FUNNY FAGOTT FEATS
June Carland
Hendersonville, N.C.

Instructions

I. Visual tricks.

1. Rubber glove.

Take a rubber surgical-type glove of any color and fit it over the ring on the bell. Push as much glove as possible down into the bell, leaving enough on the rim to hold the glove in place when inflated. (View 1) Finger low B and blow to make glove rise from inside the bell and wave at the audience. (view 2)

2. Soap bubbles.

Take a balloon, cut off the rolled rubber at its opening, and stretch over a glass. Cut the end off the wand that comes in bottles of children's soap bubbles (it should be circular with a hole in the center). Cut a hole in the balloon the same size as the hold in the end of the wand, and glue the circular end onto the balloon over the balloon hole. (Rubber cement or Shoe Goo works well.) Let dry.

To blow bubbles, remove the balloon from the glass and stretch over the bell so that the hole in the balloon is centered over the inside of the bell. (view 1 ) Dip a finger into the bottle of soap bubbles, then rub over the top of the hold in the balloon. Use caution to prevent soap from dripping into the bore. Blow a low B and a bubble should appear. (view 2)

3. Talcum powder.

Take a large piece of cellophane and anchor its edges securely around the bell with rubber bands. Push as much of the cellophane as possible into the bell. Shake powder into bell, making sure none leaks into the bore. (view 1) Finger and blow low B, using a lot of air. The cellophane will be blown out like the rubber glove and will send the talcum powder into the air, (view 2) creating a small white cloud. Use caution to keep the powder from landing on the bassoon as it settles.

4. Ping pony balls

Drop ping pony balls into the bell. (view 1) Play low B and watch them

shoot out the bell. (view 2) It is best to first try this with the bell removed, using one ball at a time, to ensure that the balls do not get stuck or drop into the long joint of the bassoon. Multi-colored balls may also be used.

A variation of this is to first put a rubber glove on the bell, push it in, then drop in a ball. Playing low B causes the glove to push the ball out. (This one really looks funny.)

II. Visual effects.

The drawings for these are self-explanatory. One word of caution: when using Christmas tree lights, make sure all connections are in good condition. Twinkle lights are preferred over non-twinkle since they seem to burn much cooler.

III. Aural effects.

1. Lion roars.

Maurice Allard showed this one at the convention in Tallahassee. All sorts of noises can be produced using just the bell.

2. Trumpet calls.

Bill Davis seems to be good at this sort of thing. Use your right hand fingers to cover the holes on the wing joint. Blow into the lower end of the joint using a trumpet embouchure. Finger and embouchure changes yield different notes.

I have found that using my Bach 7C trumpet mouthpiece improves the clarity of the notes and increases the range of attainable notes.

3. French bassoon imitation.

Sol Schoenbach demonstrated this in Tallahassee. too. Simply play a German bassoon, leaving off the long joint and bell joint. The sound from this is not easily forgotten . (fagott-en?)

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