The dumbest muscle of them all

Often when describing tonguing to me over the years, my clarinet teacher would say this about the tongue. Like on the clarinet, tonguing is used to separate notes, and stop sound on the bassoon.

Things to keep in mind:

• Top of tongue near the tip touches the tip of the reed.
• Light touch and rebound. no pressing
• Don't slap the reed with the tongue. What did it ever do to you?
• Don't use the bottom of your tongue. You're just making it harder on yourself if you try.
  

The tongue is a difficult muscle to tame, but with time it will become your loyal com padre.