 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Musical Mind
Date: 2003-12-20 03:41
Hi, dear flutists. It's been a while I typed in the forum. I'm going to talk about flute embouchure today.
I had a crazy idea going in my head before I went to sleep on Wednesday. I suddenly was thinking that lips had nothing to do with flute's sound. I know that this idea would sound very odd to you, but let me explain. In other words, you barely use your lips' muscles when you play the flute because the flute resonates by air speed (or the amount of pressurized air). And of course, we have to have good breath support.
We basically learned that we have to loosen or make wider embouchure when playing low register and tighten or make narrower embouchure when playing middle or high register. Oh, and opening throat also on some notes. After being able to play every note on the flute, now we have to work on for the cleanest tone quality and "silvery" sound. And some of eager junior high or high school flutists get confused why their flutes' sound don't improve for a long time after good daily practicing. Well, there are couple of reasons...
The ideas our teachers are teaching us are not wrong, but we misunderstand them sometimes. When loosening or making wider embouchure, lips should be relaxed and mouth a little open to make the lips like a football shape. Tightening or narrowing embouchure for the middle or high register doesn't necessarily mean you use excessive lips' muscles. You open your mouth less than playing low registers. Again, don't use lips' muscles. And the very common airy tone or not-the-best tone quality occurs when actually blowing air through the flute. When you are blowing air with good breath support, you shouldn't pull in your inside lips. Here's a good way to practice to feel if you are blowing air out right: put your palm in front of you and blow with good breath support. You should feel your palm's skin being pushed forward pretty hard. Your inside lips should feel pushed out relaxed by your blowing air.
I hope this really helps some of you. And Merry Christmas!
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Author: Steven King
Date: 2003-12-20 05:06
That is a great concept Musical Mind and I do agree with some stuff like us flutiests misunderstanding our teachers. Yes that happens alot, but mostly from band directors who don't play flute for a professon. Have you checked this concept with a professonal fluteiest? That would be a good thing to do before anyone acctualy gets this concept drilled into their head. Just to be on the safe side. I hope I am not discuraging you.... becuaes I encurage you to try different things.... just double check everything with a private teacher BEFORE you make a change permanent!
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Author: Musical Mind
Date: 2003-12-20 15:52
Thank you. By the way, I found a private teacher about 4 weeks ago. Her name is Dr. Mary Posses and she is a UMKC flute professor. She's been teaching there for 20 years so she has quite a lot of experience. And I will check this concept with her for my next flute lesson, which I don't know yet, lol. She said that she would give me a call. So, I will let you all know after I have confirmed this concept with her if I am right.
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Author: Musical Mind
Date: 2003-12-21 20:47
All right, I'm back from my flute lesson now. I asked my teacher if this idea is right, and she says it's right. The speed of the air is very important. So, try practicing this for a long time with your tone studies and you will find the deepest clearest tone quality you've ever had.
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Author: Dirk
Date: 2003-12-30 12:40
The basic concepts of playing wind instruments (from a physically point of view) can be found in "Physics of Musical Instruments" by N.H.Fletcher/T.D.Rossing, Springer, New York. Playing a flute is like blowing a tone on a bottle. The important thing is the way the air stream strikes the edge of the whole within the lip plate: The angle, the velocity, it's dimension, wheather the air stream is thin or wide.
So it's important where you place your lips on the lip plate, in which direction you blow, how strong you blow and how much your mouth is open. It's a little bit different fro high notes from low notes and the only thing the muscels have to do is to manage these little changes.
Kind regards and a happy new year,
Dirk (physicist)
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Author: Mary
Date: 2004-02-08 16:09
hi, everyone, interesting postings! I have an odd question about embouchure....I have been referred to an oral surgeon for orthognathic surgery (in which he proposes to saw my jaw into three pieces and re-position the pieces to correct my over-bite and serious mis-alignment of my molars.) One of the possible side effects is numbness to lip nerves (the "inferior Alveolar Nerve") Does anyone know if that nerve is involved in the flutist's embouchure?
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