Embouchure is just the fancy word used to refer to the way in which a player applies the mouth to the mouthpiece or reed of a wind instrument. This simple yet fancy word, however, is the foundation to achieving the desired tone! On your flute, we will focus on how to properly position your mouth on the embouchure plate and what to listen for using the head joint alone to ensure the correct embouchure is being used to produce the proper tone.
The Process
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Place the embouchure plate securely in the natural indentation of your jaw. When done properly, you should feel 1/4 to 1/3 of the embouchure hole being covered by your lower lip. If you need to, move the head joint up and down until you achieve this feeling. |
Set the embouchure by making a silent "whee", pulling the corners of the lips outward and flattening the lower lip as it rests on the embouchure plate over the embouchure hole. |
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Immediately add a "too" following the "whee" which will give the feeling of properly starting the tone. |
Now it's time to test your embouchure! Take a deep breath, re-form the embouchure ("whee") and blow ("too"). Your air should be directed into the hole and not across it. With the head joint alone, this will result in the sound of a second-space 'A' on the staff. You can use a tuner to check if you are getting the correct pitch, or just match the pitch and sound you are hearing here. |
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TroubleShooting
If you are not quite able to match the correct pitch and sound on the head joint, don't get worried just yet! There are several things we can change and fix to help you achieve the proper embouchure and produce the correct head joint sound! Listening to the examples below, find which one most closely matches the sound you are making and follow the instructions provided to help you get closer to the desired tone.
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Are you not getting any tone and just hear rushing air when you play, like in the example here? This is often a result of the air going across and not INTO the embouchure hole. To fix this, simply direct your air more into the embouchure hole. The more directly the air goes into the hole, the more likely a clear and pleasing sound will result. If that doesn't solve the problem, your lower lip may not be covering the embouchure hole. This can also be easily fixed, however, by placing more of your lower lip over the hole. Remember, you should feel 1/4 to 1/3 of the embouchure hole being covered by your lower lip. Another cause of this problem could be that the corners of your lips are not pulled together, which can be fixed by doing more "whee" when setting the embouchure.
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Are you able to get some sound but hear a lot of air, like in the example here? While some of your air is going into the embouchure hole, allowing a tone to be produced, there is also too much air rushing over it. This is what is sometimes referred to as "splitting" the tone. To fix this, direct your air more down into the embouchure hole – you can also lower your chin slightly to help you achieve this effect. Another cause of this problem could be that there is too large of an opening in your lips. While maintaining the "whee" embouchure so that air is not rushing out the sides of the lips, use more "oo" when thinking "too" to start the sound.
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Are you hearing a "whoof" sound when playing on the head joint, like in the example here? This is the result of no tongue being used to start the sound and help push the air out. To fix this you will need to make sure you are emphasizing the "too" part of the embouchure, ejecting the air with the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. |
Are you hearing a "thu" sound when playing on the head joint, like in the example here? This occurs when you are starting the sound with your tongue going between the teeth and, sometimes, the lips. To fix this, you will need to focus on the tongue articulating higher in the mouth – the tip of your tongue should be making contact with the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Thinking more about the "too" part of the embouchure may help with this. |
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Are you producing a high-pitched "whistle" sound, like in the example here? This can happen when you blow too hard and/or with too much air. If this is the case, blowing less and more directly into the embouchure hole should fix this problem. If it doesn't, the head joint could also be rolled out too far. To fix this, simply roll the head joint inward (turning it towards you). |
Are you producing an 'A' that sounds too flat, or low, like in the example here? This can happen if the head joint is rolled in too far and/or too much of the embouchure hole is being covered by the bottom lip. To fix these issues, respectively, you will need to roll the head joint out (turning it away from you) and/or cover less of the embouchure hole with your bottom lip. |
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Flying Along! ...
Now that you have mastered your flute embouchure, it is time to move on to your First Notes!