Don't do this. Ever.

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Don't do this. Ever.

I made a mistake.  Strike that.  Several mistakes.  One that could have completely ruined my bassoon.  So besides the time it took attempting to fix it myself and $35 for tools and labor, I am going to write about my experience as penance.  In hopes that you can learn from my mistakes or at the very least have some resources to deal with your own.  

My bassoon had just returned from the shop for several weeks.  It wasn't in for much, but I had asked Steve to do some major work on my flute and bari, which needed to be done ​pretty quickly for some upcoming gigs.  So it had been a couple weeks since I had played my bassoon, as I was preparing for those gigs as well.  It was a Monday morning, and I had played through a lesson in the New Weissenborn Method.  I usually let the horns air dry in the stand for a bit, but I will also swab to remove any excess moisture as well before putting it away.  For whatever reason, I just wasn't thinking about it, I grabbed the boot swab and tried to pull it through the wing joint.

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App review: Fingering Woodwinds for iPhone

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Given how huge apps are, I figured there might be something in Apple's App Store.  And lo and behold there is "an app for that."  It's called Fingering Woodwinds for iPhone ($4.99, iTunes link).  The developer does have a separate iPad version as well for $6.99.  While I would like to review that one as well, sadly at the time of writing I don't own an iPad.

Fingering Woodwinds for iPhone is a great app.  It's not perfect, but every woodwind artist and band director (or someone who deals with multiple instruments) should spend the $5, well worth it in my opinion.  In fact, for the band directors who need quick access to both brass and woodwind fingerings, Patrick Q. Kelly has an app for that too.

 

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New Study: Playing Bassoon Protects Against Sleep Apnea

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SEATTLE, June 10 -- Compared with other members of an orchestra, musicians who played a high-resistance woodwind instrument were less likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea, researchers found.

In a study of 901 professional musicians, the woodwind players also had a lower risk of apnea than did singers or conductors, according to Christopher P. Ward, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, who reported the findings at the meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies here.

High-resistance woodwind instruments are those in the double-reed category, such as oboes, English horns, and bassoons.

The protective effect was only observed in those musicians who practiced an average of three hours a day, Dr. Ward said.

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