Should I switch to bassoon?

Question:I'm a highschool sophomore (almost a junior). I've been playing flute for six years, however I have weak playing and music reading ability.

I'm not sure how much instruction I can get on the instrument from my band teacher and private instruction this summer or at all may be out of the question (my dad is strongly against me taking private lessons for flute)

I have a strong interest in learning the bassoon. I'm in love with its sound, appearance, and I want to grasp its fingering intricacy. However, I'm worried about the difficulty and the fact that I have about two years to "learn" how to play it. I'm not sure how my playing skills would be when I finish highschool and I'm not sure if I would be allowed to continue playing or even learning bassoon because my parents thinking playing music wont get me anywhere.

I cannot buy a bassoon and I will have to rent one. However, I do own my flute.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I'm a highschool sophomore (almost a junior). I've been playing flute for six years, however I have weak playing and music reading ability.

I'm not sure how much instruction I can get on the instrument from my band teacher and private instruction this summer or at all may be out of the question (my dad is strongly against me taking private lessons for flute)

I have a strong interest in learning the bassoon. I'm in love with its sound, appearance, and I want to grasp its fingering intricacy. However, I'm worried about the difficulty and the fact that I have about two years to "learn" how to play it. I'm not sure how my playing skills would be when I finish highschool and I'm not sure if I would be allowed to continue playing or even learning bassoon because my parents thinking playing music wont get me anywhere.

I cannot buy a bassoon and I will have to rent one. However, I do own my flute.

To say the truth, if your reading ability is weak, switching will only cause more trouble because flute and bassoon have different ranges. With your not-so-supportive parents, it's probably hard to start private lessons. But by my personal experience, having private lessons affect a lot. By learning from a private tutor, I jumped from the second-to-last chair to first chair within a few months. (That's a three-row difference in my band. People were surprised. Very surprised.) If you can't take private lessons, then you certainly won't get any further on either flute or bassoon. You really can't get much out of your band director, trust me.

Basoons are for nerds.

if u dont like it, switch

I would suggest not switching to basson. Its really different than the flute, and if you're having trouble keeping with the music with the flute, it will be be very hard to get up to speed on the bassoon. but if you're up to the challenge, you can learn anything pretty much, but the question of whether its worth it is prolly not...

good luck!

Keep practising on your flute and it will get easier and you will enjoy it more. Have a bash at playing the basson, it'll be a bit of fun. if you like it and are good at it carry on, if you arn't but are willing to persevere thats great. Enjoy and work hard, practice and enthusiasm will get you everywhere :)

play whatever interests you the most. if you love what you're doing, you can get great at it, then it'll be easy to have a future in music.

Bassoon is truly one of the hardest instruments to play, most music stores do not rent them out at all either.
Does your school own one? If your music reading ability is weak, you may have a real challenge on your hands.

There are advantages to playing bassoon. For one thing-they are always in demand, it may be much easier to get a scholarship to university if you audition as a bassoon player.

The choice, of course -is yours,.....but i feel it truly sucks that your parents do not support you in music.

I think you should switch to Bassoon. I play the Bassoon myself and it is really fun to play. You might have some difficulties though, the Bassoon uses a double reed and it plays on the Bass Clef which will be a big switch if you play the flute. The reeds are about $16's each. Bassoons are cool though, because not many people play them and they get different parts than the rest of the band. Also, the Bassoon's bocal is fun to clean with pipe cleaners! :)