." that it really is by nature a little flat. Your brain has been compensating so "well" for this note when you played normally that you have made a lip adjustment, oral cavity shape adjustment or an air pressure adjustment or an air pressure adjustment which has been greater than was required for the correct tuning of the note. Now that you know the correct tendency for the note, you will be able to form a new habit of compensating only the needed amount to play the note in tune. You will at last be comfortable with that note.
We could say something about the tuning or resonance tendencies of every note on a bassoon, but for the purposes of this discussion, I will limit myself to some very important notes which seem to be troublesome on most bassoons. (Let us assume that the player has learned to play the low register sufficiently low to be in tune, and also that the high register notes are not forced, pinched or otherwise distorted by too tight an embouchure, too much tension in the body muscles or some other problem. The high register can easily be the subject for an article or a short chapter in itself.)
Finally I would like to advise players to do lots of interval practicing, (e.g., tune octaves, fifths, fourths, thirds, tenths, etc.) Test each note of the bassoon as a 'pedal' slurring to all other notes of the bassoon from the 'pedal' (do this slowly and listen carefully for good tuning and smooth slurs). Purchase an electronic tuner such as Korg or Strobotuner (Widener Engineering); use it to disabuse yourself about notes which sound so nice they 'must be in tune' and yet register sharp or flat on the 'box' (get a friend to watch the tuner while you play nearby and do not watch it; then you will not make subtle adjustments according to what you 'see'). Investigate your instrument and vary the pitch and tone color of each note until you have found the best point of focus (clarity, resonance, tuning), then memorize the feeling of that point. I hope that these thoughts on tuning will help players re-think their own tuning habits and will perhaps help some players over difficulties so they may be freer to express themselves in the music without as many physical barriers standing in the way.