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SOME TIPS ON LEARNING HOW TO DOUBLE-TONGUE ON THE FLUTE

Dr. Constance G. Lane, Professor of Music - Flute
University of South Carolina
CLane@Mozart.sc.edu

Definition: One half of double-tonguing is actually regular single-tonguing. The initial syllable is just a regular articulation started with a "tee" or "dee" release of the air with the top of the tip of the tongue. In other words, it is the same as when you pronounce the word "tea" or the name "Dee," but you do not use your vocal chords. You use either of these syllables to start and direct the air into the flute. The top of the tip of your tongue touches just barely above the back side of your two front teeth on the gum. It touches very quickly and moves backward immediately after touching.

As flutists, we soon reach a final speed where we can touch with the top of the tip of the tongue in a "tee" or "dee," then RESET to do it again, only so fast. This is the maximum speed that we can single-tongue, and the speed is an individual characteristic. It is primarily a genetic attribute, with some people having an exceptionally fast single-tongue and others a very slow one. When we have reached our maximum single-tonguing speed, but still need to tongue faster in order to play literature that calls for it, then we need to know how to DOUBLE-TONGUE.

The second step in double-tonguing after the initial single-tongue syllable of "tee" or "dee," is an articulation that releases the air in a different place than the tip of the tongue. In this case, we release the air by means of a "throat" syllable such as "kah" or "gah." While we are releasing the air with this "throat" syllable, the tip of the tongue is resetting to strike with another "tee" syllable. Together, we get the sequence, "tee" with the tip of the tongue, followed by "kah" from the throat, allowing the tongue to set again for another "tee," followed by another "kah" from the throat, etc. A long line of double-tonguing would look like this:TKTKTKTKTK. The vowel sound following the T or K depends on the register you are playing in. For example, if you are in the upper 3rd octave, you might be using a closed vowel like "Tee," but in the bottom of the 1st octave, you might be using an open vowel such as "Too" or "Doo."

Learning to Double-Tongue: Start with the newest part of this process, the "throat" syllable. Starting an articulation with the "throat" syllable is not a very efficient way to start the air, otherwise we would have been teaching and using this as our basic articulation instead of the "tee" all these years. So, work on this first. The throat syllable needs most of your practice time for the first couple of weeks. We have to try to make the throat syllable sound as much like the tongue syllable as possible.

Take your major scales and practice them for a couple of weeks, starting each note with a "throat" syllable "K" or hard "G." Do not use the tongue syllable at all. Listen carefully and try to make it impossible to tell the difference between the "throat" syllable and the "tongue" syllable. Make them sound identical.

Next, you are ready to begin to alternate the tongue syllable and the throat syllable, using either the TKTK or the DGDG. Start at slow eighth note tempos using a metronome. Keep the syllables long, and run one syllable right into the next with no space between. This should help you to keep the syllables even. If one of the syllables gets longer (or shorter) than the other, then you get the sound of the notes "loping" unevenly. Reversing the syllables for a period of time can sometimes help to even the notes. (KTKTKTKT)

Use your metronome to help you build speed. You will need to start the process at the slower speeds, in other words, ones than you might normally single-tongue. This is perfectly all right. Just keep pressing yourself to move a little faster each time you practice. At some point you will be able to switch to 16th notes, four of them per beat of your metronome.

Goals:

(1) Your first goal will be to move from 8th notes to 16th notes.

(2) Your second goal will be to play four 16th notes per beat at quarter = 88 on your metronome.

Your next goals will be to play four 16th notes per beat at 100; 120; 144; and finally 160 with your metronome.

Always keep the notes even and be patient. I have described a process here that will benefit you at the slower speeds almost immediately, but which may take a year or longer to reach at the last goal of 160. Clearly, the more daily practice you do, the faster the process will go. Also, once you get double-tonguing functioning at the medium speeds, begin to look for places in your music to try to use it, whether the music is solo, ensemble (band), or other literature. Good luck to you!

Dr. Constance G. Lane, Professor of Music - Flute
University of South Carolina
CLane@Mozart.sc.edu