Multiple Tonguing 2
Presentation of two methods for mastering double tonguing. By Terry B. Ewell. Bassoon Digital Professor video #19. www.2reed.net.
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Presentation of two methods for mastering double tonguing. By Terry B. Ewell. Bassoon Digital Professor video #19. www.2reed.net.
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Chapters
Transcript with Time Codes
00:00Introduction
Well, welcome. This is the second video in a multi-video series dealing with multiple tonguing techniques. This second video is on double tonguing and the third video will also be on double tonguing. This video will focus on practice methods for double tonguing.
00:40Two Approaches to Double Tonguing
Well, there are two approaches for how to practice double tonguing. One method is to practice notes as short as possible and the other is to practice notes as long as possible.
00:54Short Note Method: Christlieb and Weisberg
The short note method is advocated by Don Christlieb, a bassoonist in the Los Angeles (USA) area. This is an article that I have referenced by Charles Lipp. Also, Arthur Weisberg, who formerly taught at Yale and Indiana University (advocates short notes). This is found in his book The Art of Wind Playing.
01:20Advantages of the Short Note Method
The advantages to the short note method of articulation, double tonguing, is that it features swift transitions from front to back articulation. You will need to go back to video one to see that. Front articulation is with "T," "D," or "L": someplace where the tongue contacts the reed, a consonant that contacts the reed. The back articulation is at the roof of the mouth with perhaps a "K" or a "G": some sort of consonant that brushes the tongue against the roof of the mouth. The advantage of this type of articulation approach is that it features swift transitions, quickly going from one consonant to the next. As a consequence, you may be able to attain quick articulation speeds more rapidly than
02:20Short Note Tongue Motion
the other method. Let's have a look at that. With the front tongue, the tongue contacts the reed here. The transition period where the tone is produced, the air comes up here, around the tongue and then out the reed. The transition period is a short as possible. Quickly the tongue moves to the roof of the mouth, closing off the air supply with a "K" or a "G" consonant here. The short note approach is one that I don't advocate. The approach that I do advocate for double tonguing and the other multiple tonguing techniques
02:58Long Note Method
is the long note approach. I have looked in the literature and I have not found anything printed about the long note approach. It may be my own writings, but I am certain that there are others that are using this. They are just not in print. I can't claim to have come up with this approach myself. I think that I have learned it from other teachers. Here are the advantages of the long note approach.
03:28Advantages of the Long Note Method
The emphasis is on quick and clean articulations. The consonants used in this articulation are as light and as quick as possible. Next, is attention to the quality of the tone produced. This is something that I think is very important. The tone quality should not suffer with more rapid articulation. You should still have a wonderful quality of sound just like you would with legato notes. You need to have the same quality of sound for staccato notes or rapidly tongued notes. Next, and this is particularly important for the bassoonist, many bassoonists do tongue or articulate with wild jaw motions, movement of the jaw. Concentrating on very legato tonguing minimizes the jaw motions, hopefully eliminating it altogether. The other things I like about this particular approach is that it more closely simulates single tonguing techniques. We will look at that a little bit later. In particular, it varies the note lengths based on the speed or tempos of those notes. The short note articulation approach does not vary the length of those notes. I think that is a real disadvantage. Again, in this view, your tongue contacts the reed in the same place with the front consonants. But the transition period is kept for a much longer period of time. Then you quickly brush the tongue up against the roof of the mouth for the other note and
05:16Long Note Tongue Motion
then back. In this type of articulation, that is very quick, and this is very quick. The "K" and then the "T." You are keeping this transitional area (longer). So, let's compare again the two types of articulation and let's give an example in a slow tempo. In a slow tempo with the fast, short note articulation, you are going "TiK." The "I" or "EE" vowels are very suitable for oboe players and also works well for bassoonists.
05:48Comparing the Two Methods
The vowel "Ah" will work better in certain ranges for bassoonists such as "TaaK" (talk). But let's do, "TiK," "KiT." You can see how quickly those were. What you do is to keep your air supply going through this whole exercise. "TiK," "KiT." I kept the air pressure coming. Now, in the long note exercise the emphasis is keeping the open syllables.
06:20Long Note Exercise
Ti-----K, I am sorry I didn't do it quick enough. Ti-----Ki------Ti-----Ki-----. Ta------Ka-----Ta-----Ka----. I am making the consonants very quick and the note sounding as long as possible.
06:43Faster Tempos
That is the difference there at the slow tempo Notice at the faster tempo that the length of the notes for the short articulation is the same...the fast note articulation is the same. The slow note articulated notes are shorter (than the last example). This more precisely imitates what you would do if you single tongued. Generally, you will vary the length of the note according to the tempo.
07:20Next Video
You should proceed to the third video now. I have some practice exercises for double tonguing. God bless you.
References
Christlieb, Don. Quoted in Lipp, Charles. "Interview with Don Christlieb, Part 2." The Double Reed 10/1 (Spring 1987): 35.
Weisberg, Arthur. The Art of Wind Playing. New York: Schirmer Books, 1975. Reprinted Minneapolis: SATCO, 1993.
Credits
- author Terry B. Ewell