1. Have fun playing your bassoon!

2. Rinse your mouth well, or better yet, brush your teeth before you play your bassoon.
   • Food particles can clog your reed.
   • Food particles will make your reeds gross.
   • Food particles can build up on the inside of the instrument and will become a breeding ground for mold or bacteria.
   • Food particles can build up on the surface of the pads causing them to harden and leak.
3. Take time to carefully assemble your bassoon so that nothing gets bent.
4. Think about what you want to accomplish in your practice session. 
5. Set at least one SMART goal for every practice session.
   • Specific
   • Measurable
   • Achievable
   • Relevant
   • Time-based
   • Examples:
     • I will count through the first two lines of my solo and mark the spots where I have trouble or am uncertain of the rhythm.
     • I will play my slurred, one octave F major scale in quarter notes with metronome on 60, 3 times in a row with no mistakes.
6. Take at least a few minutes of every practice to play something you enjoy. Scales and etudes are important, but having making practice enjoyable will keep you coming back every day.
7. Your bassoon and your reeds are your friends.  Show them you care by taking time to carefully disassemble your bassoon, swab the wing and the boot joints, and rinse and dry your reeds before storing them safely in their cases.

Things to Practice without the bassoon:

1. Rhythm, Meter, and Tempo: learn to count your bassoon music while keeping a steady beat. The notes will be much easier to learn once you understand how they fit within the time.
2. Aural Skills (Hearing what you play): When the best bassoonists perform, they aren’t just blowing and wiggling their fingers, they are singing. This allows them to play with precision while staying focused on giving a beautiful and engaging performance. Learning to sing your music will make playing it so much easier.

Memorize the order of sharps and flats

Sharps:  FCGDAEB

Flats: BEADGCF

Memorize the names of the keys and their key signatures

SHARPS:

• G has 1 sharp, F sharp
• D has 2 sharps, F and C sharp
• A has 3 sharps, F C and G sharp
• E has 4 sharps, F C G and D sharp
• B has 5 sharps, F, C, G, D and A sharp
• F# has 6 sharps, F, C, G, D, A and E sharp
• C# has 7 sharps, FCGDAE and B sharp

FLATS:

• F has 1 flat, Bflat
• Bb has 2 flats, B and E flat
• Eb has 3 flats, B, E, and A flat
• Ab has 4 flats, B, E, A and D flat
• Db has 5 flats, B, E, A, D and G flat
• Gb has 6 flats, B E, A, D, G, and C flat
• Cb has 7 flats, BEADGC and F flat

Learn some Italian musical terms

• Tempos (Largo, Andante, Moderato, Allegro, Presto)
• Dynamics (pianissimo, piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte, fortissimo)
• Articulations (staccato, legato, marcato, leggiero, tenuto, sostenuto)