I've played bassoon since I was 12 years old and in 7th grade, wait, scratch that. I played bassoon starting when I was 12 years old and in 7th grade and had to abandon it at the tender age of 23 when I graduated. That was almost 4 years ago. I have not played since. To say I "played" it might be a bit of an understatement. It was pretty much everything I did.
Band was everything to me in high school. All of my friends were in band, my favorite memories were from band, my first boyfriend (and 2nd) - you guessed it, from band. I went on to major in music at the University of Texas at Austin. I started out in Music Studies (future band director) and later changed to a BA in Music with an emphasis in Musicology (future college professor). I continued to play the bassoon throughout the entire 5 years that made of my time in college.
You could say that I was a band nerd and the bassoon was more than a hobby, but a way of life. While at UT, I had the opportunity to play on a bassoon far more expensive than I would ever be able to afford. Why buy one when I had that one? There was no need, I would always have that one.
Always just as long as always ended when I graduated. I've since been without a bassoon and have not touched my lips to a reed since May 2004. I've looked into purchasing one, but without financing, it wasn't an option. You see, a good bassoon starts around $5,000 for a student model. The one I played on in school was around $18,000. I had resigned to the fact that I would simply have to go back to playing piano, a bassoon was not in my future.
I have recently been giving the opportunity to purchase a bassoon (thanks Mom!) and have been shopping feverishly. I must get the right one, affordable, yet of good quality. The good ones are hard to catch when they are for sale unless you want to buy new and I'm interested in used. I've found a few I'm going to look into further and I hope to have one within a few weeks.
This really is a dream come true - owning my own bassoon.
4 comments:
Bassoon? Really? All you have to do is say that word and I start hearing Peter and the Wolf in my head. :)
Yes! Band nerds unite!!
marimbas and vibes right here!!
thats so great that you got a bassoon, so many people give playing up after school and totally forget about it, theres something about that music and that time of my life that will always drive me :-)
congrats to you, now you better post a clip of you playing!
I'm so glad there is another band nerd out there. My boyfriend is SOOOO not a band nerd. He is excited for me to get a bassoon, but I know, deep down, he's hoping I don't make him sit through my living room recitals too much.
Bassoon would have been so much smarter and easier on my lips than my french horn! Never play the french horn with braces! Always preferred the drums, but the french horn was fun, too. Hated the piano, probably because I was always told I had perfect fingers for it :-) Would actually like to try the french horn again someday..... Yeah, wanna see a clip of you playing, too. I'm glad you stuck with the music, it's a great way to soothe the soul.
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