JackD

Ok, so this must be the 100th question I've asked about this subject, but double tonguing has been what I've worked on most probably this year (going from not being able to do it at all!).

This is still causing me problems though. I can double tongue a single note and it sounds nice and even, and I can do chromatic scales fine too. When it comes to double tonguing arpeggios and octaves however, I'm all at sea.

Any tips?

Cheers!

Jack.

Manny Laureano

Jack,

There are two main keys to successful double tonguing; relaxing during execution and going for a big sound. Now, having said that, I don't mean to imply that when you double-tongue (henceforth the DT) it should always be this big loud gob of indistinct smoothness. I mean to say that the best players have a smoothness than they can turn on at any time and a full sound during use of the DT. The smoothness comes from a lack of any kind of physical constriction in the throat and the fullness of the sound comes from same.

Take a full breath, Jack, and sigh very quickly while intoning "Doo-goo, doo-goo", etc. for as long as that sigh lasts which shouldn't be more than a couple of seconds at the most. It should sound breathy and your vocal chords should be inactive. Do that a bunch of times and when you feel faint, stop. Repeat at will afterwards and always stop when you get lightheaded unless, of course, you like that sort of thing. The key is to transfer this sense of unrestricted airflow to your overall concept of playing not only the DT but truly everything.

Get busy and let me know how this goes.

ML

JackD

Thanks Manny, I'll try that.

I know I sometimes forget about the body of the note (the airflow I guess) when I'm DTing because I'm concentrating on getting the attacks crisp and even, so that sounds like a great exercise.

Manny Laureano

Jack,

I'm such an idiot that I started writing and forget the larger question you asked about!

DTing intervals comes as a result of doing the ground I discussed before but I neglected to remind you that DTing wide intervals requires the same open throat yawning style that a proper sounding octave slur does. One can slur octves with a great amount of intra-oral overmanipulation but the sound suffers as the lips and throat close between the notes. You want to practice the wide slurs and DT in tandem, back and forth and find their common point of sound. That will be your reference point always.

ML

JackD

Thanks - I'll try that tomorrow.

Jack

Manny Laureano

WHAT?

Oh, you must think you're going out tonight. Get back in here now, Jack! Hey, there's practicing to do! What do you think we're running here, mister, daycare for brass players? Tell your friends you're busy and can't go running off to personally test the latest three pubs that have opened up! The very idea... All right, big breath, 1,2,3... no, page 1... oh, stop whining... wait, where do you think you're going... hey, HEY. Young man you take one step out that door and you're toast!

Okay, fine try it tomorrow.

ML

etownfwd

Lol! Manny, somehow that last post sounded as though it was removed from a Monty Python skit! I never knew you were so inclined.
More on task, how does one overcome the urge to close the oral cavity when playing and double tonguing from the middle range to the upper register? I guess I mean, how do you NOT raise your tongue (so as to keep the tonguing level consistent) but also raise the back of the tongue to help increase air speed? I am completely befuddled....
-efwd

JackD

Haha!

In my defence, I argue time difference!

Manny Laureano

Dear Etown,

How did you know I just taught a lesson dealing with this whole issue as you were writing that note?

At any rate, it's a few things. One is an awareness that there's a diffenrence in the sound between overactivating the back of the tongue and keping it "quiet" and letting it do what it does naturally without conscious activation. Studying the syllables and hearing the quality of sound they produce is helpful to develop that sensitivity. Pity the poor opera singer who must sing a high C at the end of the first act of "Boheme" for instance, and sing the word "Amor". No wonder they all cheat and sing "A-ahh".

E, make up some litle vocal exercises and get back to me with what you figure out for yourself. That's right, you're not going out tonight, either.

ML

trumpetmike

And I am sure that in the 40 minutes between Manny calling you back in and you posting that, you did a load of work on double tongue intervals