# Flute player looking to take up a 2nd woodwind



## elisaquinn19

Hi everyone! I'm a flute player who plays with the local college orchestra. We have the chronic problem of having too many flutes and too few of the less common instruments like oboe, bassoon, etc. It's likely I'll be playing with them for quite a long time and am thinking long-term. I'm still young and want to learn something new! I have always enjoyed the deeper sounds like a bass clarinet and wouldn't mind learning treble/bass clef so I could play bassoon parts if needed. 

Double reeds scare me, but I am open to hearing about those instruments :lol:
What is it like to learn an instrument like bass clarinet? I played alto sax a bit in high school and found that enjoyable. 

Thank you for any input you might have!


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## Vasks

I am not going to deal with the physical playing of a double reed vs single. But most orchestral music does not include a bass clarinet part. And you automatically can not take the bassoon part and play it on the bass clarinet because (1) their range is not the same and (2) the bass clarinet is a "B-flat instrument" that uses the treble clef while the bassoon is a "C instrument" that is in the bass clef. Which means to play a printed bassoon part, you would have to transpose the part up a whole step and preferably have it written in the treble clef unless you can transpose by sight off the bass clef bassoon part and account for octave displacement when the bassoon part goes beyond the bass clarinet's range.


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## Larkenfield

I would recommend starting with B-flat clarinet. Then if you wanted to, go to other instruments. The fingerings are similar to the flute, but it depends upon what register you’re playing in and this might be a bit of an adjustment for you. The clarinet is very doable. But make sure you get the embouchure right from the very beginning, and that might mean taking a few lessons so you don’t learn bad habits. I started out on clarinet then went to saxophone and flute, and clarinet is a wonderful instrument because its sound is woody and warm. I still love it. Of course, the concertos by Mozart and con Weber are classics, most people probably already know the Brahms loved the instrument too.


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## elisaquinn19

Thanks, both!


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## TMHeimer

A freind and former colleague who was (is) an outstanding flautist began studying bari sax, clarinet and bassoon and has for years been a very in demand w.w. doubler in a major city. She has a goal of playing 50 musicals when all is said & done.


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## david johnson

do sax first. same fingerings as flute.


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## Enthalpy

Excellent idea. Far too many people play the flute, and (I played or tried them all) the flute is the most difficult woodwind, not by little.

Far too many people play the clarinet too, and the sax as well. Don't waste time. The sax's fingerings differ much from the flute. Soprano clarinettists switch easily to the bass if the instrument is available, so being a bass clarinettist isn't a big advantage. Only if you own the instrument, and all symphonic orchestras own at least one.

The bass clarinet is written in treble a ninth above sounding or in bass a second above sounding. Many models have a low C to play the bassoon scores. Just play a second higher than written, which becomes familiar if you do it often.

The real rare instrument, high in demand, are *the oboe and the bassoon*. Their price is a serious hurdle. The bassoon is even worse.

Emitting a sound is easy on double reeds, while it's horribly difficult to do properly on the flute. Assembling the reeds is laborious. My short impression was that the oboe's fingerings are almost reasonable. I confirm that the bassoon's fingerings are #[email protected]*. My first instrument where my memory is the limit, if you imagine that - and I played the flute for decades. But somehow, the bassoon's fingerings are less anti-natural than the flute's ones.

Orchestral parts for the oboe tend to be more interesting than for the bassoon.

The oboe needs a huge pressure. Lung volume is a limit for none, and you're a flautist anyway.

To my opinion, the choice is among these two. Which one do you prefer? Which one can you afford?


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