Crooked Embouchure

justanotherpiper · Post by **justanotherpiper** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 3:31 pm

Hi everyone! I''m asking this question for a girl
in my band. When she plays, she complains about her horrible tone, and I noticed
that she has a very crooked embouchure. Her flute drops down to basically a
diagonal, while she keeps her head straight. I''m worried that she won''t be
able to change her old habit, but I''m asking you to please help. She''s a
good friend of mine, and I can tell that she really loves her flute, and I feel
like I need to help her. Any suggestions for curing a crooked embouchure???
Thanks!!!

embum79 · Post by **embum79** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 3:42 pm

One of my former flute teachers who has a master's
in music had a "crooked embouchure." She held her flute at the correct angle,
but when her mouth touched her flute, it sort of made a funny angle. But that's
just the way her mouth muscles moved for some reason. And she made it work. But
it sounds like your friend does need to lift up her flute a bit. It shouldn't
be exactly parallel to the ground, but it shouldn't be at a huge angle either.
You could mention this to her, but it will probably take awhile for her to break
the habit and get her muscles used to a new position.

justanotherpiper · Post by **justanotherpiper** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 4:27 pm

Thank you, Emily. I'll be sure to tell her what you
said!

FluteDiddy · Post by **FluteDiddy** » Mon Jan 05, 2004 8:07 am

Suprisingly I too know a principal flute player in a
symphony with a "crooked" embouchure. Probably not smart for a beginner but it
isn't a death sentence for good tone. Many of the rules that are given to
beginners are dropped once you get good. And many people that are self taught
find their own way to succeed.