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How to K-Tongue on a Trumpet

K-tonguing on the trumpet uses a special type of tonguing technique. With regular tonguing, the tip of the tongue hits the point between the roof of the mouth and your upper teeth. Advocates of K-tonguing believe that this results in wasted energy. K-tonguing enables the player to travel a shorter distance and theoretically creates a sharper, cleaner and quicker tongue. Rather than using the tip of the tongue to create the articulation, you keep the tongue below the bottom teeth, flat and relaxed.

Instructions

    • 1

      Breathe in while keeping your chest high and taking air into your lungs. Feel your stomach and sides expand as you take in air.

    • 2

      Relax your tongue on the floor of your mouth. The middle of your tongue should be relaxed and flat as possible.

    • 3

      Using the tip of your tongue only, hit the ridge of your bottom teeth to say the letter "T." When playing your instrument, you should only mimic this sound, and not actually vocalize it. However, when learning the technique, try saying the letter "T" several times while ensuring that the tip of your tongue hits the bottom teeth.

    • 4

      Practice playing quarter notes on your trumpet using the "T" syllable to articulate eat note.

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