One of the ways to clean up your double tonguing is to play through the tonguing. Often when double tonguing the air is chopped off. The tonguing then becomes very choppy, and it is tiring to do. When you learn to play through your double tonguing with your air and your support, then you free your tongue and fingers to move quickly.

The biggest problem I hear when people are double tonguing is this way of stopping the tongue as it moves between your ta and your ka. I call it the henpeck. Now there are other reasons why double tonguing can be kind of henpecking. But the tongue stopping the air is the biggest reason double tonguing does not sound effortlessly smooth.

This occurs because we do not play through the double tonguing. Playing through the double tonguing means you take your breath, add support (what I call air pressure) and then keep everything (throat, embouchure) open – as you double tongue. Make sure that you are continuously keep air pressure on the tongue. However, the tongue must remain light. Now it does not mean that I’m blowing extra air. Blowing harder and keeping air pressure are not the same thing. I still want to have total control over my air.

When I use a lot of support, I breathe from my stomach and my rib cage, and I expand them, and then tighten the muscles. I make sure that when I say ta-ka-ta-ka-ta without the flute, that air pressure is still present. Try it yourself. Remember that your tongue releases the air it does not stop the air. Now try it on the flute. Play one note and practice 5 doubles ta-ka-ta-ka-ta. Do the doubles flow easily, or do you let your flute playing change the way you say it without the flute?

Midsummer Night’s Dream is a fantastic piece to practice and learn double tonguing correctly. Most of the time when I hear students play Midsummer, they chop the tonguing completely. When that happens, the light flow of the music does not happen. It does not have that beautiful musical flow. One way to help practice double tonguing correctly is to practice the passage slurring first then double. When you double tongue, you want it to sound as if you were slurring. You want the same flow.

Practice your double tonguing. Keep it very light with an air stream flowing through. Keep the throat open, take that yawning breath and maintain air pressure so that you can stay steady.

Do you know a weird thing? Air pressure helps you hold on to that beat, so that your fingers do not rush. I do not know why it works. It just does. It really helps to hold on to that beat. You feel like air pressure or your support holds on to that beat, so that you do not rush. Then your fingers and your tongue do not fall out of sync.

So, hold on to that double tonguing by air pressure, open up your throat, and keep your tongue light. When you do, you will find your Midsummer Night’s Dream or your Mozart Concertos flow beautifully like the professional sound you’re going for.

Have fun!

DoctorFlute

Watch me demonstrate this:

Playing Through Your Double Tonguing on the Flute – FluteTips 127

The post Playing Through Your Double Tonguing appeared first on DoctorFlute.

Some flutists think they don’t need to double-tongue because their single tongue is fast enough. I’ve definitely heard some fast single tongues but none that are as fast as a well-working clean double-tongue.  Once you have this articulation down pat, a world of speed is open to you.

Let’s take a look at how to double-tongue so that your speed is not encumbered by a slow tongue.

I’ve done videos on problems with double-tonguing: how to do it better, how to do it faster, how not to rush. Today, I want to go back to the basics and explain how you double-tongue to achieve maximum effect.

I have come across some issues with students when I’ve taught them how to double-tongue and it all goes back to where they place their ta. There are many teachers out there that will give you different syllables to use and have different tongue placements such as tonguing between the lips. They are not wrong. There is more than one way to accomplish this goal. However, I feel very strongly that the position of the tongue on the roof of the mouth is very important for fast sustained and clear double-tonguing.  

It all goes back to the basics of where you place your ta. Now, when I’ve taught students from different cultures, even from my own culture it seems that when an articulated “ta” sound happens in speech it can be in different places in the mouth. I haven’t come across anyone who puts the “ta” in a different spot then the roof of the mouth. Generally, it is the exact location that differs. Once I discovered that, then I was able to help students better achieve how to single-tongue and then how to double-tongue.

