A newsletter for the Portland area Didjeridu player...... Feb 1998 Volume 4 Issue 2

Double Tonguing

This issue, I'll continue my discussion of rhythm by applying the technique of double tonguing to a couple of measures of an Arabic rhythm called, "Ayyub" (5) . Double tonguing as a technique is not all that interesting. It is when it is employed within the structure of a rhythm that it's usefulness becomes evident. To review, double tonguing is a method of tonguing which creates couplets of beats. It is accomplished by alternating striking the tip of the tongue (as done when pronouning the consonant sound "T") and the back of the tongue (as when you make the "K" consonant sound).

To notate this rhythm phonetically use the phrase , "Da Tuk Ka Da Da". That consitutes one measure. We need to provide a beat on which to breath if we are going to repeat this measure more than a few times. So after the first measure, I've described the each measure phonetically as , "Ha Tuk Ka Da Da". The phrase, "Ha" is a bounced breath. This works out well in this rhythm since the breath is snatched right after the hard "H" sound in a bounced breath. In this rhythm, the first note of the measure is an eight note which is followed by a couplet (or our double tongued phrase). Here is the musical notation for a didjeridu in the key of C :

[notation 1]

Exercise 1

Try repeating the second measure of this rhythmic phrase three times for every one time you do measure one. The rhythmic phrase would be, "Da tuk ka da da Ha tu ka da da Ha tuk ka da da Ha tuk ka da da."

Exercise 2

Doing exercise one, add four measures of rapid double tonguing. Each of the four measures should contain 8 or four couplets. You will need to have some good breath till the original phrase comes back around and you can get your bounced breath on the one of the first measure. Here is the notation for one of these bars.

[notation 2]

Here is the complete exercise :

[notation 3]

- by Ed Drury
Back to the index of articles