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Re: Articulation in Altissimo

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-08-29 12:55

The cleanliness of ones articulation is magnified in the altissimo mainly because it is only the very tip of the reed that is vibrating up there. So it is even more critical to remember the basics:

The tongue is really only a damper. Sound is produced when the tongue LEAVES the reed (the tongue never HITS the reed). You only put as much force on the reed as you put on the roof of your mouth when saying the word 'ARTICULATE.' And most important of all, you should tongue using the very tip of your tongue to the very tip of the reed (Larry Combs would draw a dot at the very center of the reed just under the very edge so that you could visualize that spot as the target for the tip of your tongue).

That all said (that all being rudimentary) this excerpt exposes those of us with 'slower' tongues because double tonguing is almost impossible up there. If it is the speed of the excerpt that is what is troubling, I would slur the first two of that group of five staccatos to make it work.

...........Paul Aviles

Post Edited (2014-08-29 12:56)

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