Multiple Tongue Speed

[tim_wolf]

I have to admit, in my 45 years of playing, I never really developed a lot of speed in double and triple tonguing.

In mid September, my chamber orchestra is doing Scheherazade. Obviously, I'm going to need a good bit of speed in this work. Last night we played Night on Bald Mountain, and I had to bail on the triple tonguing at letter "U."

I'd like to get some suggestions on an efficient and fast way to up my speed. Obviously, I don't have months and months to work on it, thus the need for an efficient way.

Thanks!

[Dark Knight]

There is a brutal double tonguing part in Pictures at an Exhibition. Besides constant drilling, let the air flow and don't try to consciously control the tongue so much, while using softer syllables, i.e., da-ga. While walking around throughout the day, practice getting to speed with those syllables.

DK
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[Dave CCM/SSO]

Hello,

The 3 things that helped me the most are as follows:

- play quieter
- keep the tongue towards the front of your mouth
- develop a faster single tongue

When everything is focused and forward in your mouth, things are much easier. The most common mistake I hear from my students is trying to learn this too loudly. Having a quick and light single tongue helps as well. A little bit everyday can go a long way if you're doing it correctly.

Best of luck!
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Springfield Symphony Orchestra (OH)
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[cheiden]

To get double-tonguing up to speed it really helps to soften the articulation until it's barely audible. So that it barely bumps the air. This may seem impractical at first but once you get up to speed then it's easier to add more percussion later on. Tonguing hard form the start is the surest way to never get up to speed.
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[trickg]

As simplistic as this is going to sound, you need to put in some time working on it, and working to refine it. We can give you tips and things to conceptualize until the cows come home, but ultimately it's going to boil down to the work you put in working on it in the practice room, and you are the only one who is going to truly be able to find that efficiency.

Use a metronome and work toward pushing it, speed it up until you just can't do it, back off, work it back up, etc. Wash, rinse, repeat.

You'd be surprised how much you can improve areas of technique when you put in some time with focused work on what you wish to improve.
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[Dayton]

Some good advice has already been offered. A few more thoughts:

- Players often have an imbalance between the t and k in multiple tonguing. You might consider working on your k tonguing in isolation if you are not already doing that. Try playing Arban’s “First Studies” or “Scales,” Clarke, Staigers or Vizzutti technical studies, etc., using the k tonguing only. That can help with the evenness and rapidity of your tonguing, as well as your endurance in long passages of multiple tonguing.

- Additionally, players sometimes do not incorporate enough multiple tonguing – and enough variety in their multiple tonguing – to handle pieces that require substantial multiple tonguing. One way to address that is to double/triple tongue your daily technical studies instead of slurring them. For example, triple tongue Clarke’s Technical Study #1 or #7, Vizzutti’s technical study #14…and double tongue the Arban gruppetto and interval exercises, etc.

Good luck!

[Blackquill]

The first paragraph of Dayton's post is crucial. "K" exercises in isolation makes it so much easier to learn how to double-tongue well.

Perhaps you already know some of this, but just in case....

Make your length of notes in your double-tonguing as long as possible. It might sound counterintuitive, but when you're playing something fast like the Schereherazade, the tonguing is going to sound short no matter what. This, in conjunction with a mentality of an uninterrupted flow of air, will make double-tonguing a whole lot easier. Also, be sure you can play legato tonguing fairly well before working on more accented tonguing. It's better to have smooth tonguing with no accent in the Scheherazade passages than it is for it to be accented and sloppy.

One trick that may help, after having applied the above adivce, is to practice the "k"'s on the off-beats of 16th notes (2nd and 4th notes) for several seconds (in other words, double-tonguing while leaving off the "t" attacks), and then finish it off with a "T" on the downbeat. This trains your body to more easily do the "k" syllables when you add the "t" back into it. It helped me a lot, at least.

EDIT: Yes, I know that your main concern is speed. However, if you can't do it fast enough, it makes us question your technique. I would say that if you're able to single tongue and "K' tongue eighth notes, with ease, at 160 quarter notes before minute, you should be able to learn how to double-tonguie sixteenth notes at that tempo before too long, provided your technique is good.
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[fmarcellus]

You have to spend time working it out. A daily routine with a metronome and the Arban book is needed. I'm talking a few pages where you start much slower than where you would need to start DT (or Triple T) and start moving up the metronome in speed every line or two lines by 3-5 clicks. You will find as you get to faster speeds, you need to play softer and lighter. Take the speed up to and past tongue exhaustion. Put the horn away. Do the same the following day and continue it daily. Your top speed will increase and you will figure out and feel when and where you need to play softer and lighten up. It's a long term plan and not something that will correct in a short period of time. If you want to isolate a few measures or an excerpt every once in a while, do the same program of increasing the metronome by 3-5 clicks. You need to watch your air flow to make sure it's consistent. If working on a passage in a solo, excerpt, etc, can you slur it to ensure air flow is good and you are producing the correct notes with a great sound while keeping it sounding smooth? If so, then put in the DT/TT and keep the air flow the same. Many times air and air flow is the issue, the DT/TT cut's it off and you need to get this consistent along with building up the endurance and speed of your DT/TT Time working out will produce results.

[tim_wolf]