Embouchure
Your lips are vibrating membranes...~ Marcel Moyse
Embouchure: Formation of the Lips
The air, your whole body, spirit, musical imagination and your instrument create your sound. Every Face and Lips are one of a kind and so is the creation of your Embouchure!
I have learned many great things about embouchure from all my teachers. Thank you for all your help and wisdom. I also learn by observing what great players do while playing, by listening to their artistic sounds and music making. Then I explore and try to emulate that sound and embouchure via my own lips, body, ear, air and musical spirit... Please do the same.
Learn, watch, listen, experiment and hear what creates your most natural and beautiful sound.
Your Embouchure refines the air and your sound. It is best to create a natural formation with your lips. One that has life, movement and is a Supple, Stable Structure and can Sculpt your Sound.
Let’s look at some parts of the embouchure, even though they all work together, in concert.
Top Lip: Aims and directs the Angle of the Air down into the flute.
You may like thinking of the top lip as the top of a pyramid or a bit like a beak to aim air.
Aperture: A tube, tunnel like opening between the lips. When
the lip tube is long it creates a warmer sound and faster air. It
It helps to control air flow, to sculpt & shape your sound.
See aperture section below.
Bottom Lip: It is like the base of the pyramid, a long, stable structure.
It Connects to the lip plate, Curls out, or pouts forward and away from teeth and Cushions the air between the lip and teeth.
You may imagine something alive there, inside the cushion, like a lady bug, so you will not crush it or this space which is the cushion of air. Most people place the flute below the red of your bottom lip. Release unnecessary tension from your whole body, face, jaw and tongue.
More on Embouchure
The aperture can change the flow (dynamics): smaller as you get softer and more open to allow for louder sounds. It can change the speed (register) via the shape and length of the tunnel, tube of the aperture and lips.
Here are some of examples of how the aperture may change shape for each register and dynamic.
upper register & softer dynamics - higher pressure and faster, smaller and a bit rounder
middle register & medium dynamics - medium pressure and air, a bit longer and more open.
lower register & forte dynamics lower pressure and slower air, more elliptical, thinner longer opening.
(Forte dynamics may be rounder, and more open, depending on registers.)
Educate yourself and use your artistic, creative imagination to find your embouchure and sound.
More things to experiment with for your embouchure:
Practice Bending tones, above and below the pitch for greater flexibility and to find your sweet spot.
Use Harmonic practice to learn the best use and balance of Air and Embouchure.
Use straws in different sizes to help with size and shape of aperture and length of lip tube/tunnel.
Think of your air aiming at your left elbow or left big toe. (If you are using your air, pressure and flow “Bernoulli Effect” and embouchure well, then the raising and lowering of the angle of air is minimal.
Use outside air and move the air into the flute, allowing it to ring and resonate.
Learn to buzz lips and use a chopstick for more balance and stability a’la Keith Underwood.
Use this idea: all air and lips, no teeth. To allow for the independence of the bottom lip and jaw.
