Archived under: Horn study, Performance & Playing | Articulation, Barry Tuckwell, Philip Farkas
Tuckwell on Tonguing
One book that is not that well known today is Playing the Horn by Barry Tuckwell. It was written by Tuckwell in much the style of being his version of The Art of French Horn Playing and was published over thirty years ago. A bit of a rare book, the cheapest used version on Amazon is currently listed at over $116!
One interesting section of the book is on tonguing. Tuckwell presents a rather different view of the topic than did Farkas, and in particular Tuckwell is open to the idea that there is no one placement for the tongue in the mouth in articulations.
The exact position of the tongue will vary from player to player. Most people will find that putting it against the hard palate for a ‘D’ sound is best, while there are some who find it more satisfactory to put the tip of the tongue behind the teeth, in some cases actually touching the lips. But whatever position proves to be the best, a flat tongue should be used—‘DA’ rather than ’DE’.
He also cautions that
The most crucial part of tonguing is the withdrawal of the tongue from the hard palate; it should only be forward for the briefest possible moment, and must never rest there—this produces dull, ponderous attacks, and is not efficient for fast articulations.
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