[Editor's Note. See p. 23 of Lyndesay Langwill's Lee Bassoon and Contrabassoon (Benn. London or Norton, NYC.) which has a photo of Mr. Waterhouse and his unusual straightened bocal. I have played on Waterhouse's set-up in my home and found it very comfortable and efficient. Many English bassoonists and others have adopted crooks of this type. Roger Birnstringl, Principal with the London Symphony, has one for general orchestral use and another crook more gently modified for standing solo performance with neck strap. ]

Advantages of a straight crook:

1. 1. Allows a tall player to maintain natural posture while playing.
2. 2. Allows instrument (when fitted with spike attached to butt cap) to rest on floor, freeing arms from supporting any of its weight.
3. 3. All condensation in the crook runs down into instrument instead of back into reed.

How to determine proper angle of crook:

1. 1. Determine desired angle of reed in mouth. For best control upper and lower lip should be level on reed blades: thus with a protruding upper lip the reed should be tilted downwards away from the mouth. This is best assessed with reed alone in mouth using a side view mirror.
2. 2. Determine most comfortable angle and position to hold instrument, bearing in mind natural body posture and freedom of finger movement.
3. 3. As length of crook is a fixed quantity, its shape is now determined by these two factors. (Heckel, Schrieber and Fox can all make straightened crooks to order. Ed.)

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