Klarinet Archive - Posting 000771.txt from 1998/08

From: <LeliaLoban@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] slap-tongueing
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 10:08:40 -0400

Dee wrote:
> Unfortunately many students get the impression that tonguing a note means
> hitting the reed with the tongue. It's a logical deduction from the name so
> who can really blame them.

Wonderful description of the right way to tongue. Thank you! There is a
legitimate reason for "hitting" the reed hard with the flat of the tongue,
however. That's called slap-tongueing, and it's used for an extra-forceful
and rough-sounding "pop" on an accented note, mostly in jazz playing.

Also, on some bass reed instruments, evidently slap-tongueing is the only way
to get the lowest two or three notes out of the horn. I understand that this
is true on some contra-alto and contrabass clarinets. It seems to be a
problem with some bass and contrabass saxophones as well, although my
recently-restored bass sax plays to the bottom of its range (BBb) with normal
slurring and tongueing techniques. I suspect that when a player is sure that
s/he is pressing the keys hard enough to close the pads tightly (not always
easy with the big honkers), but the horn still behaves this way, it's due to
one of those manhole-covers at the bottom of the lower stack going slightly
out of alignment. The very long rods down there bend pretty easily. However,
slap-tongueing can at least force the note out (though it won't sound pretty)
until it's possible to take the horn to a repair technician.

I wonder whether this young student discovered slap-tongueing as a way to
compensate for a clarinet that needs re-padding. Maybe the teacher ought to
try the instrument with her own mouthpiece and make sure there's nothing
wrong.

Lelia

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