Great Bassoon Shops and Quality Music Supplies
There are so many great places to buy bassoon supplies, reeds, tools, and cane online from businesses large and small. Here are a few of my favorites.
🧰 Essential bassoon supplies
Every beginning bassoonist should have the following supplies. All of these items can be found on Amazon or through Bocal Majority, Midwest Musical Imports and other double reed small businesses!
3 Handmade Reeds: I highly recommend ordering from Bocal Majority. I do not recommend Jones reeds, they are standard and easily found but very hard to make a good sound on.
Silk Bassoon Swab - doesn't get stuck as often as cotton.
Bocal Brush - to clean the inside of the bocal where most of the grime accumulates.
Cork Grease - any brand is fine
Plastic Reed Case - must have holes for ventilation, pegs not recommended. The protect ribbon holder bassoon reed case is my favorite for beginners.
Water Container - must fit the entire reed and a lid is preferred. A music stand clip can also be handy!
Wire Folding Music Stand - for practicing at home and performing events
Metronome/Tuner - for tracking tempos, practicing rhythms, and checking your intonation. There are a lot of phone apps for this these days, but I still recommend getting a physical metronome. Phones can be very distracting during practice.
Seat Strap - some bassoons come with a strap, but I love this one because it has a non-slip bottom and rotating hook which is much more comfortable for beginners. They also get lost easily, so having your own is a great way to have a backup.
Bassoonists need to bring their instruments to and from school frequently. The case can be heavy, so I recommend wrapping the handle with bike handle cushion tape or using a rolling luggage cart if they find it difficult to carry.
Optional Bassoon Supplies
Neck Strap - to stand while playing
Hand Rest - for the right hand
Reed Tools - for adjusting and forming your own reeds
💖 My Favorite Bassoon Supplies
🔍 Where to Buy bASSOON Supplies, cANE & iNSTRUMENTS
Below are some of my favorite bassoon shops and suppliers! I’ve personally shopped with all of them, either online or in person, and found them to have a great selection of high-quality tools and supplies.
Bocal Majority Store - an excellent option for buying reeds online. They also have a wide selection of tools, supplies, and even new and used bassoons and bocals. You can also rent bassoons directly from them. If you’re looking for fun and unique supplies, they have a great selection!
Midwest Musical Imports - shop, rental, and repair resource for bassoons and bassoon accessories. They offer reeds, books, tools, supplies, and just about everything you can think of for the bassoon.
Charles Double Reeds - they consign and sell new and used bassoons and offer tons of bassoon accessories, reeds, and even offer insurance appraisals.
Forrests Music - home of the little jake pick up for electric bassoon! They have a wide selection of tools, accessories, music, and more. They also have a bassoon rental program.
Miller Marketing Co - offers the finest double-reed instruments, supplies, and accessories, and is the premier purveyor of Moosmann Bassoons.
Amazon.com - find a variety of tools, books, music, and supplies with quick shipping.
Barton Cane - the best source for GSP cane in a variety of shapes and styles. I love the Van Hoesen GSP!
Fox Bassoons - American bassoon manufacturer. You can easily order bassoon parts including pads and screws to have on hand for repairs in addition to a small selection of quality bassoon supplies.
🎼 Sheet Music
Trevco-Varner Music - Trevco Music is the one place to shop for oboe, oboe d'amore, English horn, bassoon, and contrabassoon; solo, with piano, or in any combination with other instruments. Trevco carries a complete stock of solo and chamber music incorporating the double reed family, as well as books, methods, orchestra sets, scores, DVDs, and more.
MusicNotes.com - great source for popular songs and downloadable sheet music. Sometimes it can be tricky to find bassoon specific parts, but you can find plenty of trombone, cello or bass clef parts that work well for bassoon!
Looking for great bassoon books for yourself or your students? Check out the Blue Moon Bassoon Songbook, #BassoonGoals: Getting Started Workbook and #BassoonGoals: Scales & Arpeggios books!
