A while ago, I was chatting to a friend and the conversation was like this: “I might do a park-run next year”. His response was: “Why next year? Are you actually going to do it?”
He probably was right, it would always be a maybe and I would put it off for another week/month/year with different excuses every time. When I came home that evening, I looked into my calendar, and chosen my first free Saturday and put it in. I did it (with no prep nor stretching at the end – big mistake as my foot did not like it – however with support from friends cheering me over the finish line :)). Will I do it again – yes! This time with better preparation.
Since then I have made more decisions which (will) put me out of my comfort zone. I have just started practising for my bassoon grade 5 exam (I also never pick the easy pieces), I am going to change jobs, and I am going to revive my blog again. My life philosophy is: “What can possible go wrong?” [please don’t ask….]
Why do I revive my blog?
I like writing (probably not well and it is rather for me). However, the reason is twofold. Playing in concert bands with a bassoon limits someone to play outside in the winter (or low temperatures). This gave me an idea: I am going to 3D print a bassoon which I can play outside. Have I thought this through? No, not at all (see my life philosophy).
So here is the plan:
- Analyse the sound of my wooden bassoon and compare it to the 3D printed one.
- Learn if I am in tune (seriously I do not have a clue nor can I hear it, but I hope it helps with my grade 5 exam).
- Learn about music/audio theory.
Sounds simple, right?
I expect that there are many things I have not considered (including my own motivation), the tuning of a different material (does it need to change shape?), how responsive 3D printed keys are (will they break under pressure? How well I design and print the parts), etc.
Will I stick with it?
To be honest, I don’t know. Life could take over and it won’t not be a task for me any more (to be clear it is not a priority at the moment, but rather a crazy idea). Also, this is nothing I will do in a couple of months. Would I be better off to buy an old bassoon and refurbish it to play outside? The answer will be probably yes. I would learn something from both approaches. Or I just learn the euphonium (then I only need to worry to not be able to remove my fingers from the keys if it is freezing outside :D).
What is the next step?
Buy a caliper and find a CAD software to model the bassoon.
Watch this space (please return to your normal duties after 1 year of waiting in case I gave up…)
P.S.: I just had a thought, do I want to 3D print the crook?