Are You Tonguing Wrong? The Do's & Don'ts of Clarinet Articulation

Рет қаралды 18,114

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 66

@sharithefirefly 9 ай бұрын

I joined concert band on a whim this college semester after not playing for 5 years 😅 My teacher never taught me how to tongue in high school. Our first concert of the semester is this week and I think I finally learned to tongue from this video 🎉🙏🏿 THANK YOU

@tammit1188 11 ай бұрын

Thank you, Callie! Tonguing is my worst enemy. I played all through school, 4th grade through 12th, without a clue about proper tonguing. I put my clarinet away for 45 years. I have been back to playing over the past year. It is much more difficult than I ever dreamed it would be, but so fun. Who knew that tonguing on the roof of the mouth was incorrect?? Certainly not me!! This is a very difficult habit to break, especially in the clarion range for me. Thank you for all of your videos and lessons. You are so appreciated!

@callyclarinet 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing, Tammi, and for your kind words! 🎶 You’re such a good musician and tonguing will get easier with time!

@adrianpaulwynne 11 ай бұрын

thank you for another useful video. I'm a beginner on day 3 of my clarinet journey and I think you just saved me from doing things wrong for several years :)

@callyclarinet 11 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful! Good luck on your journey :-)

@alistairmn7796 11 ай бұрын

OMG! I've been playing clarinet for 8 years and I've always done roof of the mouth tonguing! Thank yo so much for this, I will spend this weekend practicing on tonguing for sure :D

@callyclarinet 11 ай бұрын

You're welcome! Good luck!! When I made the switch it was a struggle for me to lighten on the tongue pressure, but it was so worth the hours of practice. 🎶

@karenmickel6205 10 ай бұрын

Thank you for actually showing the correct tonguing method. You're the first.

@callyclarinet 9 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@jonnywester3194 16 күн бұрын

Good video!! Articulation is important! You are also lucky to have a musical cat!

@Jeff_Panasuik 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for captioning this! Learning to play with clarinet wearing cochlear implant is amazing experience. Your video’s closed captions were incredibly beneficial for me to understand and practice. Not everyone who plays a music have perfect hearing. :) Cally, thank you.

@callyclarinet 5 ай бұрын

You are welcome!! Thank you for the feedback!

@Katja-137 5 ай бұрын

Hi Callie! In addition to studying the recorder for quite some years, I picked up clarinet this year as well. I am so happy to see videos that hopefully prevent some bad habits, including roof tonguing, which comes naturally on recorder haha. So much to learn! Thx for the in depth and fun videos!

@michaelbarela2953 7 ай бұрын

Great job! Very informative! I write for orchestra and play most instruments. Played a clarinet last night for the first time & noticed my notes were much too breathy! Loosening the reed made the notes easier to play, but still too airy. Thank you!!! 🎶

@barryfleischer6553 11 ай бұрын

Excellent instruction on articulation. Thank you.

@dingdingdingdiiiiing 2 ай бұрын

This seems kind of fundamental knowledge and I'm baffled that instructors won't explain this in like, the first hour. Thank you.

@TheSaxRunner05 11 ай бұрын

I anchor tongued for quite awhile, but dropped the habit eventually. It only felt natural at the time because I had done it for a couple years.

@ajbroughtgum 7 ай бұрын

I had been playing clarinet and bass clarinet for nearly 10 years before my college instructor told me I had been anchor tonguing the whole time. I was able to make it work for the most part but every once in a while I thudded on the reed and couldn't tongue fast enough for a given passage which is what made him question me on it. it discouraged me so much that I've barely played for the past couple of years but I'm trying to get back into it. needless to say, unlearning it is going to be a huge pain but watching videos like this one is helping so thank you!!

@williamrappaport9203 11 ай бұрын

I always enjoy your videos. Here’s how I think of articulation: I say “toot,” and deliberately remove my tongue from the reed each time I say it. Toot can be a single note or two (or more) slurred notes. I find that practicing the slurred version of an articulated passage helps me, especially if I practice it slowly with fast snaps of the fingers and left thumb coupled with steady leverage of the clarinet against my upper teeth with my right thumb. I then practice the passage as printed, slowly with “removal-toot.” If I persist for a period of days, it works well for me. Perhaps there’s a better way! But this is basically what I do.

