To tongue or not to tongue

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NicoMoreno
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Re: To tongue or not to tongue

Post by NicoMoreno »

ertwert wrote:I am nearly 100% sure, that even Matt Molloy uses tonguing (or at least glotal stops) sometimes.
Yes, but isn't this the root of the question? The majority of traditional Irish flute players do not use tonguing, and instead they use glotal stops...
ertwert
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Re: To tongue or not to tongue

Post by ertwert »

NicoMoreno wrote:
ertwert wrote:I am nearly 100% sure, that even Matt Molloy uses tonguing (or at least glotal stops) sometimes.
Yes, but isn't this the root of the question? The majority of traditional Irish flute players do not use tonguing, and instead they use glotal stops...

sry, mad bad. I understood the question wrong.
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Tjones
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Re: To tongue or not to tongue

Post by Tjones »

I attended Cascadia Irish Music Week a couple weeks ago, where the flute teachers were Eamonn Cotter and Catherine McEvoy. The contrast in playing styles was quite evident in the the use of Glottal stops vs tonguing.

Catherine, as Brad mentioned, used tonguing on occasion, but she mainly used glottal stops. She even had us practice them. On the other hand Eamonn used tonguing, he felt his classical training, playing jazz, and playing for Ceili Bands were the main influences for his use of tonguing.

Both are great players and each have developed their unique style of playing, influence by their particular circumstance. I think the key in developing your own personal style will be listening to those players who you personally like, and try to emulate what you hear.

Do you have the CD that comes with Shannon’s First 50? If you do, listen to what she is doing on that jig, that should help with your playing it.

As mentioned, studying a copy of Conal O'Grada's tutor will help anyone trying to improve their playing. His chapter “ Critical Listening” is huge for anyone trying to develop their own style of playing. In this chapter, with the benefit of the accompanying CD, he discusses the playing style of eight different flute players. Of the flute tutors that I have, Conal’s is the one I refer to most, and I’d highly recommend getting it.
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