Articulation on the bass clarinet can be tricky and needs control - each register needs to be treated differently. There are also many different types of articulation, but for now we are going to go over short staccato, starting notes with air (from ‘nothing’), accents and what I call ‘long tonguing’.
1) Articulation On The Bass Clarinet
Different types of standard articulation:
Starting notes ‘from nothing’
‘Long tonguing’
Staccato Tonguing
Accents
Other advanced styles of articulation I won’t cover in this course: double (+ triple) tonguing, slap tonguing and flutter tonguing.
2) Crabwise Scale Warm-Up: Alternating Articulation
Hopefully you’ll have got the hang of the Crabwise Scale Warm-up! Now let’s add in different articulation patterns. In this exercise, try to make the tongued notes as clean and staccato as possible.
What to do:
Set the metronome at 80 bpm.
Aim to maintain the same clarity of tone, across both tongued and slurred notes. We still need to be able to hear the centre of the notes.
This exercise is good for tongue-finger coordination. Use this study as inspiration of ways you could make your own scale practice more interesting!
Watch out for:
3) Building Flexible Articulation
The best way to develop flexible articulation is by practising all of them together in an exercise or study! Attention to detail is key.
4) Developing Fast Tonguing
Developing fast tonguing can take a while - remember that your tongue is a muscle!
What to do:
To tongue fast you must have fast air.
Your embouchure needs to stay firm - if your embouchure is leaking air you won’t be able to build up the air pressure needed.
Practice fast tonguing with a metronome - this way your tongue is even, and you can keep track of how fast you can go.
Watch out for:
Try to notice as soon as tension and heaviness creeps in. You need to be tonguing lightly to go fast - therefore any tension will slow you down!
