 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: MSK
Date: 2012-04-08 23:35
My 5th grade son began clarinet in September of this school year. The band director is moving the kids pretty slowly (they are only on page 12 of Accent on Achievement), but it still seems to me that the kids should have been introduced to tonguing by now. I've taken my son quite a bit farther in my old First Division Band book, but have been reluctant to teach him tonguing for fear of teaching him wrong. Should I go ahead and teach him to tongue, and if so how does one explain it? I consider myself to be a skilled amateur (I play in a community orchestra), but have no training in music education. The band director is brass player, if that is relevant. Thanks
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Author: Joanna
Date: 2012-04-09 00:31
Hi!
Teaching a kid to tongue can be fairly complicated, but I recently learned a great and simple way to do so. First, you ask the student to say "dah". Don't use "tah" because if you notice while you say it, you tend to move the jaw, which is something you don't want to happen when tonguing on clarinet! Next, ask the student where the tongue touches when he says this. It should be at the top of the palette (just right where top teeth meet the gums). Ask your student to do this again and remember exactly where this occurs. Next try the same with the clarinet. Ask the student to play a whole note first. Then, two half notes separated by the tongue. Then quarter notes. Make sure that the jaw/embouchure doesn't move.
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Author: clariniano
Date: 2012-04-09 00:39
As a teacher who encounters that kind of situation often enough (and even having known kids in 5 years of a school music program who don't know any notes beyond the low register--I've seen that several times in the music camp I have done for several summers now), I would strongly suggest private lessons. If money is tight, consider hiring a college or conservatory student, lessons from such teachers can go from 1/2 to 2/3 of the fully-accredited teachers. Most kids can and will learn much faster if they take lessons. They will learn many more skills, be able to learn at their own pace, learn of the solo repertoire, learn how to count rhythms independently, learn etudes to improve their speed and coordination, improve their tone.
I myself had that situation when I was in Grade 7 (2 1/2 decades ago), I remember learning only an octave of notes in the first year. I even complained to the teacher then that I was really bored in class, because it was moving really slow, and wanted to be transfered to the intermediate class. When I changed schools for Grade 8, several of the kids just in their second year of playing could play to at least G on top of the staff, and the very top ones could do high C. The program I had transfered into had one of the top 2 or 3 music programs for middle school students, and to catch up and go beyond, I had to work really hard. But in the middle and even early high school programs, I see a lot of situations where kids starting high school don't know their clarion notes at all on the clarinet, and know maybe 3 scales, usually 1 or 2 at the most.
And yet, here, if students in school bands take lessons, it's either the double reed players (where it's normal to do so), or the flute players (because it's quite competitive in some sections.) Though I've heard from a number of people it's much harder to make a nice sound on the clarinet than on the flute, and the supposedly "natural" playing position of the clarinet can hide a lot of problems. Now I understand that not everyone can afford to take lessons, but I've seen low-income parents, and even a couple of parents on social assistance, of students find a way to pay for lessons, perhaps by sacrificing their weekly or monthly meal out to pay for them or buying a less expensive car. But even some middle-class and well off parents would rather have that fancy house or car than pay for a quality education or instruments, musical or otherwise.
Sorry, I've gone on a bit of a rant.
Meri
Please check out my website at: http://donmillsmusicstudio.weebly.com and my blog at: http://clariniano.wordpress.com
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Author: MSK
Date: 2012-04-09 01:31
If my son sticks with clarinet until Junior High, I hope to get him into private lessons. It isn't really an option right now. I'm not in a city large enough to have university music students, and there is only one reed teacher. She doesn't generally take beginners, so it is do it myself for now.
@ Joanna: I like the "Dah" idea. I had been thinking "Tah".
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Author: JHowell
Date: 2012-04-09 02:24
As a skilled amateur you should be able to do better than a snail's pace band director. I find that many students who receive instruction only from band directors "articulate" by means other than touching the reed with the tongue.
Here's what I do with students who, for one reason or another, do not yet have a good articulation mechanism: First, make a good sound with good tongue positon. The back of the tongue should be high to focus the airstream. This dolce tone is the benchmark for all successful technique.
While maintaining this tone, bring the tip of the tongue as close as possible to the tip of the reed as possible without actually touching. Maintain the tone! Eventually, somewhere near the tip of the tongue will lightly brush somewhere near the tip of the reed. Maintain the tone! If the student has cultivated the habit of articulating by puffing the air or clamping the embouchure, the first instinct will be to do one of these, so be vigilant and insist on maintaining the tone.
Sooner or later, the result of this "contact drill" will be a slight stutter to the sound, a very, very slight articulation. It will feel like the tongue is not moving of its own volition, but more like the air itself is powering the motion. The movement will be very small, like a flag fluttering. If the sound diminishes in quality or volume, return to the long dolce tone, and repeat until the contact drill does not diminish the sound.
This very slight, almost involuntary movement of the tongue is all that is required to articulate. From there, I move to short bursts of articulation, and then start integrating articulation with finger movement.
Again, the essence of articulation is that the tone be interrupted, not diminished, just like articulation in speech often interrupts the sound without the air being stopped.
Good luck!
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2012-04-09 04:08
In my opinion, "tee" is a better syllable to use for beginning tonguing because it's really really hard to move the jaw while saying it!
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Author: MSK
Date: 2012-04-12 01:44
Well, we've tried "dah" , "tah" & "tee". "Tah" seems to be working best, but it looks like it will take a lot more practice drills before it sounds decent. My son actually has pretty decent tone and intonation for a beginner, but it really deteriorates with toungueing. Thanks for all the suggestions.
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