Forrests Music

Upcoming events to watch out for!! 👀

Forrests music will have a table at this year’s Sacramento State Oboe and Bassoon Workshop on Sunday, October 11th! Remember to pre-register to enjoy the day’s events and to peruse the products at our table 😋

Use the QR code in the photo or signup at https://forms.gle/78T1w7cBPse9cLD18

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We’re also happy to announce that the Georg Reiger team will be in-store at Forrests Music on October 15th ‼️ 🤩

Be sure to visit our store in person on October 15th to view Reiger’s latest innovations and fabulous product lineup!
No pre-registration required. Email [email protected] for pre-orders and appointments.

Hope to see everyone there 💕🎶😍

It’s officially back!!!

Purchase a “Little Jake” kit to electronically amplify your bassoon⚡️🎸

The kit includes a Fox C2 silver plated bassoon bocal (modified with a brass adaptor), a pre-amp, an electronic pickup, and a cord. Parts also sold separately.

10% of all the proceeds from the “Little Jake” pickup go to the family of Trent Jacobs ❤️

What an incredible time we’ve had this year at IDRS 2026! A special thank you for everyone who came by the booth and to the incredible team at IDRS who put this year’s conference together!

See you next year at Washington State University for IDRS 2027 🌲🎶💗

We’re featuring an incredibly special contrabassoon at our booth this year at IDRS 2026! Meet the Lange “The Croc” Contrabassoon, a unique instrument with a storied past that includes Hollywood, Walt Disney, lawsuits, and… crocodiles?!?!?! 😱

Even without its history, the instrument stands out from the crowd. Built in 1904, its bell is made to come up and over the instrument instead of up and over to the side. This gives it a much skinnier appearance as well as causing it to clock in at a whopping 6’7”! This contra also features a non-standard low A, nickel-plated keys, and the original 1904 Lange bocal.

The maker of the instrument was a German man named Reinhold Lange, who had been inspired by Heckel‘s success in bassoon making. He was so inspired that he convinced a Heckel worker named Friedrich Stritta to ALSO work for him on the weekends. Stritta would smuggle parts out of the Heckel factory during the week and then use them on the weekends to build Lange bassoons. In 1900, Stritta had a falling out with Heckel and began making instruments for Lange full-time, but this arrangement would be short-lived. Heckel responded by filing the first-ever contrabassoon-related lawsuit in history, suing Lange for copying their design. Lange was found guilty, forced to cease production, and died shortly after in 1905.

It is not known how the instrument made its way to the United States, but what is known is that it came under the possession of a bassoonist named Kenneth Lowman, who played for Disney studios. This means that this contrabassoon recorded the famous solo from “Never Smile at a Crocodile” from Walt Disney’s 1953 Film Peter Pan 🐊🐊🐊 Our new general manager Jacob made the meme on the final slide to commemorate our coming across such cool part of musical history 😆

Special thanks to Jonathan Westerling for some fabulous research into this contrabassoon! To see Jonathan play the famous solo and explain the history in greater depth: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUjpU299Cwg)

Trials at Forrests are available by appointment.

Our team is so excited for IDRS 2026! See you tomorrow ✨ ✨ ✨

We’re excited to announce that our booth will be featuring a new bassoon transcription of Reza Vali’s Persian Folk Songs (Set No. 16 C)

Originally written for Cello and Piano, this work was transcribed by bassoonist Darius Farhoumand. The seven songs are based off of traditional Persian folk melodies and are perfect recital pieces for any bassoonist looking to add to their repertoire🎵🇮🇷🎵

Visit our booth at IDRS 2026 to purchase copies signed by the transcriber!!! 💗💗💗

Just four days until IDRS 2026!

Make sure to visit us during this year’s IDRS conference to receive a free shipping code for the month of July!

See you there!!! 👀🎶✈️