In our studies as young trumpet players we have been taught the legit method of articulation. Tonguing and articulation is done by using the tip of the tongue to make a “ta” or “ti” sound. In order to articulate four eight notes we would use “ta ta ta ta” to get the sound we wanted. To double tongue we would use “ta” with the tip of the tongue and “ka” with the back of the tongue. Now this is different because we now incorporate the back of the tongue for articulating. So eight eigth notes would now be “ta ka ta ka ta ka ta ka”. The reason we incorporate the back of the tongue is because it is virtually impossible to articulate very fast passages using only the single tongue.

We are going to use the same principal for doodle tonguing as we do for double tonguing, only using a different approach. For doodle tonguing we will use the vowels a – e – i – o and u along with a “da” articulation as opposed to a “ta”. Using all of the vowels we will get “da de dah doh doo”. ( use the ah or aw sound in place of the i ) To incorporate the back of the tongue articulation we will use a “dle” articulation. Once you put these together you will get “dadle deedle dahdle dohdle doodle”. Many times when Clark taught this in a master class there was always some confusion as to how to annunciate this correctly. Clark used to say “you wouldn’t order noo dal soup you want noodle soup.” Not so much emphasis on each syllable, just like it says “noodle”. To practice this you want to say this pattern over and over until it is comfortable, and switch up the vowels in order to make different rhythms and articulations. It is a challenge at first, but practice makes perfect.