I have just started to play the clarinet and i cannot get the hang of tonguing. Everybody explains it to me but i need specific details. Please help.

its easy. u can either just sort of hit ur tongue against the reed or sort of hit it against the top of ur mouth. sort of hard to explain. u`ll get the hang of it soon.

Its a custom to learn tonguing as soon as possible. It becomes a serious habit if your not used to it. Its the key to playing. A key to articulation. Practice certain studies; technical patters. Practice everyday doing so-you will get better. Just dont give up. Good luck!

You will not be able to tongue properly unless you have the correct amount of air support. Why do I say this? Because when you tongue, you can not stop the air. When I demonstrate this for students, I begin by playing a single note, perhaps an open G. I try to let just a little bit of air leak out, that way the student can hear the constant stream of air. Then, I will begin to tongue, still showing how the air should be constant. You can not tongue correctly by stopping the air when you tongue. This is one of the biggest problems facing younger players, even if they are able to tongue.

Here is my lesson to begin to tongue. Find a legato technical study you can play. I typically have kids do something from Klose, after page 217. There is one that arpeggiates C, but I cannot rememeber which one it is. Now, with as much air as you can, play this passage. Rememeber that you should have very little bottom lip in contact with the mouthpiece, and that the red of your lip should be over the teeth. This is to get you used to using air. Now, using that same air support, try tonguing C-D-E of the left hand. Do it slowly. Build up tempo over time. Say a week. You will need more air support too when going up in the higher range, say G5 and above. Remember, by playing a wind instrument, you must have the correct amount of air support.

I have been playing clarinet for 8 years now and I was not tought by a very good teacher. I started off playing wrong and did not know about reed sizes untill I was in middle school. Pretend that you are going to say the number two when you begin to blow into the clarinet that should help you get started. It is mainly to get you to tap your tounge on the reed before every note.

I would recommed against using the "too" syllable when tongiung. The reason is that more of the tongue will touch the upper pallete. Try it. See! When you tongue using a "tah" syllable, primarily the tip of the tongue will touch the roof of the mouth. If you start to play and are using the middle of the tongue, you will start doing what is called anchor tonguing. This is where the middle of the tongue touches the reed, rather than the tip.

Thank you because I now learned something new

If you want to learn how to tongue you will have to do Articulation exercises daily, and you shouldnt tongue the top of your mouth, the sound that will come out will most likely be flat. You must tongue the very tip of your reed and no where else if you would want a good sound to come out of it.

Sorry if my post insinuated that you tongue the top part of your mouth...of course you tongue the tip of the reed!