In/correct flute emboucher

[obtuse]

For a while now I've been attempting to correct a bad habit I've gotten into of supporting my bottom lip with the front of my tongue by sort of anchor tongueing while extending the part just beyond the tip to cushion my bottom lip. It was an improvement in tone at the time, but dulled my articulation and slowed down single tongueing considerably, and I'm not sure if in the long run it's the best path for my tone.

So I've been practicing tone, focusing mainly on where I keep my tongue and in a few weeks found it improving to almost what it used to be, and my articulation much better. Only to discover that I've taken to stretching my lower lip across my bottom teeth which apparently is also wrong! :(

Now I need to keep in mind to not let my tongue migrate to under my lip (oh damn, how did that get there??) during slurs and sustained notes, and not to attempt to support my poor emboucher with my bottom teeth. And what else?

Are there any other faux-pas I should avoid in order to not fall into any more bad habits? Any tips or suggestions before I have someone look at it for me?

Thanks a lot for any help

[Ol Danl]

Don't know that I can offer any help, exactly. Maybe just some encouragement. How was your tongue under your lower lip when it is normally making contact with the area behind your upper teeth during tongueing? I also don't know how long you've been playing. I've been a shade-tree player (not very well trained) for 40+ years now and every few years I find something I'm not doing very well, or at least that needs changing. A few years ago, I decided after all this time I was going to have to rotate the foot of my flute so that the foot keys were much closer to my body than they had ever been. I think you just have to change from time to time. You obviously know what you need to work on. Hey, a few years back I used to get this Flute Talk magazine, and they had several articles (as near as I can remember) about using this loose lip embouchure. I thought, "How can anybody play like that?" I sure can't, but you know, if I worked on it, I might could, Maybe. Sounds like you're just going to have to work on your embouchure with what you already know.

[Gordon (NZ)]

Hi Obtuse. I became quite a good flute player, with an excellent tone, before I discovered I was relying on my tongue to support my lower lip just as you describe.

Of course this means the muscles that support the lower lip were completely undeveloped. You seem to be using your teeth now to still avoid appropriate support.

Persist. It will take a while before the support develops. I'm glad I did. I never need such support now, even with little regular practice.

You may be interested in the document referred to in the thread "Dear Gordon (NZ)", which is really a continuation of the thread "Beginning on Flute"