Tonguing doesn't have to be complicated. In this Q&A, Kathy Blocki shares the simple teaching steps that give your students clear articulation without frustration.
Tonguing for the beginning flute player: Q&A with Kathy Blocki
Do you teach beginning tone while using tonguing?
There are many views on this. Some people teach tonguing simultaneously with beginning tone. The problem is that the air column naturally rises when tonguing, which makes it more difficult to produce a clear tone.
This is easy to see with double tonguing: play a sustained note using the Pneumo Pro, then start double tonguing. For most people just learning to double tongue, you will see the air rise to the next fan. The same is true with single tonguing. It is simply more difficult to focus the air while tonguing.
If you don't start with tonguing, how do you start students?
First, we use a mirror to form the correct embouchure. Then I have students blow crumpled-up paper wads. They should start with the lips closed and make a "P" popping sound with each blow. Students enjoy seeing how many lined-up wads they can blow in one breath, and while they do it they are learning to sustain the air column. You will probably have to remind them to say "Pooh" and not "Who" several times.
Once students can consistently blow the wads with the "Pooh" sound, I have them do the same with the mirror on the Pneumo Pro. They need to concentrate on the embouchure and the "Pooh" as they gradually aim lower and lower on the Pneumo Pro. Usually they spin the yellow fan first. After congratulating them on spinning the fan with a great embouchure and the "Pooh" sound, I encourage them to try the red fan and then the green fan. Once they can spin those fans consistently, they are ready to replace the Pneumo Pro with the head joint.
At what point would you introduce tonguing?
After students can easily sustain a tone for about three seconds, I introduce tonguing.
Easy steps to teach tonguing
Gather your tools: the Pneumo Pro and a flute.
- Practice saying "I like to tongue" and "Tu Tu Tu Tu" without the flute. The tongue should be behind the upper teeth — the same place as when saying "teeth." Now make the same tongue motion, but with a quiet sound.
- On the Pneumo Pro, sustain a note spinning the lowest fan.
- Next, do the same but add the "Tu Tu Tu Tu." The fan should still spin freely and stay on the same fan.
- Now try it on the head joint with the end open.
- When transferring to the whole flute, remember that some notes are naturally more responsive to tonguing than others. B or B-flat are good notes to begin with. If you are teaching the low and middle octaves together, it is almost always easier to tongue on the higher notes.
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