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FLUTE EMBOUCHURE

IMPORTANT: please view each video in FULL SCREEN mode

There are
3 ESSENTIAL PARTS TO FLUTE PLAYING POSITION
that must be understood in order to get going with playing the flute:

#1 - You must keep the embouchure hole in the head joint centered from LEFT TO RIGHT with the hole between your lips (not too far off to the left or to the right).

#2 - You must keep your right arm parallel with the floor so that your flute stays in line with your lips in an UP AND DOWN way.

#3 - You must keep your flute aligned from FRONT TO BACK (if you hold your right shoulder too tightly, you will be pulling your flute too far back towards your body).

IN ORDER TO GET A GOOD, SOLID FLUTE TONE, WE MUST USE THE INSIDE, WET PART OF OUR LIPS.
What exactly is this part of the lips? Watch this video and you will understand:

As mentioned in the above video, there are 2 common mistakes that students make in flute playing. I call these the Tone Traps.

Tone Trap #1 - The "smiling" embouchure. This is when you pull your lips firmly across your teeth and only use the dry, outside part of your lips:

Tone Trap #2 - The "bird beak" embouchure. This is when you push your lips forward to make them round. This make the embouchure hole way too big and also only allows the air to aim down:

FOR GOOD MIDDLE AND UPPER RANGE NOTES, YOU MUST PUSH YOUR LIPS FORWARD.
Here is a review of the "smiling" and the "beak" embouchures:

VIEWS OF PUSHING LIPS FORWARD:

EXERCISES FOR PUSHING LIPS FORWARD TO GET GOOD MIDDLE AND HIGH NOTES:

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