Tonguing Exercises , pg. 28, MCFB...Charly?

[Murray]

I just started working on these exercises, and have a few questions regarding them.

Should one follow the 4 rules When doing these?

Is it OK to breathe when needed as stated, breaking the time, or should one breathe as needed through the nose, keeping the time?

Should these be done without a break or is it OK to stop in the middle?

Any other comments and/or suggestions would be welcomed, thanks.

[PH]

The exercise in the book is slightly different from the one Carmine gave me. However, when I do the one from the book I do follow the four rules. When I need a breath (or just before I need a breath) I insert a four beat rest and breathe through the nose. Keep the rest in time and keep the breath in time. Don't stop unless the sound shuts off. If the sound shuts off I still finish the measure I am on. I pick up where it shut off-just like I would on the interval studies.

When I first started this exercise I found that I had to breathe more frequently (like every couple of measures) the farther I got into the exercise. Eventually the body adjusts and I don't feel like I am working any harder at the end of the study than I was at the beginning.

[_bugleboy]

***** Should one follow the 4 rules When doing these? *****

Yes.

***** Is it OK to breathe when needed as stated, breaking the time, or should one breathe as needed through the nose, keeping the time? *****

Yes, breathe when needed in the manner Pat suggested.

I have always done the tonguing as a one blow exercise. I'm not sure if Carmine gave it to me that way or not. He may have said nothing. But Pat does it with a second blow. And that's consistent with the interval studies format.

When you get this exercise down and can consistently make it to the last note (middle C), it will be time to move it up to next level, middle C to G above. This will be an eight note exercise. Again, apply the Four Rules and insert a four beat rest for nose breathing whenever necessary.

A comment Carmine made to me once was that I should take a breath before I had to.

[B_Starry]

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do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God

[_bugleboy]

Brian,

I'm not sure I understand. You say,

"I move through the six notes / regular 2nds / another regular interval / a SLS interval / harmonics / LSL 4ths. Between all of the aforementioned, I'm taking either a three measure or four measure break, in time, (i.e. 12 or 16 seconds at MM60)."

Does this mean you are not taking the horn off between exercises? You should be. Play the Six Notes. When you have finished, take the horn off for 10, 20, 30 seconds, whatever time it takes to, say, empty the water key and now you're ready to go ahead with the Seconds. Same thing after the second blow, you will take a 20 - 30 second break and move right into the next calisthenic. The time interval between exercises is probably at least 15 - 20 seconds but less than a minute. The procedure is to play one, finish it and move on to the next one after a catch-your-breath kind of break. This approach should continue for 20 minutes after which I would put the horn down and take a full 20 minute break. After the 20 minute break. I would play for another 20 minutes with the same regimen as before and continue this way through out the day, getting into your Etude books, Clarke's, Arban, performance music, etc.

BS: When I hit the six notes tongued, I do not have the endurance to play through the entire exercise without my chops failing (air leaking out of the sides of my mouth around the mouthpiece, tone disintegrating). I resort to using a ton of arm pressure to keep working ... Is this unusual?

CR: As long as you're not readjusting the mouthpiece from the original setting, you can use all the pressure you
want. It is normal to be using a lot of pressure at the end of the interval studies and the tonguing exercise, especially the tonguing exercise. For me, that one is the biggest lip killer.





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Charles Raymond

[ This Message was edited by: bugleboy on 2002-09-26 08:22 ]

[B_Starry]

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do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God

[jgadvert]

Is it really possible to train your tongue to bang out the four sets of sixteenth notes using the "ts". I can only see maybe getting fast enough to do eighth notes with this single tonguing method. I feel the same way about Arbans(for example) suggesting the "tu" sound to play series of sixteenths.

Isnt double tonging(tu ka tu ka for example etc...) really whats called for to play the sixteenth notes.

[_bugleboy]

John,

If the "ts" is not working for you then something else is going on that's coming into play. At mm = 60 you should have no trouble single tonguing the 16ths. What tempo are you using?

The double tongue exercise is different and comes later.

[jgadvert]

Yeah your right Charly. I was tonguing at more like mm=120. Dont have the book handy at this writing but I'll bet that 60 speed is specified(must have missed that!).

So:

1) Will this exercise teach me to single tongue faster with better articualtion?(I assume so)

2) Can one get to a 120 speed single tonguing(hard to believe..but I'll try)?

I play a line on a Rick James song(Give it to me Baby) and have always had to double tongue it. My sax player (a teacher also) insists that the trumpet player is single tonging on the record and that I could develop to more of a 120 speed.

[_bugleboy]

John,

The book doesn't specify a mm marking, but set your tempo someplace between 60 and 80.

"Will this exercise teach me to single tongue faster with better articualtion?"

It will make your tongue very efficient in interrupting the air and releasing it. With efficiency usually comes speed. Clarity/cleanness of articulation (if that's what you mean by "better") is surprisingly quite often more associated with efficiency in the lips, and not the tongue.

"Can one get to a 120 speed single tonguing"

For short bursts, like 4 - 8 notes, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.


_________________
Charles Raymond

[ This Message was edited by: bugleboy on 2002-10-24 19:20 ]