A while ago I was placed under the scrutiny of a professional flutist. Through this, I learned some tips and tricks to become a better musician. One key aspect of playing the flute is embouchure.
Embouchure is the positioning of the mouth when playing an instrument. There is no universal embouchure for every instrument; different instruments require different embouchures. It is also important to note that not everyone has the same exact embouchure down to the nanometer. Without a proper basic embouchure, it is almost impossible to produce an ideal sound.
With the help of teacher and peers, I was able to gain knowledge on a flutist’s basic embouchure. It was heavily recommended to assume a frown like position when playing the flute. This immediately startled me as I was used to doing the opposite and forming a stretched out smile.
As I tried this new approach, I understood the benefits of this posture. Stretching the lips upward caused pressure to build up at the corners of my mouth which resulted in a more forceful sound. Puffing of the cheeks also gave off a harsher tone. When taking a frown like stance, my face was more relaxed. This was reflected in the production of a clearer note.
Playing the flute is like blowing across a bottle. This is easier to understand than saying adjust the embouchure to be angled so that the overall airstream is falling down to split the lip of the flute. It took me quite a while to find the sweet spot for this. If my angle dropped too low, then the note would flake or be too flat. Had I angled it too high, the pitch of the note would have gone sharp.
After experimenting for a good chunk of time, I ultimately discovered the key to my comfort and ideal sound. By slightly jutting the bottom of my lip out, I had somehow split the air between the flute perfectly. I later found out though that most people actually prefer to hover the upper lip out to produce a good angle. Although that is for me to investigate another time.
Aperture is another key factor relating to embouchure. Aperture is the opening or hole formed from the posture. It is vital in determining the quality of sound being made. After being judged by a professional, I was told to refine my aperture down. I realized that this allowed me to produce higher notes with ease. It also prevented them from cracking. Creating a smaller opening made the air stream more intense which gave off a stronger note.
Hopefully, that provided some insight in playing the flute. Feel free to comment and ask questions in the comments! Thanks for reading:)
Priya's Blog 
Hi Priya! I really liked your post and it was especially eye-opening because as a string student, I never fully understood all of the small but significant parts that band musicians had to be very careful of. One of my favorite tips you had was the one towards the beginning where you talked about how a certain shape of your mouth produced different sounds. I found it to be really interesting when you talked about how making a smiling shape creates tension in the corners of the lips and produces a sharp sound and how you modified it to a frowning shape, softening and clearing up the note by releasing the tension. I had a lot of fun reading about it! You had a lot of methods already listed in your blog but do you think there are more tricks/techniques that you would like to apply to your playing? Or are you trying to focus more on the techniques you’re already working on right now?
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Hi Ren, thanks for reading my post! I primarily focus on the techniques I know right now so I can perfect them, but I am always open to learning new tricks to improve myself.
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