The other day I recieved my first lesson for flute with a private teacher after being self-taught for two years. When I tongue on flute my tongue touches just above my teeth. My teacher told me to tongue directly on my top teeth instead. When I tongue my top teeth I can not tongue as quickly and easily. I am not sure what to do because some people think tonguing right above your top teeth is okay. Thanks for your help

The only time i tongue above my teeth like close to my gum is when i want to play suuuuper legato or when i double tongue...playing under your teeth when your tongue hits your lips a little is good for staccato and playing clearer.

normally i tounge sightly higher than my teeth torwards my gum but its not that easy it should come to you after lots of practice experiment with different place to see which sounds the best as well as being comfortable
practice makes perfect
gud luk

the most common consonants used are "tu" and "du", concentrate more on that then where your tongue hits in your mouth...

can someone help me with double tonging?it doe'st seem to make sense to me.

thanks in advance

Some answers

For mkmatt07 - I am often intrigued by how some teachers think there is only one place to put your tongue. My first woodwind lesson in college the first thing the professor did was have me stick out my tongue. Based on the size and shape he would then decide where he wanted you to be putting your tongue for articualtions. In a perfect world use the blade of your tongue against the back of your teeth, preferably near the gum line. Adjust as needed. (The blade of your tongue is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch behind the tip of your tongue).

For coldmusicgurl -Double tonguing.
This is not something that is usually easy at first. One exception being a young 1 year student I had who picked it up in about 5 minutes, a natural!!!. Anyway, often it is taught as saying the vowels Tu Ku Tu Ku. You will want to practice making the "KU" articualtion sound like the "Tu" articulation. A lot of people actually use "duga duga duga", or Du Gu Du Gu. When I double tongue my forward articulation moves from behind the teeth just below the gum line up to a full inch above the teeth on my hard palate and the back articulation is the middle part of my tongue meeting where the soft and hard palates come together.

Ive tried it [before]and it seems to well makke my notes sound like im playing them twice.hmm well its somthing to improve on!!!

but if I learn double tonguing,it would be faster than normal tonguing [right?],therefore eaiser to player faster music. [once again correct me if im wrong]

thanks

just practice double tounging slowing ... it took me a month or 2 to get it down...the best way to practice is with scales. up and down.

a month!!!! OMGosh. this is gunna take me forever.ah well I better start pratcing...

~just a thought...
Can you do double tonguing on piccolo?

Yes. You can double tongue on Piccolo.

Take your time to learn it properly. If you rush it you won't be able to play any faster than single tongue. It is worth the effort to learn it right the first time.

Here is antoher helpful tip. Even when we don't have a need for our specialty techniques we should all try and incorporate them in every rehearsal we can. So even though in tomorrows rehearsal there is not a need for double tonguing, try to put it in a couple of places just to do it. It will help you get used to it faster and it will keep you in touch with it after you have learned it.

I always try to include the following techniques every time time I play so I can stay on top of my tools. And it pays off (I've got lots of little stories to prove that). Anyway, I always include in the rehearsal some dougle tonguing, triple tonguing, alternate fingerings, circular breathing, harmonics, double stops. I also try to do some improvisation and playing by ear, but you must be very careful and cautious of these two as you can really upset the conductor and other musicians. You don't want to disrupt the rehearsal after all.

Thanks for the helpful tips!

I place my tongue in different locations depending on the music and how hard (or soft) the articulation should sound. There is no one "correct" place to tongue. It all depends on the effect you want to create.