Tarter_trpt8

Mr. Wise,

I went to study with a teacher out in Colorado over this Spring break for four days. He won the job in Dallas back in 2001 as assistant principal, but then Jeff Curnow left so they appointed him as acting Principal for 2 years. His name is Brian Brown...

Anyways, that is irrelevant except for this: Brian told me (based on some tonguing issues that I was having) that if you can't move around the horn, tonguing intervals, playing scheherezade, and all the other hard stuff trumpet players have to play, and do it efficiently with little effort, then you need to change something...mushc like you would have to do if your embouchere didn't allow you to play efficiently...

Well, I anchor tongue and didn't really know I was doing that until a year ago. I didn't know what it was and just thought you tongue where comfortable. When I say "tooh" the tip is anchored to my bottom teeth and I tongue with the middle of my tongue, and what I mean is that it happens away from the horn so I consider that natural tongue placement.

What I'm getting at is that tonguing this way has not helped me progress my speed, clarity of attack, and efficiency over the last four years of college. Thankfully I have 3 years left because of credit transfer stuff before I have to go get my masters. What I want to know is if it is possible to train my tongue to touch in a different spot where I get minimal movement so that speed (over time) will be enhanced and consistancy of attack will be more precise.

I just don't know what else to do because if this is a set back now, I want to fix it NOW rather than later during audition season for me.

If you have even a tiny hint of insight, I would be greatly in debt to you.

Thank you Mr. Wise!

Jeremy

wiseone2

Tip.
My tongue is positioned exactly in the same place as when I say tow, ta, the, they, dough, day, da.
I do a lot of practicing without the trumpet. I sing single tongue exercises with and without pitches. Singing is important. Mr DelCampo,my first teacher, stressed solfeggio. Singing improves all areas of playing. I sing everything I play.
Wilmer

trumpetgeek01

I have always had a tounging problem to! My trumpet teach gave me this fantastic piece of advise, he said to tounge as if you are spitting out a seasme seed. Ya know, when you eat a sunflower seed or seasme seed and it is stuck in your mouth or on the inseide edge of your lip how you kind of spit it off. Just always keep the air moving, nothing should constrict it, don't trap your air behind the tounge. I really like how my trumpet teacher can give me something to visualize what to do, he is such an incredible teacher.

tpter1

Clarke used to anchor tongue, too, as do many current players. However, if this is not working out for you, some of Hickman's methods might be beneficial.

Del Lyren may want to jump in (or pm him); my teaching is from a student of Hickman's, but the methodology is still there.

Essentially, tonguing with the tip of the tongue is similar in placement to when you roll your tongue or flutter tongue. So, break out your Arban and go to p. 28. Start with no. 19-22. Slowly. (No faster than 60). Flutter tongue the 1/8 notes in each 1/8-1/16 combination. Tongue all the others normally.

(I had clarity problems, and this is what we discussed).