Embouchure

Let's go through the steps to create the proper embouchure on bassoon.
​To begin, you will only need a bassoon reed and tuner.

Step 1 (3 options): 
Take your pinky and lightly place it on your bottom lip and bring in the corners of your mouth to make contact with your pinky.
                         ---------- OR ----------
Say a deep "Uhhhh", like you are thinking of a question. While keeping that same "Uhhhh" shape on the inside of your mouth, only move your lips to say "Ooooh".
                         ---------- OR ----------
​Whistle, or attempt to whistle, to create the shape of the embouchure.
Step 2: 
With that shape, think about holding a small grape and all parts of your lips are touching the grape.
​​
Step 3 - Place 2/3 of a soaked reed in the formed embouchure.

• Equal pressure should be applied around the reed.​ ​​​​​​

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Crowing

Crowing is a great way to check the embouchure, use of air and quality of reed. When you crow properly, a mix of frequencies will occur producing a single pitch around F. These frequencies can be isolated by first blowing a slow air stream and then slowly increasing it. The longer that these three frequencies last, the better the reed is.

How to Crow. (Have a tuner open)

1. Go through steps 1-3 above.
2. Place the tip of the tongue on the tip of the reed, then release the tongue letting air into the reed.
3. Check the tuner to see what pitch is produced, we want to see F.

​               ​For reference, scan the QR code on the right to hear a correct crowing sound.
If you don't get a clear sound, click the button at the bottom of this page and use the QR codes on the next page to find the sound that matches your situation for a solution.

For additional practice:
You can repeat this process with add the bocal to reed. When you do this, the tuner should read a "B3" or "C4". You can also check for equal pressure in your embouchure by repeating all of the steps above and then moving the reed across the embouchure from left and right while crowing. 

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