Tight Embouchure No Problem - FluteTips 182

[@yvonneburdine670]

Great explanation of a difficult topic. I was a music major in my first 1.5 years of college. I was blessed to have a flute teacher who had me blow air in my cheeks while playing (a loose embrochure). This was 1972 so you can imagine how unorthodox a loose embrochure was back then! I had to force myself to think sloppy. I had to realize by giving up tension in my cheeks I'd ultimately gain more control over the opening the air in my mouth comes out of. You are correct, this cannot be learned in 10 minutes. It's learned by experimenting, maybe 10 minutes a day over a month long period. Mr. Smiley still creeps in, I missed a low C during a concert but thankfully the other flutes got it. Thanks again for the good video.

[@DoctorFlute]

Thank you! It is a difficult subject and you are right that a lot of flutists think they will have less control if they have a loose embouchure. I am glad you learned this lesson a while ago!

[@PlanetImo]

I think my tight embouchure came from years of playing tense in nervous stage situations and practicing stressed about upcoming performances.

[@DoctorFlute]

Maybe, it you can still correct it but it might take some concentrated effort.

[@ofiterpunte]

As a non-english native speaking adult person, I have a problem with some of the terms. Words like "tight" or "focused" usually aimed at smiling children with undeveloped face muscles, mislead me to overcorrect and be afraid of any form of muscle activity around the aperture. Which lead to a bad posture, jaw dropped, you know the drill. Thankfully my muscles began to get better and better with normal practice. After about 10 months, one day I looked in the mirror while playing a lovely sound and I noticed I looked like Robert Dick, really tight/focused/blocked muscles around the lips, in a duck-face position, with huge deep dimples at my cheekbones, and I could control my air in any direction I wanted, through a deep long aperture, resembling a tube, which I could squeeze both horizontally and vertically at will. So I stopped worrying about what my muscles are doing and focused more on the sensation of control and tri-dimensionality of the aperture. I call THAT "embouchure", as in "do something, I don't care what, with the muscles around your lips to mold them in such a way to get this or that aperture shape at that much air pressure behind the lips forcing them apart anyway in a vibrating manner" (long definition). I guess the big issue with us is that the flute doesn't punish a big aperture in a beginner. I am lucky to have a Quena (Peruvian end-blown flute) as well, and that one simply obliterates your second register and laughs in spanish at your weak face muscles. Sometimes I wish the modern flute was just as punishing with mistakes and not let us carry them around for years.

[@DoctorFlute]

The end blown flute sounds interesting. I’ve seen them o,aged but never tried one myself. In the end the embouchure that gives you the best tone is the right one. If you like it, it works!

[@txsphere]

Lol yes you can still find a glass coke bottle. Look for a Mexican coke. Easy to find in California. They use pure cane sugar and put it in a glass bottle. Not exactly the green glass bottle we grew up with but close enough for a teaching aide.

[@DoctorFlute]

Ha! Yes I think our grocery stores here in NY have those in the Mexican food aisle.