Flute Tone for Fuller Lips
As a flutist, one of the most important and, arguably the most frustrating aspect of playing. Since we don’t have a mouthpiece, our air can go everywhere, leaving many of us open to fuzzy, unfocused sound, and even more struggle for those that have a “teardrop lip” or fuller lips. Much of our tone comes from the shape of our embouchure as a whole, our aperture size, and the angle of the airstream, all of which can be more difficult for those with fuller lips, so let’s talk about it!
First and foremost, I’ll say that there will be some experimentation that needs to take place, so don’t get discouraged! Feel free to play with your sound, but if you’re not finding the tone you want, it’s not the end of the world. There’s not a single type of face or lip shape that isn’t perfectly capable of playing the flute, but everyone is different, so lean into your differences!
Understanding the Influence of Lip Shape on Flute Tone
Often, for teardrop shaped lips, we find a “splitting” of the airstream, meaning your aperture is forcing the air into two streams, which makes getting a clean tone very difficult. Flutists tend to try to open the aperture wider to compensate, which leads to that airy and unfocused tone we’re talking about. Some flutists will play with a “side embouchure” to compensate, however I don’t love this method (more on that later), but again, your preference is important here.
As for fuller lips, we tend to find that the aperture is a little too large AND the angle of the airstream is too high when learning to play. Because the bottom lip is fuller, it forces the airstream up and across, which makes it harder to find the note center.
Selecting the Right Flute Headjoint
It is important to consider the lip plate shape and design when choosing a flute, especially with fuller lips. That said, it’s important to try try try different flutes out until you find the right one. The wand chooses the wizard, am I right?
There are several tiny differences in headjoint and lip plate design to keep in mind and pay attention to as you’re trying out new flutes. For instance, some lip plates have a sharp “edge” where the air hits the flute (called the blowing edge) and enters the headjoint. This can offer a noisier response (more airy when close up to the flute) but also give a louder overall sound to those that struggle with projection. Over and all, because those with fuller lips tend to struggle with airy tone, having this very sharp blowing edge is not necessarily the best choice.
Lip plates generally come in two main configurations with modifications surrounding them. The first configuration is the “saddle” lip plate. The saddle is the more traditional design, where as the “flat,” the second configuration is the more modern, which tends to be more comfortable and offer more flexibility, better articulation, and better response. With that in mind, if given the option, someone with fuller lips (or a teardrop lip) could benefit from a “flat” design if given the option.
Embouchure Adjustments for Fuller Lips
One great way to begin tweaking your embouchure with fuller lips is actually to bring your lip plate further up on your bottom lip. Often we tell flutists to lay their lip plate directly under their lip, allowing the bottom lip to lay naturally across the lip plate and just barely touch the soundhole. However, if someone with fuller lips does that, then their airstream is compromised. They’ll also find that their bottom lip covers a decent amount of the soundhole, where we really don’t want much, if any, of the soundhole actually covered by the bottom lip. So, bring the lip plate up onto the bottom lip, allowing the bottom lip to be somewhat “folded back” onto the skin just below your lip. This will force your lips into somewhat of a pursing motion (don’t lean to heavily into the lip pursing - we don’t want to go for duck lips!) but it also allows the wet part of the lips to be a little more exposed for optimal playing. With this, try bringing your lips a little forward (again, no duck lips!), allowing space inside the mouth as much as possible. Remember, the corners of the mouth should be relaxed mostly flat or down.
With a teardrop lip, before you try a side embouchure, try bringing your lips further forward and out, again, opening the lips so that the wet part is all that’s exposed to your airstream. This, again, may take some experimentation, but overall, lengthening the overall “tube” of your airstream (tube meaning all the way from your lungs, through the throat, through the facial cavity, and then through the lips) and rolling that teardrop out will help create the oval that we’re looking for when it comes to the shape of the aperture. Keep trying, practice in the mirror, and don’t give up!
It’s important to practice this daily, as embouchure changes take a lot of time. So, work on harmonics, long tones, and scale exercises, aiming for the best, most clear tone possible, and making adjustments as you go.
Implementing Appropriate Lip and Face Muscles
Remember that there is a significant link between the lip and the face when it comes to a full, rich, resonant tone. We need to learn to relax the face (the corners of the mouth, the cheeks, and the jaw). When we relax the corners of the mouth down, remember that we don’t want to force the corners down. We want to relax those muscles as much as possible. It’s also important to keep the jaw open and create lots of space inside of the mouth, lifting the soft palette, and relaxing the throat so it stays open like you’re singing. Doing this can help create a more resonant and full tone with your flute, but it does take time to train your muscles to relax in that way.
You’ll need to strengthen the muscles of your orbicularis oris in order to create the correct size aperture opening and direct your airstream correctly. You can do this by, again, working on tone daily - long tones, harmonics, and octave jumps will help with this. You can also work on “sculpting” your airstream by picturing (or even using) two coffee stirrers together, placing them in your aperture, and using your top lip to aim them up and down. You can use your hand positioned in front of your face to test whether or not your airstream is moving where you want it to go. The big upside to this exercise is that it doesn’t require your flute in order to do it. Another way to practice this is with the Pneumo Pro, a fantastic tool to help train you to sculpt your airstream,
Seeking Professional Guidance and Support
While these issues are fixable on your own, it’s so important to consult a professional flute teacher to work out embouchure issues with individualized guidance. Again, everyone is different, therefore some advice may be better suited to you than others, and after observing your playing, they very likely have advice for you that can’t be found online.
When seeking out a teacher, first decide how you learn best and try to find a teacher that works well within your style. Check out this article that dives into the art of finding the right music teacher for more information on that. It’s also important to note that some teachers are more or less experienced in working with different lip shapes and doing big embouchure changes, so be sure to ask those questions when searching for a teacher. As a teacher that is very experienced in embouchure changes and fixes, it’s a difficult territory if you’ve never worked with someone with this particular set of challenges. If you’d like to know more about me or would like to discuss lessons with me, click here.
Conclusion
Lip shape can certainly be a huge factor for great flute tone.
Embouchure changes happen slowly, so be kind and patient with yourself.
Exercise your face and lip muscles often to achieve the best tone.
Seek guidance from a professional flute teacher when attempting to work out your tone.
Embrace your uniqueness and explore any and all changes you can make to your embouchure to improve your tone.
All different lip shapes have opportunities to create beautiful, full, rich flute tone with a little work and experimentation.
Looking for an online flute teacher to help take your tone from airy and thin to clear, loud, and beautiful? Click here to learn more about my flute lesson offerings.
