David's Tip of the Day: Top or Tip of Tongue for Octaves?

It's common for players to use the tip of their tongue to block the two middles holes when performing an octave. Another option, one that I personally use, is to use the top of the tongue, just like you do for your other tongue blocking techniques (single notes, slaps, pulls, etc.) but just using an ultra-light touch so that the top convex shape of the tongue blocks the two middle holes, allowing air to flow on the left and right-hand side of the tongue. Tone is the same, but I'm able to be more relaxed an efficient in regards to moving from technique to technique. A "light touch" needs to be emphasized though, if you push at all, all the holes will close, which is great for performing the pull, but not for the octaves. Give it a try, you might like it.