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RE: slap tongue

Author: Liquorice
Date: 2003-01-25 07:00

Ken wrote: "In my circles slap tonguing is normally used as a substitute for double tonguing on "at the edge" fast tempos or too brisk physically to negotiate steady/rhythmic single tonguing"

Ken, what you are referring to is not slap tonguing. Slap tonguing is the percussive effect made when a vacuum is created between the tongue and the reed. When the tongue is released, the reed hits back on the mouthpiece, creating a very loud "slap". It's mainly used in some contemporary clarinet pieces.

Meighan, it's hard to describe in writing, but here's how I learnt slap tonguing:

1. Take the reed and hold it against your tongue. Apply some pressure and pull it away quickly. What you are looking for is a vacuum between you tongue and the reed, so that when you pull the reed away, there is some resistance.
2. Now do the same, but this time pulling your tongue away from the reed, rather than the reed away from the tongue.
3. Now the fun starts- Put the reed on the mouthpiece (without the ligature), and hold the reed at its base. Pull your tongue away from the reed. If a vacuum has been created, the reed will pull away from the mouthpiece at the tip, and make a loud slap when it hits back on the mouthpiece. The first time you do this, you will be very pleased with the result!
4. Once you can do that, put the ligutre back on, and do the same thing. The "slap" won't be as percussive, because the reed won't actually lift off the mouthpiece once the ligature is attached. But by now you will be able to feel whether or not you have created a vacuum.
5. All that is now left to do is blow. Once you blow air into the instrument, you should get a very loud slap effect.

This took me some months to learn properly. An important thing to remember is that you don't have to push TOO hard with the tongue on the reed. It's the vacuum that creates the slap, not pressure from tongue. Good luck!

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