josephus07

Hi Mr. Hooten,

I was wondering if you could talk about how Ghitalla taught articulation.

Right now I'm studying with two people - one who studied with Ghitalla and advocates a "thyud" syllable (I guess that is the best way I can write it)

and one who studied with Cichowicz and when he has me do air patterns and hears the "thyud" syllable, tells me to just say "too."

Maybe they aren't mutually exclusive and maybe I'm not quite grasping the "thyud" articulation.

Your input would be greatly appreciate. Thanks!

thomashooten

Hello,

Ghitalla used what he called "thick" or "anchor" tonguing. I remember him saying it like "thit" with the "th" sounding a little like a "D". He wanted me to anchor the front part of my tongue to my bottom teeth. The way I understood this was that "thit" helped keep a better tongue position than something with an "oo" or a "u".
Hope this helps. Lets get some other input from former Ghitalla students on this.

Thanks
Tom

josephus07

Thanks Mr. Hooten.

So, do you articulate in this manner (anchor tonguing)?

Thanks!

John P

Interesting, is this at all similar to Claude Gordon's "K-tongue modified" technique?

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JP

thomashooten

Let me clarify, "thit" is more like "thi". I only put the "t" on the end because that is the start of the next note. I would consider it a tool that is very appropriate for certain parts of the literature. It helps me get a little more width to the beginning of the note.
Thanks
Tom

John P

My eyes must deceive me. There's no way a sound that big could come out of a horn that small! Amazing!

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JP

Richard Oliver

3 mins remaining, talk about spot on!

And 2 mins remaining ain't shabby either.

35 seconds remaining . . . oh my.

Bugleboy21

I remember working on Ein Heldenleben, 1st Eb tpt, with him. I must have played the first four notes of the battle scene a hundred times until I could figure out how the peal the tongue away from the teeth like he wanted. I also spent some time vocalizing an "E" vowel sound from deep in the back of my mouth. That helped to keep an open cavity, but allow the tongue to arch naturally and stay anchored. It really helped alot!

MJ: great find on YouTube!

Larry

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SSG Laurence C Dean
US Army TRADOC Band
Fort Monroe, VA


You have to be a SMAT Boy to transpose well! -William Vacchiano

rowuk

Keeping the tongue "anchored" keeps it lower in the oral cavity. That makes a potentially more open path for air to flow.
The other common procedure is NOT to anchor and to articulate with the tip of the tongue. This can potentially offer more decisive attacks.
I don't think that it is worth arguing about as both methods are being used professionally with no audible downside.

I anchor tongue when playing the picc or lead and TOOH with the bigger horns for symphonic stuff.

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.