Starting Over (Again)

I have no auditions on the horizon, so I'm learning how to tongue. Right, I'm 27 years old, been playing the oboe for 14 years now, and I'm just now learning how to tongue. But this is how it goes. You learn things wrong, so you have to relearn, from the beginning.

This has been an issue Mr. Barr (my teacher) and I have been more or less putting off for a couple years now. But now we have some time (with no orchestral audition looming in the immediate future). So a couple weeks ago, Mr. Barr spent about an hour working on nothing but tonguing with me. And sent me home to train myself to do it the right way consistently (undoing 14 years of tonguing).

1. I need to use the very tip of my tongue to tongue. I was taught by a former teacher, in short, that I should NOT use the very tip of my tongue to tongue. Crazy, but true.

2. I need to tongue the corner of the reed, not the middle. To be truthful, one of my former teachers did suggest this (the same one, in fact). But, looking back, her reasons were more like, "It's easier for some people," and she really made it sound optional. And tonguing way over there is so awkward, that given an equally good alternative, why bother? Whereas Mr. Barr pointed out that there is a dramatic difference in the sound of the articulation.

3. I also need to keep my tongue, when not tonguing, really close to the reed. But that's not so hard.

It's a lot like going through embouchure change. And I've done that so many times, it doesn't even scare me anymore. So, I'm quite enjoying learning this new technique! And, this is the really cool part, I think that once I get this nailed, that my technique will be first-rate, in every area. I mean, absolutely first-rate. Okay, you have to understand that I have had so many teachers, and every time I get a new one, they have to explain to me all the things I'm doing wrong (and change my embouchure), and how far behind I am. But I kind of think that my embouchure is (finally!!!) quite excellent. And my tone. And my technique (well, at least it's dramatically better, and still improving). For a (very) little while now, I've been feeling like if only I could master the correct tonguing technique, that I would have all the tools in order! Of course, then would come the matter of learning each piece excellently. But that's a much more attainable goal when you have the tools to make that possible!

Anyway, so I'm excited about learning how to tongue. I think it'll take a really long time to master it, but I'm really excited about it, anyway. :)