BASSOON · RESOURCES
Tools & References
Working Tools
Things that stay useful.
Used, returned to, and kept.
Some things remain useful long after they are new. A good tool becomes part of the way we work. A good edition returns to the music rather than getting in its way. And certain books and exercises stay on the shelf because there is still something to learn from them years later. This is not intended as a comprehensive list of recommendations. These are simply things I actually use — at the reed desk, in teaching, in practice and in orchestral work.
01 · REED MAKING
At the reed desk.
I have made the reeds I play myself since my student years. These are some of the tools and materials that have gradually become part of that process.
PROCESS
Tools are only
part of the process.
Reed making is not about accumulating equipment. The tools make individual steps more controlled and repeatable, but the important decisions still come from observation: how the cane behaves, how the reed responds and what changes when it is actually played.Over time, the tools become familiar enough that attention can move away from the tool itself and back towards the reed.
02 · PRACTICE & TEACHING
At the
music stand.
Technique is not an end in itself. It creates the freedom to listen, react and make musical decisions.
03 · SCORES & ORCHESTRAL WORK
On the
music desk.
Editions and collections I return to in professional playing, preparation and teaching.
TOOLS · PRACTICE · EXPERIENCE
The tool is
never the point.
What matters is what it allows us to notice, understand and eventually do without thinking about it.