Angie and Becky's Horn Page

Doodt tongueing




from the horn list January 23, 1998

by Rebecca Gonzales



To all hornists:

I had some inquiries about the DOODT concept, so for the rest who might be interested, here is the scoop on the DOODT.

Besides, I have to wait until 5pm for my lesson, so I got bored and decided to foward the concept to y'all.

Hope y'all have fun with this.

---

I said this was an exercise, but what DOODT really is is a concept on tongueing that my instructor gave me.

I usually do this Doodt tongueing on the Kopprasch etudes, since they are on the staccato side of the articulation. I recommend #13 in order to get started, or what I would do is start on a scale if etudes are not your thing.

The thing that is really important is that the air follows through to the end of the note.

The starting tempo for the Kopprasch is around eighth note = 56. (I know, really slow.) For scales each note is the same tempo as above. Note = 56.

The starting articulation is a D sound. The OOO is for the air to speed through the sound.

Now here is the important part: you end the note with the D, but IMMEDIATELY after is the T sound, kind of like the emphasis of the ending.

Why? So the tongue can immediately RETURN BACK TO THE STARTING POSITION.

I know what you are asking yourself, "Why not TUT?"

What this will make you do is make the articulation VERY short. And if you use TUT, you will cut off the sound with your tongue. What you are trying to do is start the sound, not end the sound. The DT in DOODT will become the beginning D in the DOODT tongueing. You are trying to achieve good all around articulation.This will even help in the legato style of tongueing.

Eventually you will take the tempo up a notch or two. Soon the articulation is a lot cleaner and clearer.

Dennis Brain used this concept of tongueing when he recorded the Mozart Horn Concerto #3. It is especially helpful in the 6/8 section of the piece.

---

If y'all have any questions or problems, feel free to drop me a line. Or, if you like chocolate, talk to Fudge.

Gotta go do the doodt,

Rebecca Gonzales




Back to our main page.

Back to the horn articles page.