An approach to contemporary music pedagogy for beginning and intermediate level bassoonists, including sixty-four original etudes

As composers continue to explore new horizons of classical music, performers are asked to stretch and explore their abilities as well. However, there is little pedagogical material that prepares students to learn the style and structure of this contemporary music. Many students primarily study etudes written in the style of pre-1900 music, leaving them without the tools to learn most music written since 1900. The pedagogical literature that does include music from the twentieth century is often very advanced, and lacks an introduction for younger students.

This thesis includes a method of teaching contemporary techniques to junior high and high school level students, along with sixty-four original etudes composed to teach the scales, rhythms, meters, styles, and extended techniques that are often used in contemporary music. The accompanying text provides a detailed explanation of the process and pedagogical philosophy behind the etudes, including examples from different systems of music education. The etudes are specifically composed to teach fundamental skills for bassoonists, such as technical facility, solid subdivision and comprehension of meter, an understanding of different styles of music, and extended techniques that require proper fundamentals of tone production. They may also be used as sight-reading pieces or for students who have a specific need to learn certain techniques. Each section of etudes also includes an introductory section that guides the student through the process of learning the skill and performing the etude correctly.