Klarinet Archive - Posting 000671.txt from 1996/02

From: niethamer@-----.BITNET
Subj: Re: curiosity
Date: Thu, 22 Feb 1996 23:15:31 -0500

> You wrote:
>
> <<Hello everyone! Just out of curiosity, how many of you can double tongue
> and/or triple tongue... Thanks for your time and efforts
>
> Danielle>>
> ---------------------------------

On Thu, 22 Feb 1996, John Roman wrote:
>
> I've only got one tongue but it works just fine! :)

(snip)
>
> I'm also not sure that I can tell when someone else is double or triple
> tongueing on a clarinet. I'd be interested to know how many members of this
> list can discern a difference and how many think of double tongueing as a
> necessary tool for an accomplished clarinetist.

One of the aspects of double tonguing that I find sort of annoying is the
"showoff" aspect of many players who *can* do it. The whole point is that
it should be a technique that is invisible - one shouldn't be able to
tell when a player is single or double or triple tonguing. No
self-respecting flutist or double reed player would want listeners to be
able to identify whether they're using double or triple tonguing.

I personally think it's a legitimate tool, and we should learn to do it.
Robert Spring's exercises have been on my stack of musical projects since
I first heard him explain the process and do it in 1988. So far I haven't
had an urgent need to learn the technique, but it does interest me, and I
think it's important.

> I think that the reason I've hesitated to investigate this area as it relates
> to my own playing is my belief in the old adage, "If it works, don't fix it".
> I'm afraid that if I start to think too much about what I'm doing and how
> I'm doing it, the clean and relatively rapid single tongue which I can
> usually count on, may take a hike for good. Any thoughts?

I've heard of players on other instruments having trouble defining the
area where single tonguing leaves off, and double tonguing takes over.
According to those who do this technique, (I'm married to a flutist, and
sit next to a good bassoonist who double tongues) one needs to overlap
the speeds for both techniques, so that you can shift from one to the
other on the fly without any audible evidence. I think the chances of
losing one's ability to single tongue are just about nil.

So maybe I'll work on it *this* summer!

David Niethamer