Articulation (using the tongue to create gaps between notes) requires a combination of technique and endurance, and it's an important skill for wind musicians to develop. The tongue is a muscle that needs training similar to any athletic skill.
Summary: Designed customized articulation improvement programs for each of my 35 private saxophone students with varying initial skill levels. Programs targeted individual technique and endurance bottlenecks with a focus on deliberate, isolated practice.
Outcome: Consistent improvement in articulation speed across my studio during the school year. Combined with other targeted practice throughout the year, resolving the articulation bottlenecks improved the entire studio's technical proficiency, helping several students qualify for the All-Region Band for the first time.
For each student, I:
Identified if technique or endurance needed more focus, including analysis of low, mid, and high-range notes on the instrument. (Note: each range requires slightly different articulation technique and will have unique struggles.)
Designed individually-targeted training materials and practice methods, based around isolation and repetition of the basic skill and any weaknesses.
Technique focus: Students would start at a defined, slow tempo, and each repetition would progressively (and gradually) increase that tempo until they hit their daily goal. The next day, the starting tempo would still be slow, but slightly faster (x+5, usually). This use of spaced repetition and progressive tempo rapidly improves competency. Note: often, I would sneak in other technical practice like scale fragments into these drills, to improve their skills in parallel.
Endurance focus: The practice method is similar, but the approach of the drill itself changes. Rather than short excerpts focused on ramping up the tempo quickly to hit daily targets, the focus shifts to sustaining consistent repeated articulation over longer periods.
Set a weekly practice schedule implementing the new materials.
Tracked their progression week-to-week, adjusting the materials if the technique/endurance balance shifted.