One should not build up too much pressure behind one’s tongue, but just enough to articulate, by then using the tongue, correctly.
Articulation really is a vital aspect of sound production.
Please, do not make airstream articulation any more difficult than need be.
Let me therefore make two comments, please.
Throat “glottals” could cause serious impediment to airstream technique, and that in-the-mouth tonguing really is the “better” way to articulate, with more satisfactory results, by far, IMO.
Legato, in the sense of ITM, was perhaps born of reeds which could not be stopped (see: Irish War Pipes). Therefore, with an airstream which simply could not be stopped, just what else could an enterprising musician do, other than to articulate with one’s fingers? However, today we flute players have articulation options not then available to those earlier reed players, in that we can articulate by airstream manipulation, ie. to tongue.
after a few years of playing (learning on my own), i had developed the habit of excessive tonguing. it interfered with my playing more than i had ever realized until i heard myself on a tape recorder brought by someoene else. the way i developed playing made it especially difficult to play dance music at dance tempo. the flow was continuously impeded.
i got help. fortunately i went to an experienced irish fluter for tutoring who happened to be staying in town on business or school or something. i had a few lessons with him. he broke my addiction. it was tough to break but my playing improved as a result.
some teachers just pass out tunes while others help you find a way to get to your next level. he cut thru to my core issue and helped me to resolve it.
Look, all you need is a strong magnifying glass held in your shop vise and a fresh razor blade. The only trick is picking the right hair. A straight one will be a lot easier to split than a curly one. Obviously it should be as thick as possible. Have your hair donor use conditioner the day before, so the hair will be pliable but not slippery. Lay the hair out on a light-colored surface and start from the thicker (scalp) end. Once you’ve got it started, it should split neatly. You can secure the ends of the hair to your work surface, but purists tend to frown on that.
Sorry, what were we talking about?
I’d still like a serious reply to my question: why are glottal stops the heart of Irish music on a flute?
Again, it’s a serious question, no polemics necessary. Any takers?
While I’m not as didactic about this as others are (there are many good Irish flute players who use tonguing rather than glottal stops, or who use a combination of the two techniques), I think it boils down to this:
The emphasis you get from glottal stops (which in my view are used to both “open” and “close” a note, so you’re not just attacking the note with a glottal but also stopping it) is different in character from the emphasis you get from tonguing. This difference in character gets to the more important distinction, which is that (in my opinion) the sound of notes that are separated by glottal stops is an intrinsic part of the “Irish traditional flute” sound.
When I listen to two traditional flute players, one who articulates with glottal stops and one who articulates with tonguing, the one who articulates with glottals usually sounds more “Irish” to me. When I listen to Deirdre Havlin, for example, who tongues rather than using glottals, I think of her as an excellent and exciting flute player but I always come away feeling like something’s missing, almost as if she speaking with the wrong accent.
As we’ve seen here, some people try to impose standards from the classical world on traditional techniques, like a missionary trying to convert the heathens “for their own good,” but it’s misguided advice and should be ignored.
And the idea that articulation on the flute is primarily done with the fingers is a misconception, which should be obvious if you spend time listening to good flute players. Even Matt Molloy, whose flute playing epitomizes the “smooth” flowing style that emulates the pipes, uses plenty of glottal stops in his playing; you can even hear him vocalizing at times on his recordings.
Sorry to join the debate so late, but I’ve been away (work) for a couple fo weeks.
I am a classically trained flutist of five years or so then about two years moving to ITM, the last six months with a wooden flute to play the trad stuff on. (I played other things before that too though…). So my memories of dealing with the tonguing issue are quite fresh…
There is definitely a problem for someone moving to ITM in that our tendency as classical flutists is to tongue by default, and we spend a lot of time trying to get very crisp clean breaks in the notes. This results in the choppy breaking up of “the flow” regarded by ITM flutists as “ohmigod! another classical flutist playing ITM badly!”. So, when making the move (classical to ITM), we need to rethink when we use our tongues, and how, in order to fit the idiom. Often this can involve a period of tonguing denial to try and break us of the habit of too much tonguing.
Observations:
'bye,
Chris.
Thanks - this was actually the isue I am concerned with (as opposed to “tonguing vs. glottal”). As an ex- GHB player (and recorder player), of the three main articulation techniques:
#3 is easily my weakest point, #1 easily the strongest. This clarifies things.
Anybody have specific exercises they use to develop glottaling? Or better, glottaling appropriately within tunes?
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It’s not a silly issue, despite Rob’s put-down. Cork is a newbie with, apparently, 44 years of classical training to escape from. No experienced ITM player would say, as Cork asserted, " “glottals” could cause serious impediment to airstream technique, and .. in-the-mouth tonguing really is the “better” way to articulate."
Players on this board with the most experience – Brad Hurley, rama, John Kerr, et. al. – agree that it’s important to use the glottal stop. Harry operates on an entirely different level of human endeavor. He tongues, I think, but so does my wife, and I appreciate them both.
OK, so maybe I overstated when I said that the glottal stop is at the heart of ITM. But it’s so basic that when it isn’t there and a player is obviously tonguing you get the feeling that something is wrong.
This is assuming you have an ear for the stuff, which some people here don’t.
Actually, I would not agree that it’s important to use the glottal stop. Rather, I would say that it’s important to sound like you’re using the glottal stop. If you can make the right sound by tonguing, there’s nothing wrong with that.
You had it right later when you said “This is assuming you have an ear for the stuff, which some people here don’t.” You can play Irish flute with or without a tongue, but you can’t play it without an ear. This is the big difference between classical playing and traditional playing. Classical says “Do X and if you do it right it will sound right.” Traditional says “Do whatever you have to do to make it sound right.” This of course does not preclude a large body of traditional musicians converging on some method of doing something as being the easiest, most efficient or most common way to do it. But there can never be one single “right” way to do anything in traditional music.
Speaking as a relative newcomer to ITM, and as a fan of same, perhaps I owe something of an apology to the many traditional players, here.
Classical training is concerned with certain optimal techniques, which apparently could be a contradiction to certain traditional techniques.
So, as I am here to learn ITM, please take what I have said with something of a grain of salt.
In all, this really is an impressive board, and I am glad to be here.
I thank you.