Articulation is a fancy word for "tonguing" on a wind instrument. Because the tongue is a muscle, it needs to be worked and trained like any muscle. It often doesn't behave in the manner that's desired because the performer isn't consistent enough in HOW exercises are practiced.
In the spirit of weight training, let's look at the tongue like a body builder does with strengthening arm muscles. He/she will do several "reps" of a certain exercise and then take a break. Doing the same thing over and over only tires the muscles. As a wind instrumentalist, you'll need to play "reps" of exercises.
Reed Instruments: articulation is accomplished by taking almost the tip of the tongue and touching it to the tip of the reed. By saying "the," this should give you an idea what part of the tongue touches the tip of the reed. Practice saying "the" as many times as possible in one breath while keeping the jaw very still.
Flute and Brass Instruments: articulation is accomplished by saying "do" just above where the top of the teeth meets the roof of the mouth. Practice saying "do" as many times as possible in one breath while keep the jaw very still.
STEP ONE: Play a note in the middle range of your instrument. Tongue position DOES change in various registers so staying in the middle register will assure that the tongue is in the easiest position for articulation to be successful. Keep jaw from moving and watch in the mirror to make sure that the embouchure stays as steady as a rock! ONLY the tongue should move. Do this until it feels comfortable on a single note. Then, add more notes.
STEP TWO: Contest time! See how many times you can tongue a note in one breath. For every four tongues, put a mark on paper. (Have a parent help with this.) Add marks up and multiply by four for a total. Try to keep the speed steady and consistent. .
STEP THREE: Once you can do this on one note, add several more notes to the game.
STEP FOUR: Next, practice ascending slow five-note scales (with a metronome set around 60) by tonguing four times on each note of the scale. If 60 is too fast, slow down the tempo. Too many notes will tire the tongue out so DON'T do full scales yet!
STEP FIVE: Continue tonguing four times per note on a five-note scale but increase the speed. When you can get up to 112 per quarter note, you're now ready to add more notes.
STEP SIX: Add full scales or ascending/descending five-note scales. Basically, double the amount of notes that you're playing to increase endurance.
STEP SEVEN: After practicing until completely comfortable with four tongues per note, you can move on to changing rhythms. Begin in the MIDDLE register of the instrument. Start with a five-note scale and add simple rhythms. Start metronome at 60 per quarter and gradually speed up as tongue muscle gets more consistent and steady.
Rhythm #1 -- Two measures of 4/4 time on ONE note: quarter - eighth, eighth - quarter - eighth, eighth.Rhythm #2 - One measure of 4/4 time on ONE note: four eighths - half.Rhythm #3 - One measure of 4/4 time on ONE note: eighth, eighth - quarter - eighth, eighth - quarter.STEP EIGHT: Once the three rhythmic patterns are at 120 per quarter, switch to cut-time and add full scales. This then becomes regular articulation practice. Choose at least four scales per day (minimum of one-octave) and alternate between the three rhythms above as "articulation warm-up" exercises.
STEP NINE: In addition, each instrument has method books with various exercises that work the tongue. However, the key is to keep the exercises short. For example, if there is an entire page of tonguing, consider playing one line at a time with a measure of rest between each line. This will act as a "rep" in the same manner that a body builder will do so many sets of the same exercise with a break between.
A POINT TO REMEMBER: The tongue is a muscle. If you do the same thing over and over without giving it a rest, eventually it will rebel against you! This is why various repeated rhythmic patterns help build strength in the tongue muscle. Think of the various exercises as repetitions like a weight lifter does with "sets" of exercises.
Del Hungerford is a professional musician and educator in the Pacific Northwest. She's been a member of professional orchestras and chamber ensembles as well as teaching in the public schools. Currently, she teaches education courses and clarinet lessons at the university level. She holds a D.M.A. in clarinet from the University of Washington. For more information on Del's musical activities, check out her blog: http://delhungerfordmusicstudio.blogspot.com/
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