@williamrappaport9203 11 ай бұрын

I also touch about an 1/8th of an inch or so back on the top side of the tongue to about a 1/4 inch down from the edge of the reed.

@cloudyflopped_ 6 ай бұрын

Oh my! 😭 I didn’t know that I was doing tonging wrongly ;-; this is such a clear tutorial to correct me!! Thank you so much I swear you are a life saviour.

@callyclarinet 6 ай бұрын

Thank you for the nice comment!!! Best of luck in your clarinet journey!

@kennethroberts2748 11 ай бұрын

My first Clarinet lesson was in the studio, then; Coved 19. My second lesson and since, Zoom. I missed the personal attention with the basics. Thank you for this Video.

@aspenx1304 11 ай бұрын

Thank you Cally, getting back into Clarinet this really helps.

@callyclarinet 11 ай бұрын

You're welcome! Glad you're getting back to clarinet :-)

@meredith18352 2 ай бұрын

I played clarinet all through high school and always had problems with tonguing and have probably done everything wrong except the throat tonguing. I then spent nearly 20 years playing a tenor horn in a brass band and have to say, tonguing was never a problem without a mouthpiece in your mouth the payoff being making the sound with your lips instead of a reed is a lot more fatiguing. Maybe I should put my clarinet together and give it a go.

@sfxjura8834 9 ай бұрын

Had to delete previous comment where I said anchor tonguing is the right thing to do. I always thought that the tonguing I am doing is called anchor tonguing. Im from Europe, we dont use these terms here. But what I am doing/teaching is something close to what you described as "mid" tonguing. I guess its easy to mix the two since the tip of the tongue touches lower teeth/lip in both techniques. I am clarinetist but also teach saxophone. Tonguing is the same on both. So, for me contact happens slightly behind the tip of the tongue, 1/4 to 1/2 an inch maybe (depends on each persons tongue). Tongue is in its natural position, you just open your mouth and when you put in the mouthpiece, the tip of the reed comes exactly on the part of the tongue it needs to touch. Tip of the tongue gently touches lower lip. On youtube there are several saxophonists that show it that way (Jay Metcalf from Bettersax channel and Scott Paddock). There is also interesting PDF file about tonguing that can be found on internet by clarinetist Edward Palanker. Also, clarinetist Rosemary Lang, who wrote the book "Short cuts to virtuoso technique" nicely illustrated and described tonguing on clarinet. She says "Keep tongue arched with tip pointing toward inside of lower teeth. To tongue, touch edge of reed with top surface of tongue about 1/4 inch back from tip of tongue." I also read on the internet that Karl Leister and Mitchell Lurie anchor tongue but do they really anchor tongue or do what is described above I am not sure. Nevertheless, to teach exclusively tip to tip tonguing is very much wrong in my opinion. In my almost 20 years of teaching, this tonguing that me and others above described has been proven best technique and not just because it works for me.

@callyclarinet 9 ай бұрын

Ahhhh your comment now makes much more sense! Some mid-tonguing can actually sound pretty good (as demonstrated in the video haha), but too far can sound muddy. The top of the tip of the tongue (taste buds) should never touch the lower teeth or lip.

@thalestrez7481 5 ай бұрын

Great tips! Thanks a lot! Let me ask you something... I know you mention something at the end, but just to make that point clear. So sorry if this is redundant.... When tip tonguing, I stop blowing the air, or the flow continues but without the sound?

@MasterPredator93 5 ай бұрын

Great video! Interesting and informative :) i have a question. I'm learning how to tongue properly and with separato it's easy. The problem is with staccato because i noticed that i tend to stop the air flow. I've been said only after 20 years of wrong pratice that air flow should never stop and only the toungue should give the effect. However i try, without stopping the air it's not a staccato but more of a legato. What is your experience on that? Thanks :)

@PinacoladaMatthew 11 ай бұрын

it's scary there're private teachers out there teaching air tonguing....

