An excessively tight embouchure is hands down one of the most common problems I see in adults starting — or restarting — the flute. And frankly, it is not that surprising. Adult players often have a very clear idea of how they ought to sound, and in many cases even how they used to sound! This results in players ‘trying’, through force and determination, to create this sound, and more often than not this results in tension. It’s an incredibly frustrating cycle.
If you were really unlucky, you had a teacher years ago who taught you to ‘smile‘ and play. If I could, I would burn that lesson out of your mind for good! It is such an unbelievably destructive teaching method that, thank goodness, has more or less disappeared in modern flute pedagogy.
The tragedy is that having a flexible embouchure is among the most important skills you need to learn to play the flute well. So, let’s take a deeper look at this and explore some exercises and resources that could help you begin the journey of releasing that embouchure.
What’s the big deal?
When you have a too-tight embouchure you will usually have two or more of these issues:
- A sharp, airy sound
- Lack of control in the middle registers
- A harsh shrill sound in the high registers
- A sharp, airy, and unreliable low register
- Difficulty playing softly or changing dynamics
- Buzzing lips in the very high register
- Inability to change intonation
- Now if that wasn’t enough to convince you that having a tight embouchure is a huge problem, this next section might.
Understanding embouchure flexibility
Flute playing can be boiled down to 2 basic things: air speed and air direction.
I made a video explaining this concept in more detail, but for now, let’s focus on the changing direction part. Generally, the higher, softer, or sharper you want to play, the more you need to raise the angle of the air. If you play into the lower registers, you want to increase the volume or lower the pitch, you will need to angle the air more down into the flute. Your lips and jaw are responsible for changing the angle of the air. We refer to this ability of your lips and jaw to move and change the angle and shape of the air as embouchure flexibility.
Try this exercise: Blow on your hand. Now, move the airstream up and down. Bring the air back to the middle of the hand. As you blow, tighten the corners of your lips. What happens to the airstream? Now, with a tight embouchure, try moving the airstream up and down again.
You may have noticed a few things: As you tightened the embouchure the first time, the airstream moved DOWN as you tightened the corners. If you look carefully at the opening of your lips, you can also observe how the aperture becomes wider and more dispersed as you tighten. You maybe also have noticed that you were not able to move the airstream as easily when you tightened your embouchure.
This is a bigger problem than you realize.
Remember when I said that in the high register we want the air to be directed higher? Well, we also need the lips to focus a bit. Oftentimes, to get to the high register, students will tighten the embouchure. But, as it turns out, when you tighten your embouchure, the opening of the lips widens and the air goes down. It is the exact opposite of what you need. It’s no wonder you are struggling with those second and third registers!
So, what can we do about it?
I want to start by saying that there is absolutely no quick fix for this. Usually, your reasons for tightening are complex. There are, however, some things that may help you. I offer you the 4 top tips my students use to release their embouchure.
1. Start from the very beginning
Yip, sometimes you really need to go back to basics and imagine you are learning to make a sound for the first time. Practice making sound on a simple and gentle “pooh”, starting with the lips together and letting the air gently push the lips apart into the flute.
Check out the video below for some more teaching on this.
2. Don’t huff. Puff up instead!
Practice playing with puffed-out cheeks. I am dead serious! This is such a challenge at first but if done right, it will REALLY pay off.
3. Observe your lip movement
Understand the correct movement of the lips. As you play higher on the flute, you need to lift the airstream. This is done by moving the lips and jaw forward. You will feel the lips moving away from the front teeth as if you are kissing or pouting gently. Don’t worry, Instagram will LOVE you.
4. Relax your face
Remember to focus on relaxing the jaw and cheeks as you play. It’s useful to feel the space between your back teeth.
Check out this video with some more instructions on how to release your embouchure.
There you have it! Fixing your embouchure will take time, patience, and gentle but keen observation.
Let me know in the comments below which of these worked for you. Have you struggled with this? Have any of you got any other useful practice suggestions?
Need some extra help?
Join me for a Flute Tone Rescue session. In this 2-hour online workshop, we will take time to work LIVE with several students to get to the bottom of their issues and help them find creative and fun ways to overcome them.
You can participate in the workshop as a performing/active participant, where you will play live and receive personalized guidance, or as a non-performing participant, where you can observe and ask questions.
We run these every two months. Check out our upcoming workshop by clicking HERE.
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