The Implementation of SRU Bassoon Day to Address Gaps in Teachers’
Knowledge
Dr. Kathleen Melago, Professor of Music, kathleen.melago@sru.edu
Michael LaBella, Music Education Student, mfl1005@sru.edu
Introduction
After searching research published since 2000 on the
bassoon, very limited research was discovered on the
areas in which music educators feel prepared to teach
bassoon. However, the research of Wagoner and
Juchniewicz stated that “...wind methods courses [were]
taught at least 50% of the time” (2016). Of the wind
methods courses, the bassoon was concluded to be
offered only 51.6%, while other woodwinds such as the
flute and clarinet were offered 83.9% (Wagoner &
Juchniewicz, 2016). To continue, secondary instrument
courses are ranked 7th in regards of effectiveness in
basic competency development; they follow student
teaching, band ensembles, methods courses, conducting
classes, applied lessons, and jazz ensemble (Austin,
2006).
With this research and project, I surveyed current
band directors to identify areas in which they feel
confident and areas in which they feel weak in terms of
teaching the bassoon to their students. The data
collected was analyzed and SRU Bassoon Day was
created. We created this day with opportunities for music
educators to strengthen and develop their bassoon
knowledge and pedagogy, thus making their music
program even stronger.

Materials & Methods

Results

Discussion
Comparing the results I have acquired versus the ones in
the research done by Wagoner and Juchniewicz, there
were many similarities. They stated that the bassoon
being taught in method classes was slightly over 50%
(2016). With that being said, an overwhelming amount of
the data that we collected conveyed that just about over
50% of certified music educators felt comfortable in the
selected topics. With this information, we conducted the
first SRU Bassoon Day. We aimed this event at current
certified music educators to fill knowledge gaps and
promote a well-rounded music education for students.

References
Austin, J. R. (2006). The teaching of secondary
instruments a survey of instrumental music teacher
educators. Journal of Music Teacher Education,
16(1), 55–64.
https://doi.org/10.1177/10570837060160010107
Wagoner, C. L., & Juchniewicz, J. (2016). An examination
of secondary wind instrument methods courses.
Journal of Music Teacher Education, 26(3), 51–64.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083716665883

Materials: Qualtrics
Methods: A survey was conducted and sent to certified
music educators who teach instrumental music willing to
participate. They were asked through social media
platforms specified for certified music educators. The
survey consisted of knowledge-based questions about
bassoon pedagogy, bassoon Reeds, and teaching
practices about the bassoon.

Acknowledgements
- Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Grant
- Dr. Kathleen Melago, Ms. Amy Baker, Mrs. Linda Morton
Fisher, and Mr. Steven Ehrin