@Jwellsuhhuh 11 ай бұрын

It’s scary there’s private teachers who lose their temper when the student doesn’t understand the instruction. Part of pedagogy includes learning to be patient and you can easily tell these kinds of “teachers” never went through proper training

@Clarinetman62 10 ай бұрын

You’re in for a rude awaking. Studying with principal players in major orchestra doesn’t mean they’re nice. Some are down right mean. If you don’t have a tough skin you won’t make it as a clarinetist.

@GiordanoBruno-o5i 5 ай бұрын

“Good” clarinet player doesn’t mean good person or good teacher.

@kentjrmontgomery4095 Ай бұрын

When I try your technique I SQUEAK every time above the break. Above about E.

@mozarte 11 ай бұрын

When i was in the army band, we had an exchange and met a professional Spanish army clarinetist who uses mid tongue. And he sounded still fine. I dont really know how he does it.. 😅

@callyclarinet 11 ай бұрын

Mid-tonguing can actually sound pretty good if you work at it, lol. I think many more of us do it than we realize...

@Duncanmn 2 ай бұрын

Hi! Love your videos but I do slightly disagree about the second half of the video. Some people get good success with "mid tonguing" or anchor tonguing and find it's easier for them. I agree that you should aim for tip of the tongue to tip of the reed and that is best for the majority of people but some people have longer tongues and get the right sound with contacting with the tongue slightly further back. Lots of good clarinet pedagogues talk about it (Tom Ridenour for example, who is very well known) being right for some people. I totally think no matter the tonguing style you always want to contact the tip of the reed, but what part of the tongue makes contact can be different for some people.

@callyclarinet 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing this, actually, I was talking about this exception with a colleague of mine recently who does have a longer tongue and has to make modifications. Definitely good for me to remember if/when students are not quite able to get the right sound using the “standard” method. At the end of the day, if it sounds good, it’s right!

@louiselawson9414 Ай бұрын

Wow thank you for this video. I had years of private lessons and have been tutt off roof of my mouth for over 20years. I have never figured out why my clarinet sound has never been as clear as it should be

@barendscholtus1786 11 ай бұрын

Hi Cally, when my tongue (almost) touches the reed, it feels like a big mosquito stuck between the MP and tongue! Is that right? Do I have to get used to that? Or is this reed too soft?

@lyndafoster9437 11 ай бұрын

Thank you

@zathrasnotzathras9435 11 ай бұрын

This is the toughest thing for me to get back after 25 years away. I always feel and sound like my tongue is 100 pounds. I have a month to work on it before I start playing with a band again.

@andydai6539 2 ай бұрын

How does one tongue without blowing lots of spit into the clarinet?

@sjz1925 8 ай бұрын

10:00 Please refer to feline at lower right of screen for proper tongue techniques. 👅

@callyclarinet 8 ай бұрын

@brittlanders351 11 ай бұрын

Question: I’ve watched videos on tip of the tongue, but why do I still sound like your “roof of the mouth” demonstration?

@callyclarinet 11 ай бұрын

You might just be putting too much pressure on the reed when you tongue. It's not easy (at least not for me!)... I have spent many hours trying to get my tongue pressure to be as light as possible

@aspenx1304 11 ай бұрын

Hey Cally, Can I join the FB group?

@callyclarinet 11 ай бұрын

Done! Sometimes I don't see the notifications, so thank you for letting me know

@eileennguyen842 11 ай бұрын

My favorite tonguing tip (for beginners): Touch your tongue to the reed, but then take it OFF so that the reed can vibrate! If you don't you will have a very bad fuzzy sound. ...oh, you mean only Little Eileen needed this tip? Carry on...

@callyclarinet 11 ай бұрын

You're not the only one! I just had a new young student tell me that was how she learned to "tongue" in her band class! It was actually because of your story that I was able to identify that as her issue with tonguing, so thanks for that :-) She was very happy to no longer have a fuzzy sound!