Posted by Josh Whitlow on January 22, 1999 at 19:01:23:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Tonguing posted by Joseph Felton on January 21, 1999 at 22:54:25:
Instead of thinking and articulting "Poe" you may want to consider this analogy (I got this from the horn professor at the college where I got my music ed. degree). Tongue as if you are spitting out a seed, but make sure that you continue to focus on the attack AND release. My band students occassionally forget about releases and think only of attacks. Consequently, phrases endings aren't together, usually are cut short, and an unwanted harshness in overall sound becomes apparent. Considering releases, I also use the analogy of a snake bite. Consider your tongue as the snake. When the snake bites, he/she doesn't usually stay around long enough to see how bad it hurt. Articulations typically suffer when the tongue does not come away from the contact point quickly. Like so many others, this is just my humble opinion and I hope it helps in some small way.