Klarinet Archive - Posting 001019.txt from 1998/09

From: Shouryu Nohe <jnohe@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Position of tongue
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1998 13:43:28 -0400

On Sat, 26 Sep 1998, Erica Dyson wrote:

> I thought the tongue had to be in the same position - great news if this
> isn't the case.

Well, tongue position stays relatively the same - from what I can tell,
you don't actually move the tongue, but rather, open the back of the
throat more (but it feels like you're moving your tongue in the back).

> Also, I seem to feel comfortable with the flat part of the tongue touching
> the reed - not the tip - is this incorrect - my embouchure and tonguing are
> not great, I have to say.

General concensus states that tip to tip is the proper method - tip of the
tongue to the tip of the reed, and I am inclined to agree. Ever since I
changed to this tonguing method, my tone, articulation, and sound response
as improved a hundred fold. Here are some added benefits of the tip to
tip method:

- encourages proper tongue position
- clearer, more accurate intonation
- facilitates double tonguing
- with consistant practice, a lack of need for double tonguing
(I know someone who can single tongue 16ths at q=198 with the
tip to tip method!)

However, this doesn't necessarily mean that all other methods are wrong -
again, it simply seems that the general concensus is that tip to tip is
proper.

J. Shouryu Nohe
http://web.nmsu.edu/~jnohe
Professor of SCSM102, New Mexico State Univ.
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