Disclaimer: An amateur's comment follows and may be worth very little. If you've got one, run it by the teacher first.
I started on the trumpet, but changed to the horn when a sophomore in high school, and I could double tongue on the trumpet when I left it but I couldn't on the horn. I fortunately (or unfortunately?) have been able to single tongue just about everything I've played since the change, including Sherezade way back in college. I know this is a shortcoming by professional standards. Fortunately, my livelihood does not depend on my double tonguing skill: horn playing is my avocation, and for over 27 years my audiences have either been pleased, unaware, or forgiving despite the 'deficiency'. What I want to offer to those who struggle with double to triple tonguing is something I've noticed. The quality of my double tonguing technique appears to be a function of the mouthpiece I use. I am not at all suggesting that a particular model is more suited to double tonguing. I am not suggesting that one should go out and switch to a mouthpiece that allows one to double tongue at the expense of all other playing qualities. I am only suggesting that one's inability to double tongue may have something to do with the mouthpiece and embouchure used. Before you concede defeat in the pursuit of skill in double or triple tonguing, try to do it on something other than your normal mouthpiece. It may be that in the process of discovering a new-found facility, you can diagnose the mechanics that allow the improved facility and investigate how you can apply them to the your normal mouthpiece - or maybe reconsider why you selected your normal mouthpiece. Russ Smiley Marlborough, CT ----- Original Message ----- From: "Karen McGale Fiehler" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2002 10:23 AM Subject: Re: [Hornlist] triple tonguing > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Prof.Hans Pizka) > > > >But the heck, why do you want a triple tongue, for what music ???? >...tons > >of excerpts for all horn parts from 4rth to 1st > > I sure can't play "Scheherezade" or the opening of "Don Juan" without triple > tonguing! > > There are some people who just can't single tongue very quickly. I was > amazed to find that Tom Bacon double tongues lots of music that I find very > easy to play single tongued. He just doesn't have a fast tongue, but when > you listen to him you certainly can't tell the difference! > > Because I have a fast, clean single tongue my teachers never thought to > teach me how to double or triple tongue, most likely because I never asked > them how. The first time I sat down to play "Don Juan" I was in a panic - I > couldn't single tongue that fast and my double tonguing sounded horrible! > I'd prefer that my students not face such a wake-up call, so I have them > learn double tonguing by their second year of university. Kopprasch #10 is > a great etude to begin the concept of double tonguing, in my opinion. > (Scales too!) Remove the slurs, and play the entire etude slowly with just > "kuh" or "duh." When the back of your tongue has become coordinated in > articulation, change to "tuh-kuh" or "duh-guh" and strive to make no audible > difference in the articulation. Then gradually increase the speed of the > etude, keeping the even articulations. > > I still play Kopprasch #10 in this way a couple of times a week. I also > practice my triple tonguing in a simliar manner. I consider it a useful > review of a fundamental skill that I use as a horn playing musician. > > karen > ****************************************************** > Dr. Karen McGale Fiehler > Lecturer of Horn > Northern Arizona University > http://www4.nau.edu/cofa/music/fac_pages/faculty_f.htm > http://www.hornplanet.com/hornpage/miss_karen/main.asp > > > _________________________________________________________________ > MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus > > _______________________________________________ > Horn mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/listinfo/horn > _______________________________________________ Horn mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/listinfo/horn
