In Which I Surprise A Bassoonist
Before setting off for Nottingham I decided to get in touch with any bassoon players I knew. I'd been a member, a founder member in fact, of a West Gallery quire called Bristol Harmony, and they had a bassoon player. And the leader of Bristol Harmony, Toby Parker, was on Facebook. I sent him a message telling him what I was doing, and asking for the bassoonist's details. I then sent Jim, for that is his name, an email, asking for any advice he could give me, other than "don't even think about it at your age!”
His reply was encouraging. "Good luck - the bassoon is a good wind instrument to take up in mid or later life - it's not physically all that taxing. All you need is a mechanical mind and lots of money!" He is still playing at the age of 80, which made me feel strangely confident.
I called Windblowers and arranged to try the Artia the following Wednesday. I called Dawn and arranged a lesson the Friday after.
Bloody hell Tykewriter, I hope the neighbours in your luxury apartment block are ready to hear you practising on your bassoon. Maybe it would be best to walk up to Stanage Pole and play there for a year or two.
ReplyDeleteWait until I’m up to date with this blog - there have been, er, discussions!
DeleteBtw, tykewriter takes a small t with a little milk and no sugar. I can be quite case-sensitive at times!