Klarinet Archive - Posting 001037.txt from 2002/11

From: Eric Dannewitz <ericdano@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Introducing tonguing - was "teaching clarinet"
Date: Thu, 28 Nov 2002 15:48:43 -0500

I usually give this explanation of tonguing to students. Regardless of age.

Do you have a pool? (Yes or no). How about a garden hose? One with the
nozzle on it where you can spray your friends and enemies with? Ok, so
how does that work? (they explain it, sometimes right). Yeah, so the
water is under pressure right? And when you squeeze the handle on the
nozzle, it shoots the water out. And you hit your friends/enemies and
have a good time, right? Ok, so, what if you squeeze the handle, and it
takes a second for the water to come out? Not a very effective weapon
right? They could see it coming as it would kind of stream out while it
builds pressure.

Ok, so, think of tonguing kind of like how this hose/nozzle thing works.
You have a lot of AIR pressure, and when you blow normally, it is like
squirting your friends with the hose. When you want to tonguing, you
close the opening with your tonguing, but keep the air pressure going.
If you don't, it ends up being like the ineffective stream, where, in
this case, it would not sound good, and in the case of the water hose,
would not be good in getting people wet.

Something like that. Seems to get them thinking and relating the
mechanics of what is going on to something they know or at least have
seen. Kids aren't dumb, but if you can relate it to something they
already know, it makes the teacher's job (my job) a lot easier and more fun.

Bill Wright wrote:

><><> To extend this topic to teaching a beginner tonguing - at what
>point would you teach a rank beginner to tongue?
>
>
>
>Audrey, from a student's point of view (you know that I'm not a
>teacher):
>
>There is more than one way that a new student can fall into 'lazy'
>habits. Some teachers start early in order to avoid 'lazy' tongues,
>and some teachers start late in order to avoid 'lazy' breath support at
>the end of each note.
>
>Another factor: several teachers here have advised that teaching too
>much at once can be a bad tactic. I certainly fell into this category
>when I was beginning. I still do.
>
>Explaining that tonguing does not interrupt the air flow, but only holds
>the reed still, reduces the seeming conflict, of course.
>
>My teacher started late with me. As part of her introduction to
>tonguing, she explained (after 6 weeks) the reason behind her preference
>for "breath support first, tonguing later."
>
>FWIW,
> Bill
>
>
>
-----
Bureaucrats cut red tape, lengthwise
Eric Dannewitz - Adventurer, saxophonist, good-timer (crook? quite
possibly), clarinetist, manic self-publicist, part-time
flautist(flutist?), macintosher, and often thought to be completely out
to lunch. http://www.jazz-sax.com

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