The tip of the tongue should be thought of as a point. That point is then placed as far forward as you can get without being on the teeth. If you feel the roof of your mouth with your tongue right between the two front teeth is a little nob. Make sure that you are on the roof, not on the teeth. Then run your tongue back until you reach the ridge. After the ridge the roof arches up and then moves into the soft palate. It is helpful to pick up your flute and tongue a few short single tongues. Determine where you actually tap when you say “ta”. The correct spot is on that little bump between the teeth. While I say it’s between the teeth. I don’t actually mean to tongue on the teeth but on the roof of the mouth. I know that linguists probably have an actual name for that little bump, but I don’t know what it is. Practice saying “ta” right there both in speech and on your flute. The articulation should be very clear and crisp.

With this in mind, most of the time the issues with double-tonguing are because that “ta” is somewhere between the bump and the ridge. When you double tongue and your “ta” placement is too far back then when you add the “k” sound that is placed either further back or the tongue has to move back and forth to bring the “k” forward. It should be obvious that this movement is a waste of time. You double tongue because you want to move fast. But a cumbersome tongue is not fast.

I used to have this problem in high school with double tonguing. I remember working on the Mozart concertos in the fast 16^th note sections and the roof of my mouth would feel bad. I wouldn’t really call it sore, but it would feel like I needed a massage. I wanted to find a way to rub it. I think it was all because the K was forced to hit too far back causing this fatigue. Once I learned to place the “ta” properly I could double-tongue all day long and never, ever have an issue.

One of my early teachers, Georgetta Maiolo, with whom I studied both in high school and then again for my master’s degree, had this easy exercise based on the F-scale to practice double tonguing. Try this exercise:

1. Say T-K-T-K-T (Actually speak this out loud.)
2. Make it nice and easy when you say it, and phrase it as a group of 5.
3. Now on a low F tongue that group of 5. Make sure to keep the tongue in the right spot. Don’t push it, don’t force the tone.
4. Next play up 5 notes from the F with that nice and easy tonguing.
5. On the top note (C) tongue the group of 5.
6. Double tongue down C to F.
7. Here is the tricky spot tongue a group of 9  T-K-T-K-T-K-T-K-T on the F.
8. Double tongue the F up to C and back down to F.
9. Repeat on the next note of the F scale.  

Don’t worry if you don’t get a good sound right off the bat. It is more important that your tonguing is correct. Tone will follow.

Some aspects to think about:

Always keep the tongue relaxed however keep the support strong.

If you let go with your support the tongue has to get stronger which makes the sound what I call hen-pecky. This is a choppy sound without much tone.

Keep the air going through the double tongue. When you say it with your voice there are no stops between the syllables. Make sure that is the same on the flute.

If you hear an extra thunk type of sound in your mouth, then your tongue is too far back. It has been allowed to move back.

The Thunk

Most of the time, students that come to me have that thunk tongue noise and they have no idea that they are doing it. They just do not hear it. They might feel something on the roof of their mouth, but they don’t really recognize that it makes a noise. Once they start hearing it, then they fix the tonguing. But until you actually hear that noise your tongue makes, when it is in the wrong spot, it’s a lot harder to fix. You just have to go by your teachers’ word that yes, they can hear it.

Once you feel that you are understanding and executing double tonguing in this exercise then it is time to put it into your solo. Approach double tonguing in a solo much the same way as you would this exercise. Take a group of four 16^th notes add the first note of the next group and tongue the group of 5. Then tongue the next group of 5. Now put those two groups together with your group of 9. Work your way through 16^th note passages in this way. Repeat going a little bit faster. It seems maybe a slow process, but it will keep you accurate.

All right, so the basics for double-tonguing, is to tongue forward right on that little knob right between your two front teeth and keep it there when you add your “k”. Keep your air pressure through the tonguing don’t close off the air stream. The tongue needs to stay light.  When you do this, you can double-tongue all day and all night!

Try it. You will find that this is a great way to double-tongue.

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions, I’m happy to answer.

Have Fun!

