Hi Val. So, TOL is basically the tip of the tongue between the lips, thus creating more of a "Thu" sound than "Tu?" For these 4-5 minutes a day of TOL, would you recommend free buzzing, or mouthpiece buzzing, or actually playing the horn?
-William On Jun 27, 2011, at 5:02 PM, valerie wells wrote: > William, This is tricky. About the only thing I could suggest is to try a > completely different tonguing technique separate and apart from your normal > playing for a trial period. You might try tonguing on the lips on simple > scales, double tonguing exercises and tunes for about 4 or 5 minutes day, > then forget about it and play your regular way for the rest of the day. Do > this consistently over time. If at any point this tonguing technique sounds > better than your regular tonguing, then you can apply this technique to all > your playing. If not, then ditch this method & try something else. But > whatever you do, do it systematically & methodically. Don't go monkeying > around with all sorts of new things at once. Try one method consistently > over time, then try another one consistently over time to avoid confusion. > > If you're not familiar with tonguing on the lips (TOL), it's a tonguing > method that involves touching the tip of the tongue to the aperture as if > you were spitting out a tiny seed or eye lash from the tip of your tongue. > You can actually learn this technique by spitting out grains of rice between > your lips. TOL is used in various forms in various methods (BE, TCE, Suzuki > flute, etc.) both for a normal tonguing method and for developmental > purposes. It can be very helpful especially for developing clean, soft > attacks in the high register. > > If you're already tonguing this way, try something different, like the more > traditional tonguing on the back of the teeth. > > About the air tone thing.... I wouldn't have a clue how to help that. Maybe > a master teacher like Wendell Rider could help. > > My 2 cents. > > Val > > -- > Valerie Wells > The Balanced Embouchure Method > http://bebabe.wordpress.com/ > http://www.beforhorn.blogspot.com/ > > Message: 10 > Date: Sun, 26 Jun 2011 22:38:41 -0400 > From: William Bard <[email protected]> > Subject: [Hornlist] Articulation and 'airy' sound issues > To: The Horn List <[email protected]> > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; CHARSET=US-ASCII > > I've been playing the horn some seven years, having just graduated high > school, and I will begin attending the Eastman School of Music this fall for > a degree in Horn Performance. However, before I get up there and start > school, I really thought I should ask the members of this board for some > advice on an issue (I think it's an issue...) I've been noticing lately in > my playing. > > Back in February I had a lesson with Rick Solis out in Cleveland, and he > pointed out that often times, when I articulate, it sounds almost as though > the tongue is rebounding, or something is happening to make the tonguing not > quite so clear and more blatty sounding. I've especially noticed this when I > play loud or technically difficult passages. > > He and Rich King both pointed out to me in my audition for the Cleveland > Institute of Music that it was something I really have to work on and fix > over the next few years; otherwise it could spell big problems for my > playing. They said it will "hopefully go away" over time, but this still > really worries me. > > In addition, I can't help but notice an extra sort of buzz to my sound, when > I play. At times, it is even very airy sounding. I can't figure out yet if > this is my horn that is vibrating ever so slightly along with the pitches > I'm playing, or if this is an internal sound that I'm hearing as the note > vibrates through my mouth and possibly through my teeth, or what the heck > this is. > > Obviously, when I take the horn away and buzz on the mouthpiece, it's not > just the sound of the note I hear, as I can also hear the air flow moving > through the mouthpiece. Is tongue placement or something else possibly > amplifying the airflow or sound of my buzz, so that it becomes noticeable IN > ADDITION to the sound of the horn, itself? > > Does anyone have any suggestions or advice regarding this? Or, furthermore, > is this truly an issue, or is it actually somewhat normal? This is really > puzzling to me and I really hope to get it figured out before it's too late! > Thanks so much. > > -William Bard > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/wdbard%40me.com _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
