I want to completely start over my Embouchure.

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pied_piper
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Re: I want to completely start over my Embouchure.

Post by pied_piper »

Zevang wrote:IThere is a webpage (can't remember right now where it is, nor who created it) where there are lots os pictures of embouchures (showing only the mouth) of famous flutists. Of course there are lots of different shapes, but the remarkable idea of this page is that regardless of being so diverse, they all produce excellent tones (since they all are famous flutists...).

Does anybody knows the address? It would be nice to enrich this topic.
Is this what you were thinking of?

http://www.larrykrantz.com/embpic.htm
"Never give a flute player a screwdriver."
--anonymous--

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Zevang
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Re: I want to completely start over my Embouchure.

Post by Zevang »

Exactly!!! :-)

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Zevang
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Re: I want to completely start over my Embouchure.

Post by Zevang »

The one at letter "O" is simply amazing!!! He plays at the right side of the mouth!

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fingerbun
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Re: I want to completely start over my Embouchure.

Post by fingerbun »

OK, so as a beginner whose embouchure has tremendous scope to improve it seems like I just have to keep experimenting until I find stuff that works for me.

How do I avoid bad picking up bad habits in the process?

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Zevang
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Re: I want to completely start over my Embouchure.

Post by Zevang »

Your teacher is your best friend! :-)

fluteguy18
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Re: I want to completely start over my Embouchure.

Post by fluteguy18 »

Here are some really quick pics of mine. Keep in mind however that as I have decided to move my career away from performance I am taking a break from playing. I haven't consistently practiced since January so it is a bit more tense than it usually is due to a loss in musculature.

My lips:
Image

My embouchure (two photos):
Image
Image

My embouchure looks like it's of the tight and smiley variety. I used to have that style embouchure and I assure you that it is not (although it looks like it). My embouchure is generally really muscular. I firmly set my corners over my canine teeth. If you will notice that one side of my lips are fuller than the other, I pull to one side to even that out. I generally use a lot of lower lip muscles and side upper lip muscles when playing. For me that allows me to be really flexible in tone color, pitch, and octave jumps.

pamplemousse
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Re: I want to completely start over my Embouchure.

Post by pamplemousse »

Hey JasonTong!

I had to join this board to be able to post and say something about flute playing when you have a prominent tear drop.

First of all, I never even knew I had this lip shape until a new flute teacher looked at me once, and told me that I never would be able to be an accomplished flute player because of the big full lips and the tear drop on the middle of my upper lip. I was already playing out of the side of my mouth by then, and she thought that this was a terrible thing. She tried to retrain me. It was a huge mistake.

Practice and adjust, practice and adjust until you get a sound out that sounds clean and then repeat! It's the only way. Don't worry about what you look like, because the sound is what is important. Don't strain yourself, allow your mouth to be relaxed. I still find my mouth muscles tensing sometimes to get higher register sounds out, but I think that's normal to feel ;)

I want you to know that I'm half asian, and I inherited my mothers full lips which look much like yours. I have been playing flute for almost 26 years and studied all through college for flute performance. I looked a photo of myself playing when I was young and I was playing out the side of my lips rather than the center, and that's exactly how I still play today :)

JasonTongRulz
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Re: I want to completely start over my Embouchure.

Post by JasonTongRulz »

After a bit of practice since I last posted.. (Not much because I got overwhelmed by schoolwork)... I've kinda progressed? So this is how I sound now at the moment. I'm just playing a Vibrato exercise. A bit of cracking in the middle register... >.>

http://youtu.be/l_dS6x1It9s


Is my tone bad? :( Or is it decent at least? :O

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