This delightful film shows you how to make a bassoon reed

10 April 2017, 14:01 | Updated: 18 September 2023, 11:26

Ever wondered how bassoonists make their own reeds? Turns out it’s a quite hypnotically pretty process, thanks to this great video.

Bassoonist (and stop-motion enthusiast, it seems) Todd Gibson-Cornish made this fantastic short film while he was learning to make bassoon reeds, aged 16 (back in 2011, when he was studying for a Media Studies qualification).

He’s now the principal bassoon of the Sydney Symphony, so he’s done pretty well for himself - all that mucking about with bassoon reeds was time well spent.

The Sydney Symphony has made a fantastic recording of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, which you can grab here.