 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: whonderwhy797
Date: 2013-02-07 02:05
I am a sophomore music major and I've been playing clarinet for 11 years. I am still having major tounging problems and have been intensely practicing it for a year. My frustration is beyond belief. I am so tired of people saying the "go-to" answers, like "you're tounging too hard" or "keep everything else still, but keep the air flowing and only move the tip of the tongue.." I have worked on both of these so much and it's gotten to the point where I want to give up. Also, I'm unable to roll my r's. Could this be a manifestation of any physical or genetic inability to do this?
I've asked a lot of people about tonguing and have gone to symphony players and now study with a college professor who identified exactly where I tongue on the reed and make contact on the tongue. This was reassuring (I'm tonguing properly) but everyone is throwing out random reasons why I'm not able to 1) tongue quickly and 2) tongue in the high register
I used to tongue on the roof of my mouth when I was a kid, but I fixed this. Also, I used to have movement in my throat. This is gone too. My tonguing has not improved and I can't keep practicing an hour a day on tonguing alone. I practice whenever possible but this issue is not getting any better. Can anyone relate?
I should also add my equipment but I suck no matter what I use (Pyne Bel Canto with blue box 4s)
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Author: Gary
Date: 2013-02-07 05:37
I can relate. I am a 72 year old clarinetist who has never been able to "roll my r's" or flutter tongue. My mother once told me that they had considered clipping my tongue as I was close to being "tongue-tied" I have always worked on relaxing my tongue and with time the tonguing technique and speed have increased, but it is discouraging.
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Author: Claire Annette
Date: 2013-02-07 12:29
I'm 52, having been playing since I was 11, and still can't flutter tongue but wish I could. I have an 11-year old student who can...and is trying to teach ME how.
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Author: Alexis
Date: 2013-02-07 12:36
I can tell you're frustrated. I'm certain that the people who gave those 'random' suggestions had good intentions - I was one of them on here. Unfortunately we don't have any context other than what you tell us, and that is a poor substitute for being in the same room.
I think you need to take a step back and work on something else for a while. A year is a long time. Most things you do on clarinet are connected - how's your breathing, your tone, your control, your dynamic range etc. Are you tense when you play? Work on something else, then come back to the tonguing focus in 2-3 months time.
I had problems as well. But there was no magic bullet - improvement came after improvement in other areas of my playing.
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Author: Alexis
Date: 2013-02-07 12:37
By the way, not being able to flutter will not stop you from tonguing.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2013-02-07 23:53
Alexis has good advice. Step away from it for a while. Many things start to work themselves out when you leave them be. Or at the very least you can approach it later when you're fresh.
If you've done the same thing for a year without results, I wouldn't expect anything new to come from another year at it.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2013-02-08 00:30
You have to realize that no matter how much practice some people do they just can't run the 4 minute mile, ot the five or six or even the eight minute mile. Some people just don't have the phyicial ability no matter how much they try.
With that said, I suggest you read my website about tonguing. Your tongue may be longer or fater or thicker then the"average". You may have to experiment to find what works best for you. Tonguing the "text book" way may just not work for you. As far a ftutter tonguing, many players can't do that. I flutter tongue in my throat by "gargling" like when I was a kid and had to "gargle" for a soar throat. Try it, it works just fine once you get control of it.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: DrewSorensenMusic
Date: 2013-02-08 00:54
A test that seems to work for me and articulation is can I play a note, with no tongue at all, and have it come from nothing to full sound without break or extreme change in tone/timbre. I feel like on every note I can play that way (where it's impossible to tell where the note started from) I have control over my tongue on these note. The notes that I can only start with a hard attack (much like a glottal in singing) are notes that I have no control over the tongue on.
In truth, tonguing is harder for me on extreme registers on sax or flute. I feel the clarinet back pressure helps.
It may be time to consult another teacher, and maybe try some new equipment.
Drew
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-02-08 02:49
I like Ed's analogy to gargling for flutter tunguing.
As for "normal tonguing" you say that it "sucks" but you don't say if that means ragged sounding, too harsh, too slow, etc. etc.
If it's speed, I'd agree with Ed again on physical limits. This can be pretty easily remedied with double a triple tonguing techniques. First though you need a good clean single tongue (not fast, just crisp and accurate).
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: jez
Date: 2013-02-17 15:29
I too am unable to roll my R's the way the Scottish say that letter, but use more the way the French say it with the back of the tongue against the soft palate. If you can get used to this I believe that distancing the flutter from the reed leads to less interference, making it easier to achieve in higher registers, eg the fluttered top E flat in Ravel piano concerto
Good luck
jez
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Author: Pappy
Date: 2013-02-18 00:33
I'll chime in and agree with those that suggested working on something else for a while. I am 55 years old. I have been playing clarinet since the age of 9. But only this year did I finally master flutter tonguing, and I don't really know what I finally changed that made it work (I also cannot "roll" by r's).
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