7. Tonguing
“Your tongue is not used just for changing pitch. It is also used to separate notes. Try saying Tuh and Duh. These two syllables will give you separation of the notes while blowing through your trumpet.”
Alexander was saying Duh over and over again, but thought it was silly.
“Alexander, blow into the trumpet to play G, and try saying Duh.”
Alexander tried but he was humming the Duh sound into the trumpet.
“Is this what it is supposed to sound like?”
“No. You don’t actually ‘say’ Duh with your vocal chords when you are playing. But your tongue does the same thing when blowing. Try saying ‘duh’ while you play G without humming with your vocal chords.”
Alexander tried, but it was hard to do.
“So, what is this good for?”
“Your tongue is like your hand on a drum. Imagine keeping the beat of a song with your hand.”
Alexander tapped his fingers on the piano bench.
“When playing the trumpet, instead of using your hand, you use your tongue to keep the beat or a rhythm3 of a song. Try playing G and use your tongue to keep a steady beat with me.”
Papa clapped his hands over and over again slowly while saying ‘duh duh duh’ at the same time.
Alexander raise the trumpet to his lips and softly blew into the mouthpiece to play G. Then he used his tongue to keep beat with Papa.
“Duh, Duh, Duh, Duh, Duh, Duh, Duh.”
“Good. Now play the rhythm for Mary had a little lamb. You will not play the notes, so it will not sound like the song. But the rhythm will be the same.”
Papa clapped the rhythm with his hands, and Alexander understood what to do.
“Excellent. You did very good.”
“So, what is the difference between the beat of a song and the rhythm?”
“The beat indicates the tempo5 of the song, and rhythm is created by the length of notes and spaces in between them.”
Papa demonstrated by clapping a steady beat with his hands while using his tongue to hum the rhythm of ‘Mary had a little lamb.’
Lesson seven. Tonguing.
- A metronome6 is a good device to use while practicing to keep a steady beat when playing songs.
- Challenge yourself to increase the speed of the beat with your tongue every day.