DoctorFlute

Watch me demonstrate this:

Fast Easy Clear Flute Double-Tonguing FluteTips 111

Single Tonguing 3 Different Ways – FluteTips 94

Single Tonguing to Improve Tone & Get Back In Shape Fast – FluteTips 79

The post Fast Easy Clear Flute Double-Tonguing appeared first on DoctorFlute.

I’ve written and made videos on how to tongue properly on the flute. I like that tonguing to be on the roof of the mouth with the tongue forward but still on the roof. I think this tongue is the most crisp and clear sound. However, I’ve learned that there is more color to a sound if the tonguing is varied in the approach to a solo.

When you articulate in a solo, there are different ways that you can effectively use single tonguing that allow for a different color in the sound. If we always tongue in the same spot. For example, if I’m always going to tongue on the roof of my mouth, as far forward as I can get, I’m always going to have that same type of sound. I can do it lighter or I can do it harder, depending on the particular piece, but it’s still going to be that crisp “tah” sound. Which I really like! But, sometimes a passage will call for something maybe a little different and that typical type of tonguing is not always going to work.

I think there are typically three different ways to single tongue. However, they’re not all actually single tonguing because one of these 3 ways doesn’t use the tongue at all!

The first way to tongue is the more strident, more crisp single tonguing on the roof of the mouth, that I just mentioned. It’s my favorite way to tongue. It allows you to punctuate your sound. As a flute teacher, it’s a pet peeve of mine when students have come to me and have not learned to tongue correctly.

The second way is to tongue between the lips; or a little bit more on the upper lip with a gentle “tha” sound. In this method your tongue is always placed between the teeth and hitting the lip.

The third method to articulate and change the color of the pieces you are playing is to not tongue but use a “pah” sound produced between the lips. It is gentle sound that can seem as if the sound were coming from a distance. The sound gently comes forth.

These different ways to articulate have different uses and different effects. All three different tonguings can be used in one piece.

Take for example Ballade by Perilhou. It’s in our fabulous a Flute Music by French Composers book. Right on the very first page of the solo there are opportunities to change the tonguing.

The opening of the solo is strong so I need to use the strong “tah” . The drama and forte sound gives me the opportunity to use my tongue to give crisp articulations to this opening. You can hear that it’s strong, it’s big, it’s vibrant. I’m playing with a robust type of sound, and I want my articulation to match that. The second phrase is the same. It uses that strong articulation.

Now the very next phrase beginning in measure 11, calms down to an espressivo section. But it’s still a mezzo forte. Here, I’m going to tongue this section, and probably most of the next four measures, on the lip. The articulation will be somewhat gentler between the teeth thus creating a different color.

Moving on to measure 15, there is a double piano on a 3rd octave D flat. this is a good place to use the very gentle pah made with the lips. This articulation will give me that very nice pianissimo entrance. There is still an opening to that sound, but it’s a little different, and will be beautiful.

After that initial pah, I will go back to tonguing between the lips because it still needed to be gentle and I really liked the color of that articulation.

We often don’t think of articulation as adding color to our sound. But articulation does add color. If I’m going to use the strong tah or the gentle pah and let that sound come out of nowhere, a different color is created.

Now if you start with a pah and you haven’t ever used a pah before, let me just give you a little tip about how to practice it. Mark Sparks says to play a B, (B 4) which is your first octave B with good posture keeping your flute in line and start with a pah. See if you can play a steady sound. When you do the pah, you have to make sure you lift (your upper lip) up enough so that the sound can come out. If you don’t lift enough and leave the lips closed, it’s going to be airy. Then go up the scale putting a pah on each note and holding it steady.

I think that the harder part is starting a pah on a high note, because you have to have enough air pressure behind it. I have to make sure the air stream is raised, fast and that I have air pressure underneath it.

Each of those three different articulations gives you a little bit of a different sound and a different color. These colors are wonderful additions to our solos as the different colors make your solo so much more beautiful.

Give these tonguings a try. Find different places in your solos that you’re working on that you could try these different articulations and see what you think about it.

Have fun working on tonguing three different ways.

