SSCA and Learning to Fluttertongue

Hi, friends!
The past few weeks in the SSCA have consisted of us (kind of) learning Louie the Cat (with maybe a small pizza party). Yesterday, it was all about making sounds that resemble a cat's purr (fluttertongue fun). When I wrote the fluttertongue effects in Louie, I didn't think of it as a true fluttertongue. I envisioned most students making the sound through singing/growling.
However.
In the midst of the *squawk squeak gurgle gurgle*, I heard the most amazing true fluttertongue I think I've ever heard on the clarinet. One of the 7th graders was legitimately fluttertonguing. This kid's tongue had to have been hitting the reed 15 times per second. It was amazing. Not in a million years did I expect a 7th grader to be able to so effortlessly do something like that!

What did I learn from this experience?
Students can will surprise you. Was it 100% chance that this student was able to fluttertongue on the spot like that? Sure. But, during 7th grade woodwind class today, he taught one of his saxophone friends how to fluttertongue. Other students heard them fluttertongue, so they were trying it too. Granted, most students were just gurgling into their instruments, but that's at least a start. What I love so much about this fluttertongue business (how many times can I write that word in this post? Any bets? I bet it's going to be 20 times) is that it's getting students interested to spend more time on their instrument. Is fluttertonguing the pinnacle of instrumental excellence? Heck no, but it's getting students excited about playing. It's like a gateway drug (except don't do drugs). Maybe, before I know it, students will be playing arpeggios all over the place. Now that would be something!
*Having students learn random extended techniques is not something that should take precedence over fundamentals. Fundamentals should be valued over anything else in the music classroom! This extra stuff is just that - it's extra stuff that the students are learning on their own time.

Fluttertongue
How does it happen? Honestly, I can't fluttertongue the way that student did (seriously I'm so jealous of this 7th grader). I think there are a few schools of thought here:

Singing and playing: Singing into the clarinet while playing is one of the most effective ways to get the fluttertongue sound. I'm not entirely sure what the science is behind this, but I think it has to do with the difference frequencies of sound waves from the pitch itself and the voice (science). If you know the real reason, feel free to shoot me an email.

• This feeling takes some getting used to. If there's any issue with students learning this, it's the mental barrier of singing while playing the instrument. For so long, students are told not to use their voice while they play - it's a pretty trippy experience at first! It just takes some serious brain power and determination. It might help to practice the elements independently (singing without the instrument, playing the instrument, singing into the mouthpiece and barrel, then singing into the whole clarinet).

Growling: This effect is done in the back of the throat. It uses the similar set of muscles that gurgling water uses. Go gurgle some water. The very back of the tongue moves pretty violently in the back of the throat because of the air movement (like a flag in the wind). It's like rolling your r's, but much further back in the mouth.

Rolling your r's: This is the one that's tricky for me to explain. I guess some people roll their r's in different parts of their mouths. What I do is have my tongue roll in my mid mouth. This keeps the tongue in position (for the most part), and it doesn't interfere with the reed. Again, this is all about the air flow, and not muscling the movement of the tongue on its own. It really is like a flag blowing in the wind.

Honestly, I use a combination of all three sometimes. It's all about effect - it's hard to say that there's a right or wrong way. It takes some time exploring the instrument, which is exactly what we want our students to do!

I used the word fluttertongue 13 times (14 if you count this sentence). Darn... I should've been more redundant.