Frank Marcus - Bassoon adjustment and repair, Toronto, Canada. A very effective and safe method for inserting the tenor joint of the bassoon into the small tenon socket of the boot joint: 1. Have a qualified person scratch position reference marks on the metal band at the top of the boot and at the bottom of the wing joint (these to be lined up precisely each time the bassoon is assembled). 2. Grasp the wing joint in the left hand with the inner palm of the thumb tucked in the curved wood opposite the side with finger holes; the left fingers are grouped together around the wing joint with the index and middle fingers straddling the f# trill key. Take the boot joint in the right hand holding it at a point below the low Ab key, the thumb holding the wood edge downwards from the hand rest position and the fingers curved over the low F mechanism to the opposite wood edge. 3. Place the tenon of the wing joint in its socket of the boot joint; use the right hand holding the boot joint as the main leverage and control in fitting the joints together, watch the scratched reference marks carefully and turn the joints as they come together so that the tenor joint is completely inserted just as the two reference points meet in perfect alignment. With a little practice this can be done very smoothly and rapidly, and there will be no tendency to exert harmful pressure on keys or rod mechanisms.
Hugh Cooper - Bassoon professor at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan - developer of the Cooper-Puchner bassoons. "Train" your bassoon from the beginning to avoid the problem of condensed moisture flowing into the finger holes.
1) Always rest the bassoon with the finger holes pointing upwards. While playing, during the short resting periods, turn the bassoon at an angle which avoids pointing the finger holes downwards. When disassembling the instrument before putting it in the case, place the wing joint with the finger holes pointing upwards while you are swabbing the moisture out of the boot joint.
2) When first playing the bassoon on any day, turn the bocal to an off-set (from your normal) position. Play for two or three minutes at this setting before returning the bocal to the normal playing position. This establishes a water-flow pattern which will avoid a direct bee-line to the finger holes.
3) If in spite of these procedures, a water condensation problem continues in performance, Mr. Cooper suggests using a small applicator to deposit a very little amount of sweet almond oil at the bottom of any problem tone hole (at the point where the hole enters the bore). When this is done water approaching the treated hole will turn away from the hole rather than enter it. (Caution: Do not use other types of oils. They may be injurious to the hard rubber liners. If fitted with silver tone hole tubes, there is usually little condensation problem, because the tubes extend slightly into the bore of the instrument.)