Tight Embouchure No Problem

You might be confused to read that a tight embouchure is not a problem, because you know, or at least you have heard that a tight embouchure is a problem. It is true that you do not ever want to play flute with a tight embouchure. It will give you a tight sound and it hurts your tone.

NOT EVER

What I mean then is that if you have a tight embouchure, it is no problem for you to fix it. You can learn to play without a tight embouchure, which will noticeably improve your tone.

Why Tight

The way a tight embouchure usually develops is when you start flute, and while you play, you got dizzy. So, I’m sure you all remember at least the fact that you got dizzy if you don’t remember what that felt like. You got dizzy because as little kids, we think we have to blow a lot. We don’t know that really the less you blow, the better your flute tone. And in order to compensate for that, especially if you were a band flute at school and you never had any private lessons, chances are the way to combat being dizzy when you played flute was to develop a tight embouchure.

I’m Dizzy

If you have a smaller embouchure, that gives your tone more focus because the smaller it is, the more air you compress inside and it’s going to only let out a sliver. For example, if I play a hi G with sort of a beginner sound, I will be completely out of breath. Then, if just keep taking more breaths, then blow it all out, I start feeling dizzy. So, you compensate by tightening up your embouchure.

I could play a whole lot more notes because I make my embouchure really tiny by firming up or tightening everything – you pull the corners back, you make it a tiny little hole, and that’s how you compensate for all that air that came out.

Band Blast

Another reason why that tight embouchure developed was maybe in band in high school band you had something that all the flutes, all 18 flutes, because sometimes there’s a lot of flutes, had to play in that third octave. And the band director says, it’s too loud. So, half of you drop out or only two of you play and all the rest of you 15 flutes, just sit there until that part’s over and then join back in. And to compensate for that was to be really, really tiny because then you could play a lot softer. So, what is the big deal if when you tighten up, it still focuses the sound, right? It is a decent sound among the other flutes in the band.

Solo Reveal

Well, the problem with that is as you go on with your flute life, what you’re going to discover when you’re playing solos is that your range from forte to piano is very narrow. You can’t do anything. And if you heard anybody talk about different colors, that tight embouchure can’t give you anything but one color. You cannot get that woody embouchure that you would typically play a Bach sonata.

Not Flexible

To get a woody embouchure, you have to change your embouchure. That means my embouchure would have to be flexible to get a color change, even to move to a more modern sound. Plus, it is much harder to get a good tone forte to piano with a tight embouchure.

The Solution

Okay, now what do you do about it? Well, I have some videos that really talk and go into how to develop this loose, relaxed embouchure. So, check those out. But right now, let me just say what you need to do is elongate a little bit. So, this makes you wide, right? You need to go long in your embouchure as when you say “awe.”

You cannot pull these corners back and make it tight if you are thinking awe. Now in my low register, I am very much awe. When I go up to the middle and high, I’m a little more ooh, but the thing that changes, I am never eee. Unless I want a certain color that gives me edge, a more modern tone color.

Another Tool

But the thing is I have got that in my tool basket. I could decide to use it and I could decide not to use it. It is up to me what I am going to do because my natural embouchure is much more awe.

I am just much more open this way. I am trying to think about having a natural relaxed look on my face. But do not overthink this as a student once did with these totally relaxed flabby lips. We have to have some type of flute embouchure. We cannot just be flaccid and just be totally natural. It does not work!

Coke Bottle

So, I just say loosely “awe” embouchure like you would blow into that Coke bottle to make a whistling sound. Or take your headjoint off and blow down into it. If you widen and tighten your embouchure, you are probably not going to make any sound.

Stay relaxed with that awe, see that the corners of your embouchure are not pulled back at all. They’re just awe. Look in the mirror and see what you look like naturally. You want to maintain that embouchure.

That awe shape, at least for a middle, A flat, your index finger should fit in between your teeth. You can check elsewhere I have discussed teeth spacing at length.

New Problems

When you start changing from a tight embouchure to a natural loose, relaxed embouchure, you are going to find a lot of errors coming out really fast. And you might find yourself getting dizzy again.

I have had that many students say, okay, yep, I’m dizzy. I’ve got to stop playing. The answer to that is all about breathing and about support and how support is pressure and holding in your air.

Support

Again, you can look at my videos on breathing and how you create pressure, also known as support. So, if you heard the term support, it’s pressure because that tightening of your muscles, that pressure you create, will control that air so you can maintain a loose embouchure and not use up all your air.

So, look in the mirror. Are you playing with a tight embouchure? And if so, you can fix it. You can fix it quickly. You need to be thinking about your breathing. If you just start loosening up your embouchure because so much air is going to come out, you are going to have to learn how to control that air. It’s all about holding in the air. And if you hold in the air and create pressure, then your embouchure can be as loose as it wants, even up there in your third octave.

Mirror Mirror

So, check out in the mirror what your embouchure looks like, learn to loosen it up to relax your embouchure. Use support so that you can still have a great tone and make your tone go from forte to piano in a much wider range with beautiful colors.

Try it out. You are going to enjoy working on your embouchure, although it can be a little bit of a pain in the neck, it might cause you a little bit of frustration, but you can do it and you will love the results.

Have fun!
DoctorFlute

Watch me demonstrate this:

Tight Embouchure No Problem – FluteTips 182