rowuk

Morris,
try the following experiment:
Start playing every day with breathing exercizes: long tones with NO tonguing. I try and avoid the term breath attack because that is different (more forced) than exhaling into the horn. After a bunch of long tones, do your daily slurs also WITHOUT tonguing. Once they are over, carefully add a soft tongue to the note - only enough to "define" the shape of the tone..

Our chops get used to responding to the initial pressure that an attack provides. Dedicated practice of getting your sound going without the tongue retrains the brain and gives you a new way to start your sound "from nothing".

For the record, if I need a very short staccato note, I will also tongue directly on the lips. That is for me the most "positive" way to start and stop a note. I do not always need that sound though so Tooh (Taah, Teeh, Toot...), Kooh (Kaah, Keeh, Kook, Koot), Dooh (Daah, Deeh, Dood, Doot), Gooh (Gaah, Geeh, Goog, Goot), Ri-ti-ri, doodle also get practiced - AFTER my chops are responding properly without any tonguing. You then only add as much tonguing force as necessary to define the tone. Your articulation no longer kick starts the tone production mechanism (except when you have a cold or are on antihistimines and the chops refuse to cooperate normally.........)

I believe that this is a very efficient way to train articulation - use as little as possible but as much as necessary. Practicing without tonguing trains your chops to be in "position" and not get "blown there".

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.