DoctorFlute

Watch my video of this:

Single Tonguing 3 Different Ways – FluteTips 94

Fast Easy Clear Flute Double-Tonguing FluteTips 111

Single Tonguing to Improve Tone & Get Back In Shape Fast – FluteTips 79

The post Single Tonguing 3 Different Ways appeared first on DoctorFlute.

I find that there are three major problems with double tonguing that give my students problems whether they are high school students, college students or professionals. These double tonguing problems are universal and the fix can be applied to any solo. All you have to do is determine which problem is yours, then get to work fixing it.

Problem #1 The Hen Peck

Problem #2 Uneven “ta ka”

Problem #3 Fingers Move Faster Than the Tongue

#1 The Hen Peck Problem

Now, the first problem that I see with students is the Hen Peck. Most often this is the biggest problem with a student’s double tonguing. I have seen it more often than not, when the person comes to me for lessons and they have a piece with double tonguing. This problem is when the air doesn’t flow through the “ta ka”. The result is that the tongue stops the sound, and each tongue is short and clip. The musical line becomes interrupted. Thus the Hen Peck sound.

The Fix

The first thing to do when trying to fix this problem is play through the passage slurring all the way. This gives your ear the sound of the musical line. You hear all the notes connected and beautiful. It’s important to understand that what you hear when slurring is the way it needs to sound when you double tongue. You can’t break up the musical line just because you are double tonguing. Recognize that when you slur, your air is moving through the passage, and your support is steady. Transfer this to the double tongue. Push your air pressure through the “tktk” so that the sound isn’t clip. Copy the musical line sound that you heard when you slurred. Now it makes musical sense. A benefit is that it is so much easier and more comfortable to play this way.

#2 The Uneven “Ta Ka” Problem

The second problem I hear is the uneven tongue. This occurs when the t is fine but the k is uneven. Usually it’s not the ta because you’ve used the “ta” your whole flute life, and now you have to add the Ks onto it. When you speak tktk it can be very even. But when you put the flute up, it miraculously becomes uneven. How does that even work?!!! You would think that if you can say it evenly, then you should be able to do the same on the flute. But alas, sometimes this is just not the case.

The Fix

The first thing to do is to speak the tktk in the same tempo as the passage. Make sure the tongue is very light. The t is very forward, making the k more forward. Keep it light and forward on the flute as well. The key to getting this even is to switch the t and k around. While you usually play tktk you will now play ktkt. Trust me it works. Make this way of double tonguing just as good as the original way. In other words, pretend that this is the method you must use from now on. You need to believe that this is your method. You have to be all in, because only then will your k muscle become just as strong and coordinated as the t. This really works! FYI it is absolutely the best way to fix triple tonguing issues as well. Backwards to go forwards!

#3 Fingers Move Faster Than the Tongue Problem

Whenever you’re having trouble with your double tongue, and you feel “I’ve got it, I should know it. I’ve worked on it!” But it still doesn’t come out smoothly. It’s always because the fingers are faster than the tonguing. The tongue and fingers have come out of sync with each other, and you need to get them so that they’re traveling the same path again.

The Fix

It’s never because the TK is rushing. It’s the fingers that are the problem. This means that you need to go back and woodshed slowly. Go back to the methods that you used to learn it in the first place. Use every articulation in your Taffanel and Gaubert book making sure that when using any articulations with tonguing that you always use double tonguing, even when slow. Use your metronome each and every time you practice this passage. That’s all you need to do to fix this problem. It seems a simple solution, but it takes time. Remember it’s not going to be fixed all of a sudden. It will take time.

Those are the three problems that will fix 99% of double tonguing issues. Now, analyze which one is your problem (or is it all 3?) and go about fixing it.

Have fun!

DoctorFlute

Watch me demonstrate this Fixing 3 Double Tonguing Problems – FluteTips 92

FluteTips 82 Getting Better Low Notes with Taffanel & Gaubert Number 8

FluteTips 86 Bending Your Pitch UP

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