Jen Cluff ~ Single & Double TonguingCanadian Flutist and Teacher |
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Also see More articles on tonguing CLARITY
Also see More articles on tonguing CLARITY
Also see More articles on tonguing CLARITY
Also see More articles on tonguing CLARITY
Also see More articles on tonguing CLARITY
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Hints for fast and clean single and double tonguing. By: Jennifer Cluff and other Flutenutters. Sept. 2000. Flutenet question: Is there such a thing of being
"scared" of tongueing quickly? I sound far more
in control slurring quickly but add tongue and its out of
control, mistakes being made that dont happen when
slurring and it ***************** Secondly, and this is probably of equal if not greater importance: The tongue can only make neat and precise movements when there is sufficient air-support. Use the Breath Pulse to add airspeed and tone quality to a passage, all-slurred, before adding the tongue's neat movements. There is a fantastic book that covers this topic fully: The Flute
Player's Book by Vernon Hill. See index and overview here. Having sufficient air-speed when you play all-slurred is not so challenging, if you are listening for full rich tone. But it is typical of flute students that when they begin to tongue for clarity and staccato effects, especially in the high register where the air-speed MUST be faster, that they forget to use the abdominally supported air-column, and somehow think of their tongue as a 'hurling' device for sending fast shots of air. It's a typicl problem. And easily overcome. Instead of 'hurling' the air with the tongue like a sling-shot, think of the tongue as a gate or valve, that merely interupts a fast stream of air supported low in the body. For images that may help with this see my other articles on tonguing clarity and the role of the air-stream in clear tonguing. Best, Jen Air Support relationship to Tonguing? Another query from same Flutenet member as above: Jennifer, I tried the ideas you said and it worked. Lynn, I also thought about your air-support idea, and that was a bit of a "head's up!" no pun intended. I played around on some pieces (instead of the scales I'd been doing---I like to play on Baroque stuff from memory), and the tonguing is ok up to mm=100, tongueing 4 on each notes and 2 on each, but this all gets harder when I'm doing single tonguing on normal scales. Middle register is best, but I have problems with the extremes of register ie below low G1 and above high G3. Thanks to Lynn, who
suggested that more air-speed from the abdominal
"kicks" was needed, I found that I'd been
inconistent with air support. More is better seems to be
true. I was blowing with moderate ab-support, but not
starting off too well supported, particularly in the low
register below G1. That has been a problem. I guess it
takes practice to make all these things
automatic....sigh.... I would start more basically, and simply practice just taking a high G and blowing it with full, rich, centered tone, and asking yourself "How much abdominal support and what lips am I using? That is a good starting place for judging abdominal support and precision aim with the lips, to which tonguing can later be added. So get a single note singing and clear first, and only then add the tonguing *TO* that high G or low D, once the air support has already been established. Tonguing repeated high notes or repeating low notes is a very good way to find both the air speed AND the embouchure for best tone. Tonguing should always be added secondarily to a good long longtone, if you ask me. And I also must
recommend the great "air support while
tonguing" article from the April 1998 Flute Talk
Magazine, by Tom Kennedy etitled: Maquarre's Daily
Exercises. (pg. 15.) Double Tonguing - Air Support Exercise by Tom Kennedy/Flutetalk '98
(This method is
suggested by: Tom Kennedy in an article from Flutetalk
Magazine, April '98) Note on Staccato double tonguing passages: Remember too that when using a double-tongued etude or piece that the faster you play, the less you need to worry about playing staccato. Playing double tongued staccato passages using DuGuDuGu usually give short enough note values. Longer, clearer note values are fine for many passages that are otherwise marked "staccato". You don't want to "clip" the notes too short and sacrifice tone quality unless necessary. Consult your teacher. Best, Jen Cluff. Good tonguing starts with good slurring Grace the Bass's answer
to: Grace answers:
Good tonguing starts with good slurs. I teach that
tongued passages are really broken up slurs. In other
words, the breath does not stop and start with the
tongue, but is continuous. Many beginning students start
a bad habit of moving the tongue too far; but it's much
faster to move a very short distance for each
articulation. Next the finger changes must be even.
Without the flute, most people can tongue very quickly
and evenly by just blowing and whispering too, tu, do,
koo, goo, or any chosen syllable. So it is the fingers
that must coordinate with the tongue. Moving your arms,
head, etc. while playing also can mess up your tonguing
coordination. [How many pianists play a moving piano?] So
sit still. My teacher used to gently hold the end of my
flute to help me feel how much I was trying to move. Small area of the tongue, quick small neat motions Keith writes: Hello All - Please
allow me to make a few fairly brief comments about
tonguing. (not that others have not done a great job of
explaining, but several explanations are often useful).
First of all, the most important thing in tonguing is
AIR. When you tongue rapidly, the air must keep moving.
The tongue only acts as a valve to interrupt the air
flow, *the air flow does not stop*. More articles on tonguing clearly and cleanly by famous flute teachers Clear tonguing on the flute by Jen Cluff Vernon Hill's excellent book with demo-CD John Wion on Articulation & Breath Support (scroll down upon arrival) Breath support article based on Peter Lloyd's teaching Back to Jen's homepage |
© Jennifer Cluff