Klarinet Archive - Posting 001095.txt from 2002/11

From: "Forest E. Aten Jr." <forestaten@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Tonguing --- Jack Brymer and Keith Stein
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 18:26:25 -0500

Bill,

I, and all of the professionals around me (and that I know) stop the air
with the tongue all of the time. (not to say that we stop the pressure <air
support> behind the tongue) It's the way most of us were taught to play.
(see Clarinetist's Compendium..tonguing <especially section on tongue
stopped staccato>) It would sound like a Hoover vacuum cleaner if we were to
let air continue to flow past our tongue during very staccato, and certain
other, passages.

I am not convinced that what Stein was saying was to let air continue
through the instrument while "stopping sound" with the tongue. But if I were
to hear an old recording of him playing I could tell you in a second.

Regards,

Forest

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Wright" <Bi6W@-----.net>
Subject: Re: [kl] Tonguing --- Jack Brymer and Keith Stein

> This thread began with a 'garden hose nozzle' metaphor about
> interrupting air flow 'at the nozzle' (at the reed tip) and storing
> pressure in the 'hose' (lungs & instrument) until sound resumes
>
> This is opposed to turning off the air supply 'at the hose bibb on the
> wall' (releasing pressure in lungs & instrument) and then needing to
> repressurize the system when sound is to resume.
>
> I agree 100% (as any reasonable person would, I think) that breath
> support must be maintained somehow. Allowing the system to drain of
> both air flow & air pressure is wrong.
>
> But the question that began this thread still remains:
>
> Close the nozzle at the tip, or continue the flow but do something with
> the reed?
>
> As with most things musical, the answer that works for one person or
> situation may not work for the next, and this is why I quoted both
> Brymer and Stein. Other interesting thoughts have surfaced -- tip of
> the tongue vs. middle, distorting the oral cavity, up-and-curl vs.
> thrust-and-retreat, and so forth.
>
> But I'm hoping not to lose sight of the original issue.
>
> If you read the full text of Brymer, he discusses the effort required to
> bend the reed all the way to the rails, and the effort required to shut
> off the air flow by plugging the slot between reed and rails. Clearly
> subscribes to the 'close the nozzle' approach.
>
> Stein takes the opposite approach. Some of his descriptions are: [**
> indicates Stein's italics, not mine, pg. 24]
>
> "Imagine that one granule of the tongue tip is nicking a single fiber of
> the reed, **brushing** rather than **striking**. [....] At this
> point, think of the tongue as **denting*** the moving air stream without
> interfering with its progress. [....] One of the secrets of
> successful tonguing is the maintaining of **continual breath flow** (and
> breath support) between tongued tones, whether in silence or in sound."
>
> This is clearly the "let it flow, but hold the reed quiet" approach.
>
> I still maintain that 'closing the nozzle' is not the best place to
> begin.
>
> Cheers,
> Bill
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>

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