Tonguing

Tonguing is a technique used with wind instruments to enunciate different notes using the tongue on the reed or woodwind mouthpiece or brass mouthpiece. A silent "tee" is made when the tongue strikes the reed or roof of the mouth causing a slight breach in the air flow through the instrument. If a more soft tone is desired, the syllable "da" (as in double) is preferred. The technique also works for whistling. Tonguing (or articulation) refers to how a musician begins the note (punchy, legato, or a breath attack) and how the note is released (air release, tongued release, etc.) For wind players, articulation is commonly talked about in terms of tonguing because the tongue is used to stop and allow air to flow in the mouth. Tonguing does not apply to non wind instruments, but articulation does apply to all instruments.

An alteration called "double-tonguing" or "double-articulation" is used when the music being performed has many rapid notes in succession too fast for regular articulation. In this case, the tongue makes a silent "tee-kee". (The actual tongue positioning varies slightly by instrument. Clarinetists may go "too-koo" but a bassoonist may actually say "taco".) Double-articulation allows the tongue to stop the airflow twice as fast when mastered. If the music specifies a pizzicato sequence, the musician might perform this as a rapid sequence of the articulated note, thus: "tee-kee-tee-kee-tee-kee-..." etc., in staccato. When beginning with "da", the second syllable is "ga". Double tonguing is easiest on brass instruments, and it is more difficult for some woodwind instruments, primarily the clarinet and saxophone.