Tongue Rams
Another percussion effect on flute is the tongue ram, produced by completely covering the embouchure hole with the mouth and forcibly sealing it with the tongue, creating a pizzicato-like sound. Tongue rams are only effective in the first octave of the flute, and sound a major seventh lower than the fingered pitch. The flute range can thus be extended to an octave below middle C. The composer will be advised not to write rapid successions of tongue rams, as it take about a third of a second to reset the tongue and air. Interspersing tongue rams in a very fast passage of regular notes is also not advisable, as it takes just a bit of time to cover the embouchure hole completely. The following passage is an example of a recent piece by Edward Taylor, entitled Soliloquy.