alignment of embrouchure

woof · Post by **woof** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 4:18 pm

I have read several different ideas as to how the embrouchure hole of the headjoint should be lined up with the rest of the flute body. e.g. the hole should be centered with the center of the majority of keys vs the edge of the hole lined up with the center of the keys. What is your opinion? What differences will it make either way?

boglarka · Post by **boglarka** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 1:53 am

a good general starting point is to line up the center of the emb. hole with the C key (the one you play with your left index finger, NOT the one that actually closes the hole).

Once you have a good sound, you can experiment with turning the headjoint in or out a bit (never too much, though). As every person is different, there is no set way of aligning the headjoint, but I think extremes should be avoided in general.

boglarka · Post by **boglarka** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 1:55 am

sorry...one more thought:

If you DO turn the headjoint in or out quite a lot, you should be able to hear the difference it will make (if you turn it out too much, you may get a fuzzy lower register, if you turn it in lot, you may get a piercing higher register or none at all). Positioning the headjoint somewhat centrally allows your lips to adjust for any of the 3 registers without compromising the sound (especially when playing wide intervals).

Good luck!

Burke · Post by **Burke** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 11:46 pm

boglarka wrote:sorry...one more thought:

If you DO turn the headjoint in or out quite a lot, you should be able to hear the difference it will make (if you turn it out too much, you may get a fuzzy lower register, if you turn it in lot, you may get a piercing higher register or none at all). Positioning the headjoint somewhat centrally allows your lips to adjust for any of the 3 registers without compromising the sound (especially when playing wide intervals).

Good luck!

I'm not the person who posted originally, but I'm grateful to see your comments.

I position my headjoint approximately five millimeters inside of the standard you describe. That doesn't sound like an extreme departure, but when I look at the alignment, I see clearly how much of a difference that is from the norm. Still, I consistantly get the best response from all three registers with that off set.