Brass Articulation- Why We Use Tah and Dah

It is now 4:26 AM in the morning of Saturday, January 8, 2011 and you are probable asleep in your bed. You may ask, “Why am I sitting at my computer writing this post”? Moments ago, while laying in bed a question flashed through my head “why do we use the syllable tah when we articulate a note on a brass instrument. I hope to explain this practice by the time we finish this post. What are letters, what are syllables and what are words? In order to establish an understandable vocabulary for this discussion, we will have to agree…