Brass playing versus linguistics
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2026 3:17 pm
It helps English language learners to get the spelling of phonetically regular words when they can hear the individual sounds.
But the other day I was working with a kid on a word with both a /t/ and a /k/. He kept writing a t in both places.
I realized I was double tonguing instead of pronouncing the real sound of /k/. I tongue it much farther forward than I would speak it. When I put it more to the back of my mouth, voila, the student heard /k/.
Something to think about in reverse if you can’t get your double tonguing to sound even.
But the other day I was working with a kid on a word with both a /t/ and a /k/. He kept writing a t in both places.
I realized I was double tonguing instead of pronouncing the real sound of /k/. I tongue it much farther forward than I would speak it. When I put it more to the back of my mouth, voila, the student heard /k/.
Something to think about in reverse if you can’t get your double tonguing to sound even.