 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: William
Date: 2010-03-19 16:21
Probably too late in my clarinetist career--well over 50 yrs--but has anyone discovered a cure for slow tongue and could you share? I'm not talking about hand/tongue cordination, but the basic quickness of the tongue itself--on repeated notes, such as a simple G4. The fastest I have ever been able to go was 16ths at 112 bpm. Is there any help available for us slow-pokes (beyond learning multiple articulative technique)??? Help!!!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: GLHopkins
Date: 2010-03-19 18:36
I'm experiencing the same problem. I quit playing in '85, except for play testing instruments I've repaired, and just started practicing a little at night a few weeks ago. The arthritis and inability to articulate the way I used to is about to make me rethink playing again.
I don't know if this will help, but a former teacher told me that one way to go about increasing speed is to think about stopping the note rather than starting the note in tonguing. Practice this slowly and building speed when you feel comfortable.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: TianL
Date: 2010-03-19 19:59
I think after making sure your basic mechanism is correct, all it takes is just practicing. Maybe some has more talent than others, but given your talent, everything else is how and how much one practices.
I spent about 30 min - an hour a day just on tonguing repeated notes using chromatic scale and have seen great improvement over several months.
Also, sometimes a mouthpiece matters too, for some reason some mouthpieces just respond better than others. And of course reeds matter too. But in the end, IMO it all comes to how and how much one practices.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-03-19 20:04
Rather then write out all my ideas here I suggest you check my website on the clarinet page and look for the articles on tonguing. They've all appeared in the Clarinet journal at one time or other in the past. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-03-19 20:10
I don't necessarily categorize that speed as slow. Being in the same boat, I settled for double and triple tonguing. This is not so hard to pick up late (as I did).
Start in the chalemeau (just get over the fact that the non "tee" notes will not sound identical to the "tees"). The best syllable combination is "TEE-KEE, TEE-KEE." You can even isolat the "kees" by just using those for awhile in practice. I have honestly not yet been able to get the altissimo, but after a couple of years, it's come a long way.
.................Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Joe B
Date: 2010-03-19 20:25
There was an article in 'The Clarinet' magazine several issues back, written by either the clarinet professor at Georgia or South Carolina, I can't remember which. He gives a very good exercise plus some tips on tonguing. It has helped me keep a light and relaxed tongue along with a short stroke, tip of the tongue to tip of the reed. There are also threads if you do a search on tonguing. For books, I use 17 Staccato Studies by Kell, Baermann's Third Edition Staccato and Trill Exercise, Langenus No. 11 Staccato study, I don't have the page number off hand. Start with about 10 minutes a day and work up from there. You can easily overdue it.
Good luck,
Joe
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: grifffinity
Date: 2010-03-19 21:50
Ed Palanker's site is great.
The most basic tonguing exercise to build speed that usually works well is the eighth/ two sixteenth note pattern.
You can start by setting metronome to quarter = 60. Play the following pattern on a relatively easy scale that you don't have to concentrate on fingerings - F major is a good one since you can cover three octaves easily.
Starting on written low F, play an eighth followed by two sixteens on the same note, then play G repeating the pattern, up the scale.
The trick is to start slowly at 60 on the metronome, making sure you are stopping the reed with the tongue on the eighth - making it short. The two sixteenths do not play short. The KEY is to NOT STOP THE AIR pressure when you have your tongue on the reed on the short eighth note. I am shouting this because this is very important!!!
As an exercise for the tongue, the eighth note two sixteenth pattern allows the tongue to have a brief rest and not tire out the way a straight sixteenth note excercise will.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: William
Date: 2010-03-19 22:11
Paul--thanks for your suggestion, but I have already mastered double & triple tongue technique just to be able to survive. However, as you pointed out, in the altissimo range, the usual ta-ka thing does not work well, so I use an "over the beak" method where the notes just pop right out. Last night in Muni Band, I used this method in American's We on the opening 8th note fours starting on G6. You may want to try this as well. Up "there", the ka's don't respond well..... BTW, "over the beak" is the double tongue method John Bruce-Yeh used in his recording of the Nielson some years ago.
ESP--I'll read your post. Thanks.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-03-19 23:08
William,
YES, PLEASE explain "over the beak." Americans We IS the DEVIL.
..................Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: William
Date: 2010-03-20 14:58
OVER THE BEAK is exactly what the words imply--flip your tongue upward going above the tip for the first articulation and then re-articulate as it passes back down over the tip. Just flip flop your tongue up and down over the tip of the reed/mouthpiece. Sort of like saying, der-dah, der-dah, etc. This is produces a clean articulation both ways and does not injure the reed or the mouthpiece. Once you learn to control the speed, it's not really that hard to do. And it works equally as well the entire range of your clarinet. I've even used it to produce a triplet by doing a quick ta followed immediantly by the flip, up & down. Like: ta-der-dah, ta-der-dah, etc.
I might add that I put all of my clarinet reeds on my mouthpiece so that the tip of the reed is EXACTLY EVEN with the tip of the mouthpiece--not even slightly above or below, EVER. To do this, I am "anal" enough to always look at the mouthpiece from the side for exact reed-tip heighth eveness before finally securing my lig (lol). This may be a factor in the effectiveness of "over the beak" articulation and the fact that I have never damaged a reed using the method.
However, I'm still looking for the "magic bullet" of information for speeding up conventional articulation--although, I am kind of convinced the only real answer is, "You've got to be born with the right speedy genetics, kid". Thanks for your input thus far.........
Post Edited (2010-03-20 15:12)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-03-20 17:30
Oh.
My reed position is anally just over the tip. The "over the beak method" feels like I'm raking the back of my tongue and surely taking out the tip of my reed. I'll have to look for another answer.
.................Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: William
Date: 2010-03-20 19:19
Paul--Yup, with your reed over the tip, you'll shred your reed or your tongue for sure--sorry.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2010-03-20 20:04
Are you thinking of tonguing every note, or are you grouping? I get probably 10-20bpm faster with tonguing if I think in groups of 4 rather than single notes. Same day, same tongue, same passage. That is, DA da da da DA da da da, rather than DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA. Not accenting any of them more, but just thinking of playing 4 notes to the next group of 4 notes, rather than singles.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
