If you can whistle DIXIE you know how to make glottal stops! What’s the big deal?
Should one work up to a walnut and then perhaps a coconut?
Hammy Hamilton and somebody on this board (Cocus?) described the GS as a very light, unvocalized cough. That seemed to work for me.
Next question: WHEN does one use the glottal? It seems to me that some players use it to articulate a downbeat with a bit of emphasis, whereas others use it more to separate non-emphasized notes. At the moment I am usually a downbeater, but willing to try anything. Thoughts?
It can be used effectively to start every note or to emphasize particular notes, or the downbeat as desired. I use it for most notes unless the tune would be better without it - most songs (airs) are legato and don’t require much emphasis. Maybe at the beginning of a phrase, or sentence. Triplets need this emphasis and, as most things, require much practice. I’m still working on it.
I use glot’l to begin almost every note on my chromatic harmonica as opposed to using tonguing. It is much softer. Maybe a polka needs more.
Why, whenever you need a nice sort of grunty stop, of course! 
OK, seriously, I’ve had apparently OK (none of my teachers has complained about it) results using the alternative method to double-tonguing that all us old classical folks were taught, i.e., the “duh-guh” approach … it’s the “guh,” half-swallowed, of course.
To me it has a totally different color than tonguing, so I use both … tonguing when I want lighter, crisper articulation and glottals when I want more “heft.” I seem to use them most in the lower register, and especially on low D and E and my attempts at cranns on them (cf the B part of “Maid at the Spinning Wheel” or those big cranns on “Humors of Ballyloughlin.” Tonguing those to me would just sound way too girly.)
Rama, you so funny. I tried it and the peanut flew out and got stuck up my nose. Now what do I do? (I know, I know, blow it out my ear)
This is what I suspected. It’s likely the K sound of the word choke.
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I have a taste for ITM.
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I have regret for having said loathe and detest, in regard to traditional ITM technique, and I offer apology.
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I am a good student.
Mmmm, it’s probably not even that much of a K; more of an actual choke than the “K” in “choke,” if that makes sense.
And good on ye for diving in. It’s the hardest music I’ve ever played, but it’s fun as all get-out. Godspeed!
Aha! I know why the peanut flew out. My head was already in there and taking up too much room.
I say again, it’s not the “K” in choke, nor any other consonant sound produced in the mouth. It’s produced with the vocal chords only; the tongue, palate, teeth, and whatever else you have in your mouth are not involved at all. You can’t contrive a word fragment or syllable to represent it. Even a cough doesn’t quite cover it. It’s a glottal stop! Find an experienced player and have it demonstrated for you. Cheers,
Rob
p.s. Anybody watch “Dune” yet? That wasn’t a joke.
"The Elmer Fudd Method of Glottal Stopping "
i love the idea !
and the Elmer Fudd laugh , can anyone do that ?
i can never make up my mind was it an evil chuckle, or what .
i know a lady who is otherwise totally a lady , but will do that laugh, when a she sees someone getting into a twist over something ..
i’m going off now to cough into this wooden tube ..
" big breath , and … cough please "
oh , and the Dune thing , i have that on dvd , so i’ll check it out .
don’t forget though , they were all geared out on that spice stuff , so they would have to cough regularly , and gently , to clear the vision , and not back up the water recycling thingy , like .
and hey , didn’t Paul O’Troyadies (an off world relation of ours ) play a flute of some sort ?
or maybe i’m thinking of Duncan Idaho , who played the Great Spiceland Pipes ?
Yes, the glottal stop gives a very different color–to my ear, it fits better with the music’s overall legato style.
But a revelation to me was taking a workshop from a player whose glottal stops are lighter and crisper than tonguing.
And I’ll second what Rob has said–if the tongue is involved at all, it ain’t a glottal stop!
Yes, I’m taking notes, here.
To your point, Tintin, I remember asking Louise Mulcahy what she did, and she said she used glottal stops most of the time on flute and tonguing on the tinwhistle … but listening to her play flute on her recordings I’d always just assumed she was sort of legato-tonguing! (i.e. she was so light and clean and precise)
Some Baroque players advocate a sort-of legato tonguing. They say that tonguing shouldn’t interrupt the air flow (at least in many cases). It’s like a flick of the tongue rather than the articulation that can be used not only to accent the big note, but also to shorten the note before.
Which version? Sting or William Hurt?
Although I have not seen Dune, your description is enlightening, and, in conjunction with other descriptions as I have been reading, here, I am beginning to form a working model of what needs to be done.
Now, it’s about time for me to turn theory into practise.
My thanks, to all!
There was an excellent thread on this topic a year or so ago on Woodenflute - but of course there’s no accessible archive for that. I’m pretty sure I’ve kept it somewhere, so will look it out and post it when I can. I seem to recall it had something to do with Sue Maclagan’s work for her flute dictionary, and it got pretty technical on the anatomy/phonetics of what actually goes on…
I tried the “little cough” approach today and find it quite easy and useable. Especially the hard D can be “cranned” quite nice that way.
The GS is just a little cough that gives the note a bit of emphasis. Nothing arcane or difficult.
What I find striking is that some classical players (I am being kind here) have given advice regarding the glottal stop. Subsequently we find that they have no idea how to play using it.
The word “chancer” comes to mind.