Klarinet Archive - Posting 000349.txt from 1999/09

From: act_dumb@-----.com
Subj: Re: Re: [kl] tonguing
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 1999 07:56:33 -0400

On Mon, 13 Sep 1999 GCalzati@-----.com wrote:

> With all due respect, I have never heard of tonguing using the tip
> of the tongue! [snip....] Anyway, all I told him was to curl his
> tongue under and behind his back teeth and use a part of the tongue
> farther back.

And Ed Lacy replied:

> According to your description, it seems that what you are teaching
> is what many would call "anchor tonguing." I think that a large
> majority of teachers would try to avoid this like the plague. Some-
> times, students can develop this way of articulating without any
> help from a teacher, and once the habit is established, it is very
> difficult to overcome. (Assuming that the student &/or teacher want =

> to overcome it.)

The way the student's tonguing was described pretty much mirrors the
exact *definition* of anchor tonguing and, as indicated by Ed, there
are often genuine drawbacks to the technique. Beyond the *quality*
of a player's articulation (which is of paramount concern), anchor
tonguing also often has an adverse effect on tonguing *speed*. Even
the best tip-to-tip single-tonguers will often attest to finding
themselves up against a barrier of speed when discussing tonguing
technique. That barrier is even more prominent for anchor-tonguers.
Unlike tip-to-tip players, I've never heard of a single example of
an anchor-tonguer learning how to double-tongue as a means of cir-
cumventing the speed barrier. Conversely, I've heard of *many*
single-tonguers who were able to leave the speed issue behind them
forever by learning how to execute credible double-tongue technique.
Except in cases where a student's tongue is SO long that they are
literally unable to place the tip of the tongue to the tip of the
reed without obstructing the air stream with the bulk of curled
tongue remaining, I strongly recommend that the student be guided
to adopt a tip-to-tip methodology.

Ed Lacy wrote:

> Also, I think woodwind players often say that the articulation
> should be with the "tip of the tongue," but that they sometimes
> don't mean that literally. For me, the reed contacts the tongue
> at a point on the top of the tongue, just back of the tip, perhaps
> a quarter inch from the tip.

Just my own 2 cents: I interpret the tip-to-tip convention almost
literally, except that the point of contact between tongue and
reed is actually just *below* the tip of the tongue, instead of
above it as Ed describes. There are as many variations on the
concept as there are players, but the same basic premise applies.
The goal is to minimize and localize the actual motion of the tongue
to a very small range, such that (a) the point of contact is exactly
the same at all times, regardless of speed and style, and (b) the
tongue itself actually only moves a couple of millimeters in its
regular tonguing motion -- again, regardless of speed and/or style.
When executed with proper relaxation and air support, the tip of
the tongue should be far removed from the process of generating
tone, yet poised just a few millimeters from the tip of the reed
at all times.

-- Neil

LookSmart @-----.
http://www.looksmart.com

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