Selected Articles by Michael Burns:
Most of these articles were written either in my capacity as the Editor of the Woodwind Notes section of the North Carolina Music Educator, for the Woodwind Pedagogy class at UNCG, or for The Double Reed.
Some Thoughts on Bassoon Articulation
A Bassoonist's Heirarchy
Bassoon Intonation
Bassoon Fingering Issues
Articles and Reviews by Burns that appeared in The Double Reed:
Thoughts and Strategies for Bassoon Vibrato, from volume 28-2, 2005
Response Issues on the Bassoon, from volume 30-4, 2007
Contrabassoon as Pedagogical Tool, from volume 33-1, 2010
Music for Bassoon by Bassoonists an Overview, from volume 24-2, 2001
Report on the Pedagogy Round Table, from volume 27-2, 2004
Review of Teaching Woodwinds, Dietz, General Editor
Articles by Burns that appeared in the North Carolina Music Educator:
The Importance of Breathing, from NCME Volume 46-2
Strategies for Teaching the Bassoon Embouchure, from NCME Volume 54-4
Some Thoughts on Practicing (combining two articles from NCME Volumes 46-4 and 47-2)
Some thoughts on Intonation, from NCME Volume 46-3
The Benefits of Wind Quintet, from NCME Volume 51-1
How to choose a Double Reed Player, from NCME 49-1
The following article is part of the Yamaha Educator Series online and has also appeared in the Texas Bandmasters Association Journal:
Some Typical Bassoon Problems, Their Explanations, and Solutions
Review from MLA Notes, 58-4, June 2002
Review of The Bassoon Reed Manual: Lou Skinner's Theories and Techniques, James McKay
Another Source for Articles by Burns: NC Docks
Warm-Ups and Practice Patterns:
This file is an adaptation of a flute warm-up from the Taffanel-Gaubert Book 2, number 4. It goes through all of the Major and Harmonic Minor Scales using the Circle of Fifths pattern. In about 15-20 minutes of warm-up you have covered every key.
Larger print version of Taffanel 4 Scale/Modes Warm-Up
Leonard Sharrow Modes Warm-Up. The following two pdf files are fully written-out versions of warm-up exercises that were used and advocated by my former teacher Leonard Sharrow. As it progresses up in whole steps, it is the same exercise in the two possible keys:
Sharrow Warm-Up 1, B-flat
Sharrow Warm-Up 2, B-natural
In this PDF I have taken the patterns used by Fernand Oubradous in his Enseignement Complet du Bassoon and added some from my teacher Sherman Walt as well as additional variants of my own. These patterns of rhythmic and articulation variations can then be applied to any scales or passages that consist of regular eighths, triplets, sixteenths, sextuplets (using two sets of the triple pattern), etc. if a passage contains mostly sixteenths but some eighth and two sixteenth beats then I suggest treating the pattern as if the first two notes were tied together (i.e. 2 sixteenth = 1 eighth).
Oubradous Practice Patterns
Reeds:
Some Thoughts on Reedmaking
Reedmaking Notes
Reed Pictures:
Below are links to five pdf files of reed making and adjusting pictures that I created on the computer. I had found that I would draw pictures similar to these over and over for students while teaching reed classes so decided that putting in the time to enter them on a computer drawing program would be worthwhile. These show my own personal dimensions and approaches and may not be suitable for all or even similar to those of other bassoonists.
Reed Dimensions
Dial Indicator Measurements
Relative Thicknesses of the Bassoon Blade
Regions of the Bassoon Reed Blade
Side Views of Some Possible Reed Profiles