x still the best one. If you have a tendency to play with a 12/8, downbeat-oriented feel, try practicing { scales like this. — fp PP SF PP sinite Notice that you tongue the upbeats and slur to the downbeats. As a general rule, any given line of eighth-notes is articulated this way. Overemphasize the accents as indicated, and go slowly enough to ensure that the eighth-notes remain even. Also take care not to cut off the notes you slur to. Don’t make a space before you tongue, as in the following: Instead, make sure that the unaccented notes are held until the next tongue stroke: An excellent way to improve articulation is to work out a pattern of slurs and accents within a line with changing and unpredictable contours. For using digital patterns around the cycle of fifths. Take something resembling a jazz line—that is, 5-3-5, respectively, and combine example, you could practice this approach two simple patterns, based on the scale steps 1-2-3-5 and 1 them at random, taking care to always resolve stepwise: F7 Bb7 b7 abz G C7 * a Gl Combining in random fashion enables you to control the contour of the line. Using your cre- ativity, even to such a limited extent, makes the skills you gain from practicing much more readily transferable to an improvisational setting. The following exercises will be helpful in gaining facil- ity with tonguing and slurring in the context of a Dorian scale. Note the alternate fingerings.