 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Cindy
Date: 2002-07-08 01:41
I realize there have been posts on this before, but I was wondering if double tonguing was an absolutely necessary skill to have in order to succeed as a performing clarinetist. I have asked my teacher and another clarinetist in town, and neither can double tongue. The other even majored in clarinet performance. The only difference is they did not go into performing as a job. So, to perform and get a job in a good symphony orchestra, do you have to know how to double tongue?
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2002-07-08 04:01
It would certainly help, though. Come on, don't you feel bad not being able to? You need to practice more! I'm just kidding; I can't double tongue either.
But in all honesty, what's stopping us fron learning?
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Author: Chris Ondaatje
Date: 2002-07-08 05:50
If you can single tongue super quick why bother. Most of us mere mortals seem to have a range between 100-132 semiquavers per beat. I have had some students go up to 176 and others strugle at 100. Whilst single tonguing is definately preferable, in terms of clarity of sound, the repertoire (orchestral and solo)demands quicker articulation than what most people can single tongue.
The Clarinet play therefore has a number of options:1) Ignore the printed articulation, play it slurred and hope no one notices. 2) Argue about the historical authenticity of the printed music and play it slurred. 3) Change the articulation to something manageable ie two slurred- two tongued. Then argue about how this is appropiate for this period of music. 4) If playing solo repertoire, slow down long before the difficult articulation is due and accept you are forever limited in your interpretation by a sluggish single tongue, and then make comments about how this is more musical. 5) Learn to double tongue.
I have found it can work ok on the clarinet. Faster tempos work better at hiding the lack of clarity. Two slurred-two double tongued is a cleaner option. Altissimo register stuff has the potential of delivering public humilliation so slur away in this instance. Chris.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2002-07-08 06:23
One can try to learn to double tongue. It won't make your single tonguing slower and may make it faster. Double tonguing makes life easier. If you have the Langenus Method, Part III, try practicing page 22 using both single and double tonguing with a metronome every day for a few months. Good luck!
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Author: David
Date: 2002-07-08 22:50
See? This is what BBSes are for. I thought I was the only one who couldn't double-tongue.
It, and triple tongueing work fine on recorders, but sounded really terrible when I tried it on clarinet or sax.
I put it down to me being crap and never bothered again...
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Author: jez
Date: 2002-07-09 12:55
Cindy,
whether it's "absolutely necessary" for you depends entirely on your needs. If you can single-tongue fast enough for ALL the music you come across, then you needn't bother. That certainly wasn't the case for me! I struggle to play 16ths at MM 120 singled, but have no problem at MM 200 double.
There are many pro players who don't double-tongue. Either they have very fast single tonguing, or they adopt the options mentioned by Chris Ondaatje. It's got to be worth spending the time to give it a chance. It does make life easier I promise.
David mentions triple-tonguing. This seems to slow me down so I prefer to stick with the double pattern but change the emphasis;
DgdGdgDgdGdg.
Good luck!
jez
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Author: shawn
Date: 2002-07-10 19:56
I've been reading the messages on double tounging, obviously, but hwp exactly should one attempt to learn it? should I purchase some material to help me? My single tongue, I feel, is really slow and I've been getting fustrated! I can single tongue sixteenths at 100 but struggle at faster tempos. Some people say it just takes time and eventually I'll get there with practice. But I've been practicing my but off!! Well, I'm fourteen years old, does this have anything to do with my limitations?
For example, in the mozart clarinet concerto, I have trouble tonguing the first sixteenth run at over 100. And in in the concertino by Weber, the two runs in the third "section"
Does anyone have any tips, advice?
By the way, I play on a Buffet E11 and a B45 vandoren, ronver ligature, 3 1/2 V12 reeds.
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Author: David Dow
Date: 2002-07-11 11:31
I have found as an orchestral player double tonguing has made life quite alot eaier. There is always some nasty bits in Rossini or Beethoven that I find work well with the TK A double tongue technique. You also can't play really hard reeds, or you just won't get the reed to respond. Flexibility is a really important aspect and alll clarinet players should be able to do some double tonguing as part of a daily practice routine. Check the Finale of Beethoven 4th Symphony and you will here a sixteenth exchange with Bassoon that this technique makes alot easier....DD
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Author: jez
Date: 2002-07-11 14:22
shawn,
you could start off by just practising repeated notes with the 'back' part of the double stroke, pronouncing k k k k k or g g g g g whatever's comfortable, if you work on this 'til you can produce a reasonable articulation without loss of tone or intonation then move on to tktktk or dgdgdg and try to minimise the difference between the 2 attacks. Keep it slow at first to work on the sound staying as near as poss. It's never going to be exactly the same but the difference gets less noticable when you speed it up.
good luck
jez
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Author: lynn
Date: 2002-07-13 20:33
The reason most of us can't double tongue is because it is very difficult to tongue with something in your mouth. Flutes and brass players don't have this problem. Sax players tend to be able to do it more than clarinetists because of the different embouchure, but as a rule, the TK or DG motion closes off the reed. To even be able to attempt it you need a hard reed to begin with and a mouthpiece that lets that reed "stay" hard.
I say build up your single tongue. It's more impressive, anyway.And as for the Mozart concerto, hey, get a different edition if you can, or change the articulation. Put a slur on the first two notes of each staccato run. There are so many editions with MANY different articulations - I've seen all staccatos, all slurs, slur two tongue four, you name it - who's to say which one is right, or which is the best?!
Lynn
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