"T" and "D" syllables


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Posted by Adam Crowe on May 16, 2003 at 19:14:59:

While talking with my wife recently, who is a speech-language pathologist, I probed her for some physiological info that might help with a problem I've noticed lately in my playing. In the course of our lengthy discussion she made me aware of an error in a concept that I've always heard and always used, and I wanted to throw this out to see if anyone has thoughts on it.

Brass players frequently refer to different articulations as being similar to vocal syllables. The most basic syllables are usually "toe" and "doh". According to at least some speech-language professionals, the only physical difference between "toe" and "doh" is the timing of the vocalization, or vibration of the vocal cords, in relation to the tongue releasing the air. In other words, the "T" is sounded WITHOUT vocalizing while the "D" is sounded WITH vocalizing. As I sit here spitting on my monitor saying TOE and DOH over and over again, I can see how this is true. No air moves before you release the tongue for the T syllable, yet if you slow down and exaggerate the DOH sound you can tell there is air moving across the vocal cords (and making a strange grunting sound) before the tongue leaves the hard palate.

More examples of these syllables not related to brass playing are the "S" and "Z" and "P" and "B" syllables. They're all classified as "cognates" because the place and manner of articulation are the same, yet the voicing sets them apart.

I was pretty fascinated by all this once she pointed it out to me. If TOE and DOH only differ in vocal cord vibration, why have we been trying to make them sound different in our brass playing? Anyone have some thoughts on the subject?

Adam C.


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