We have all been taught to tongue notes. This skill is learned from the earliest days of flute playing. We all have our way of single tonguing some of you have been taught one way, and some have been taught another way. But have you ever explored the idea that tonguing can be an element of color in your solos?
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
