Flutter-tonguing
Encyclopedia
Flutter-tonguing is a wind instrument
tonguing
technique in which performers flutter their tongue
to make a characteristic "FrrrrFrrrrr" sound. The effect is similar to the growls used by jazz musicians.
, the technique is usually indicated with the standard tremolo markings on a note alongside a text instruction to flutter the note. The German marking "Flatterzunge" is often abbreviated to "Flz." or "Flt.". The Italian "frullato" is sometimes abbreviated to "frull". Other markings that composers have used to indicate flutter tonguing include: coupe de lange roulé, en roulant la langue, tremolo dental, tremolo avec la langue, tremolo roulé, vibrata linguale, vibrando, and colpo di lingua among others.
music, particularly that which is associated with New Orleans
or Vaudeville
style. Cootie Williams
was a master of combining a plunger mute with the flutter tongue to create a conversational effect.
It is also called for in many classical compositions, where it is most often used on flute
s, recorder
s, bassoon
s, trumpet
s, and trombone
s, but can be used on other brass
and woodwind instrument
s as well. The technique became quite common in the 20th century, notably occurring in the music of Schoenberg
and Shostakovich
, where it can have a nightmarish or sarcastic effect.
Both Gustav Mahler
and Richard Strauss
used the effect as well. In Don Quixote
, Strauss imitates the distant bleating of sheep with flutter-tongued notes in the horns. Notably, he uses the marking "Zungenschlag" (tongue-beat) in this passage from Variation II. Elsewhere in the score, he used the traditional German "Flatterzunge". Mahler used this traditional marking as well, but he also deviated from it in the finale of his Second Symphony, where he uses the marking "Zugenstoss" (tongue-thrusts). On sustained whole notes, the tongue thrusts Mahler requires have the effect of a flutter tongue.
while playing the notes desired. Some players find it difficult or even impossible to roll their tongues in this way, possibly due to ankyloglossia
.
Uvular fluttertonguing is a method of producing a flutter tongue effect with the back of the tongue. The instrumentalist performs an uvular trill
, which produces the traditional growl sound from the jazz idiom.
Uvular fluttertonguing can also be used when an alveolar trill
is not appropriate to achieve the effect of fluttertonguing
, e.g. in the low range of the flute, or when a faster fluttertongue is desired. Fluttertonguing can also be used in conjunction with other types of articulation
.
Either method requires more than the usual volume of air to produce the effect.
Wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of...
tonguing
Tonguing
Tonguing is a technique used with wind instruments to enunciate different notes using the tongue on the reed or woodwind mouthpiece or brass mouthpiece. A silent "tee" is made when the tongue strikes the reed or roof of the mouth causing a slight breach in the air flow through the instrument. If a...
technique in which performers flutter their tongue
Tongue
The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication. It is the primary organ of taste , as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly...
to make a characteristic "FrrrrFrrrrr" sound. The effect is similar to the growls used by jazz musicians.
Notation
In sheet musicSheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
, the technique is usually indicated with the standard tremolo markings on a note alongside a text instruction to flutter the note. The German marking "Flatterzunge" is often abbreviated to "Flz." or "Flt.". The Italian "frullato" is sometimes abbreviated to "frull". Other markings that composers have used to indicate flutter tonguing include: coupe de lange roulé, en roulant la langue, tremolo dental, tremolo avec la langue, tremolo roulé, vibrata linguale, vibrando, and colpo di lingua among others.
Usage
Flutter-tonguing is common in jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music, particularly that which is associated with New Orleans
Dixieland
Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
or Vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
style. Cootie Williams
Cootie Williams
Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter.-Biography:...
was a master of combining a plunger mute with the flutter tongue to create a conversational effect.
It is also called for in many classical compositions, where it is most often used on flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
s, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, and trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, but can be used on other brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
and woodwind instrument
Woodwind instrument
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
s as well. The technique became quite common in the 20th century, notably occurring in the music of Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
and Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
, where it can have a nightmarish or sarcastic effect.
Both Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
and Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
used the effect as well. In Don Quixote
Don Quixote (Strauss)
Don Quixote, Op. 35, is a composition by Richard Strauss for cello, viola and large orchestra. Subtitled Phantastische Variationen über ein Thema ritterlichen Charakters , the work is based on the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. Strauss composed this work in Munich in 1897...
, Strauss imitates the distant bleating of sheep with flutter-tongued notes in the horns. Notably, he uses the marking "Zungenschlag" (tongue-beat) in this passage from Variation II. Elsewhere in the score, he used the traditional German "Flatterzunge". Mahler used this traditional marking as well, but he also deviated from it in the finale of his Second Symphony, where he uses the marking "Zugenstoss" (tongue-thrusts). On sustained whole notes, the tongue thrusts Mahler requires have the effect of a flutter tongue.
Method
The traditional method for producing a flutter tongue effect is to roll the tip of the tongue as rapidly as possible. This is done by performing an isolated alveolar trillAlveolar trill
The alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar trills is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r. It is commonly called the rolled R, rolling R, or trilled R...
while playing the notes desired. Some players find it difficult or even impossible to roll their tongues in this way, possibly due to ankyloglossia
Ankyloglossia
Ankyloglossia, commonly known as tongue tied, is a congenital oral anomaly which may decrease mobility of the tongue tip and is caused by an unusually short, thick lingual frenulum, a membrane connecting the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth...
.
Uvular fluttertonguing is a method of producing a flutter tongue effect with the back of the tongue. The instrumentalist performs an uvular trill
Uvular trill
The uvular trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , a small capital R...
, which produces the traditional growl sound from the jazz idiom.
Uvular fluttertonguing can also be used when an alveolar trill
Alveolar trill
The alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar trills is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r. It is commonly called the rolled R, rolling R, or trilled R...
is not appropriate to achieve the effect of fluttertonguing
Fluttertonguing
Flutter-tonguing is a wind instrument tonguing technique in which performers flutter their tongue to make a characteristic "FrrrrFrrrrr" sound. The effect is similar to the growls used by jazz musicians.- Notation :...
, e.g. in the low range of the flute, or when a faster fluttertongue is desired. Fluttertonguing can also be used in conjunction with other types of articulation
Manner of articulation
In linguistics, manner of articulation describes how the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs are involved in making a sound. Often the concept is only used for the production of consonants, even though the movement of the articulars will also greatly alter the resonant properties of the...
.
Either method requires more than the usual volume of air to produce the effect.