Anchor-Tongue / K-Tongue Modified for Trumpet (How to Practice)

[@cortiz4]

This made my day man. Thanks so much for doing this video. I had mentioned this in your last video and didn’t know if you would actually make a video about it. Since then, I’ve been experimenting with this new tonguing and 1) expanded my range ,when slurring, to a G above high C, 2) developed more muscles that I never used in the face because now I’m focusing more on the tongue doing the work, 3) ease of slurs from 4ths and 5ths and even octaves. I wish I had learned this way of playing when I first started trumpet. It was a crazy first week of sounding awful but then it clicked and I assigned myself little goals everyday to finally have the tonguing become second nature.

[@BwellsTrumpetBasics]

That's awesome, CHICO! Keep on keepin' on!

[@bene420]

when I try and use the k modified tongue i feel like i have to adjust my embouchure to produce notes and make the KMT to work. i can hardly tongue a G above the staff with the k tongue and my normal range is around a double F. any ideas as to why this is? is my normal embouchure just really bad?

[@BwellsTrumpetBasics]

hard to say without seeing you play. I would recommend building up the notes you can K tongue nice and slowly. this should reveal plenty about your playing,. Let me know if I can help in any other way.

[@SylasXavier]

like super chops system

[@richiegonzaga2181]

Quick question. So the tip of the tongue should always be behind the lower teeth?

[@BwellsTrumpetBasics]

Yeah, when you're anchor tonguing the tip of the tongue stays behind the bottom teeth. Mine tends to wriggle around a bit at the very top and bottom of my range (raises and goes over bottom teeth) but the longer I keep with the fundamentals this happens less and less. You experimenting with it?

[@richiegonzaga2181]

Been doing it sporadically the past couple of days. I feel like its pushing my bottom lip forward so I'm trying to be careful it does not mess with my chops. (I'm in the middle of a musical) And yeah. my tongue seems to flail around as I try to go up and down the staff.

[@siegfriedwifling907]

Great Attack…stop‘n go ..Jerry used to say..that shows why the trumpet should be never “blowin“.. nice and compressive..👍😊

[@JohnArcycle]

Anchor tongueing is the most natural way to me. I don’t even have to think about where my tongue goes. There is just the stigma of being unorthodox.

[@craigherriot4026]

So what is the benefit of this technique? Is it primarily to make double and triple tonguing easier? If so, I'd give it a shot.

[@KingJosef]

when you anchor tongue, what action does your lips make... cuz for all the years I learnt playing you had to do a buzz after a tongue "snap" to produce a sound... when I try to do anchor tongue, I can't even produce a sound with my tip of the tongue at the lower teeth... are you able to tell me what am I doing wrong or what have I missed in your explanation?

[@TheNuncFluens]

How do yo play de "da's" with anchor tongue?

[@vakosaatashvili4235]

I would love to hear more about the articulation 🙌 you doing great Job !

[@brianswartz]

Good stuff, James!

[@pauldance7387]

So, I’ve been practicing KTM for a couple weeks now and it’s manifested its self in an area that was gleefully surprising...I am just a 1.5 year student over 50 years old with a somewhat musical background not related to brass. I posses decent wind power ( I am an endless swimmer ) so wind has not been an issue. My problems has always been nailing low end notes like c#, flat e and 1-3 valve “D”....those notes would often crumble on me. What I found with KTM was the power support the “fat” back part of the tongue provides on pushing enough air against the back pressure of a low C#. I’ve suffered that problem ever since beginning trumpet playing, well that’s one issue I can check off now it’s been resolved with the aid of KTM thanks to your article👍.....I am still looking for other benefits perhaps range extension. It’s only been a few weeks using it I am sure I’ll find other positive benefits which I’ll report to you. Thanks for your eagerness to instruct us, your humous humble approach to instruction are well received. Thank you so much 😊

[@BwellsTrumpetBasics]

Love hearing about your progress Paul - that's an awesome observation. Those notes (C# D) are notoriously funky and do take good playing mechanics. Keep it up! - James

[@selenec2046]

Thank you so much for this video- I’ve always been pretty lousy at articulation, so this really helps! While I can tongue slowly with this method, how is this supposed to feel while tonguing fast? My tongue tends to hover a little high out of place, which make my articulation sound kind of sloppy, and I don’t know what to do to correct this.

[@BwellsTrumpetBasics]

Hey Selene! I hear you. The speed of articulation has been something I need to work on a little each day. What I do as a warm-up that feels pretty good is to play rubato scales, tonguing every note. I just go at whatever tempo feels easy that day (no metronome), and as you get the tongue and air warmed up it'll feel less clumsy and quicker. Just aim for a clear attack on every note and the speed will increase.

[@selenec2046]

Alright! I have one more question- is the midsection of the tongue supposed to hit the roof of your mouth, between your front teeth and bottom teeth, or somewhere else entirely? I used to tongue with the second method, and feels quite jarring to suddenly switch to the roof of my mouth.

[@BwellsTrumpetBasics]

Hey Selene, everyone tongues a little different. I tongue on the roof of the mouth but know a few very good players that tongue between the top and bottom teeth. If you're getting good results - go for it!

[@selenec2046]

BlackwellsTrumpetBasics Alright, thank you!

[@pauldance7387]

What is k-tongue NOT modified ?

[@BwellsTrumpetBasics]

It's the other half of double-tonguing - the "K" sound of the word "Killer" or "Car" or "Cat." Here's an article I wrote up on the articulations: www.blackwellstrumpetbasics.com/anchor-tonguing-k-tongue-modified-for-trumpet-playing-what-it-is-and-how-to-learn-it/ I appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment!

[@fijimorgan]

Good video! When I use any kind of tongue forward, I get a lot of extra saliva coming through the horn and interrupting the sound. Does this happen to you?

[@BwellsTrumpetBasics]

I've had that happen when learning new techniques. Keep practicing it'll probably go away.