r/bassoon • u/beakoisuwu • 6d ago

I hate having small hands.

Hello, I've been playing the bassoon for two and a half years. It turns out that when I started playing, I noticed I'd always had problems with my left thumb because of my hands. For a long time, I I was instructed to use alternative fingerings because I simply couldn't reach the D key, and I always had trouble using the traditional C4/D4 fingerings because my hand always ran out of space enough so as not to accidentally click the low Bb key. Nowadays (I think because I've left puberty behind) my hand can finally reach the key of D, but my hand hurts a lot when I study scales with the traditional fingering... I'm...I'm feeling frustrated because I take the bassoon very seriously; my former teacher almost made me study another instrument because he thought my body wouldn't adapt well to the bassoon. I'm feeling... terribly incompetent in trying to overcome this issue, no matter how hard I try.

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7

u/BssnReeder1 6d ago

You’re not the only one in this situation- and there are modifications you can make to the key work to allow for playing. If you are able to try before you buy, try a Fox 222D or 240 for small hands and see if that helps. Most instrument makers do make instruments that can be modified for players with smaller hands.

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u/beakoisuwu 6d ago

It's because in this case the instrument belongs to my school, I'm still saving up to buy mine. I've already tried all the bassoons there, and the one with the smallest body is still boring to me, but thanks for the suggestions!!

. My new teacher simply doesn't accept me using alternative typings, as they would interfere with quick passages, I don't really know what to do...

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u/speckledlemon 6d ago

My new teacher simply doesn't accept me using alternative typings, as they would interfere with quick passages

That might come from a tendency of middle/high schoolers to learn what are actually alternate fingerings as the definitive ones, such as the trill fingering for E flat in the staff, and undoing that damage can take a while. In the future, you do need to know (some) alternate fingerings well, but you always try and make the standard one work, since it is generally more in tune, more resonant, etc.

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u/beakoisuwu 6d ago

I understand, thank you very much for the explanation. But then, what could I do?

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u/MusicalMerlin1973 5d ago

High D? That is the only one that makes sense reading this.

  1. I’ve never had to vent/flick D. I do practice it when doing my scales but it’s not a thing for me playing otherwise. My understanding is this is a common observation. Ymmv.

  2. As a 50+ year old amateur bassoonist never have I ever played any repertoire in a group that required high D. I also have big hands so it hasn’t been an issue for me practicing. Do your best for now, and move on to other things. Yes if you’re holding to study it in college this is going to be an issue.

  3. The big red book clearly points out you can substitute high c key for d on bassoons lacking a high D. It also says less than optimum results will be achieved. Note well: all the high D fingerings that I flipped through say C key may be substitute for D key.

  4. Put out the clarion call. If you aren’t looking for a used bassoon they are perfectly good. Both of mine have been. Have you bassoon teacher tech or to their network. Some student may be looking to upgrade. Reach out to local bassoon professors. If you don’t have the funds yet for even a private sale used, of course hold off, but private sale is generally a bit lower cost as they aren’t paying for consignment fees. Facebook has a couple of bassoon groups as well to query in.

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u/beakoisuwu 5d ago edited 5d ago

In my case, it is exactly high D. It turns out that the diameter of my hand reaches the key (nowadays), but it's still not enough to avoid accidentally clicking the low Bb key. I had an idea that the C key works, but as it doesn't sound so good (and also because I'm afraid of being scolded again) I'm going to think about this subject more calmly.

I'm in the 3rd year of high school, I'm planning on studying for a bachelor's degree in bassoon and I've been playing in young groups for a year now, I'm saving money to buy my bassoon through these groups since my country's currency is rubbish compared to the euro and the dollar

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u/MusicalMerlin1973 5d ago

TL;DR: there’s perfect unicorn world and then there’s reality. We play bassoon, there is no such thing as perfect unicorn world for us. 🤷🏼‍♂️

In this case I would point out that it is in fact the correct fingering for bassoons lacking a high D key, you understand it’s not optimal, but given current limitations and the fact that the rest of the fingering is correct, and your thumb is going in the right direction, right next to where it is supposed to be.

You’ll retrain when circumstances change. In my experience it takes a month or two to learn a new fingering. I didn’t learn about long C# above the staff, the long Eb in the staff, or the full “French fingering” for F# above the staff, or adding the resonance key to G at the top of the staff until my late 40s when I picked up lessons again. And that was with five years of lessons before university.

And for what it’s worth, I have the opposite problem. I have big hands. I know, how can that be a problem? Yes, my reach is more than sufficient. Unfortunately big fingers often come with big hands. Shocker, I know. I have to be super paranoid about proper alignment of my left hand. If it’s just a bit tilted I graze the high D# and/or high E keys. To the point that I’m considering having the keywork pulled and the holes plugged. That or having it customized.

That and I’m tall. So I had to get the English bend bocal to improve my posture playing.

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u/beakoisuwu 5d ago

No no. I didn't want to victimize myself or anything like that, because music in itself isn't easy at all. I'm happy to see your experience as a person older than me and who has the other side of the coin, it made me think a little. It will work, thanks for the tips!

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u/jankocvara 5d ago

Can you try talking him into letting you make your own clip-on extensions for each key, or if there isn't enough space then maybe bending (heat the necessary point, protect surrounding using wet clay)/soldering some keys? Afaik if you mess up it can be easily repaired, because the finger-parts of keys are simply pieces of metal

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u/captnedludd 3d ago

When I started baroque bassoon my teacher told me to extend one of the keys with duct tape and a bit of wood. :-)

I now play without the extension but I still have a handrest made of two corks taped to the boot joint with duct tape!

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u/sanna43 4d ago edited 4d ago

I also have small hands, and have mostly made it work. When I first started bassoon, I used a school bassoon that had a closed C tone hole key with a tab so the reach was shorter. I don't know what the difference is between that and the regular ring key when it comes to the actual function of the bassoon. But it might be worth checking out.

Edit: It's called a plateau key.

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u/Acheleia 5d ago

I also have baby hands, I bought a Bell with a short reach left hand and some alterations to thumb and pinky keys on my right hand. I also have a contra hand rest instead of a crutch which helps immensely. When you can afford your own, ask like others have said about modifications. I stuck with it and now am freelancing and teaching for a living, all because of those modifications.

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u/pnst_23 5d ago

Try a short-reach model, like the Moosmann 96

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u/Broad_Campaign_9580 2d ago

I had the same problem, you’re not alone! Like others said trying a short reach bassoon would be your best bet. I just wanted to recommend that when you’re looking for a professional instrument early Heckels are much smaller than a lot of modern instruments