Curtains Up!

Greetings,

It's almost time for Curtains up on the New Year!

Try thinking of your upper lip as a theatre curtain raising --straight across, not curved to follow your teeth. Your upper lip will feel really wide, but the effect is to expose more of the underneath of your upper lip increasing resonance and flexibility. When your lip descends to play, feel how wide your tongue and lips are and be aware of he surface area of your tongue.

Take a deep breath as the curtain goes up, then play as the curtain descends:-) On with the show!

Best,
Catherine

Above the Equator

Greetings,

This Fall I have been thinking a lot about what happens in our embouchures "above the equator." Just thinking about your tongue as the mid-line in your mouth causes the zygomatic major muscle to activate, freeing up the corners of the lips. It also brings the focus of attention to the front of the mouth, where the lips, tongue and upper teeth meet. A greet formula for terrific tonguing and increased resonance!

Best,
Catherine

The best "slant" on flute embouchure

Greetings,

I sometimes compare the forward position of the upper lip which directs the air into the flute headjoint, to the way a turtle appears. The upper lip lifts and moves forward, exposing the wet, underneath tissue of the upper lip as the lower lip slides into the pocket between the upper lip and upper teeth for maximum air speed and direction control, creating a downward slant between the lips.

The specific image that is in my mind is Cecil Turtle from the Bugs Bunny cartoons I first saw as a child.

You may view these cartoons here, for both your education and your amusement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNRB5MlgHF8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSWjXvr4E1M&feature=related

I hope this turtle image is useful for your embouchure formation.

Best,
Catherine

How is flute playing like dry cleaning?

Greetings,

Insights and inspirations can be found in the most unlikely places...

I have a friend whose parents own a dry cleaning business in TX. One of their facilities burned to the ground in February. Fortunately, no one was injured and insurance covered the bulk of the expenses to rebuild.

I received notice recently that they are celebrating the reopening of the facility. As I thought about my friends and the happy end to their ordeal, the image flashed into my mind of a pants press machine used to steam trousers. I could see the lid closing and the steam escaping.

Eureka! The perfect image to explain the relationship of the tongue and upper lip in a flute embouchure:

Think of the surface area of the tongue as the flat bottom of the pants press and the inside of the upper lip as the lid. The "lid" (upper lip) closes on the bed (tongue) creating pressure (steam) and crisp clear articulations and control of tone are the results.

My students and I have enjoyed the wonderful results of this powerful image this week. Please give this a try and let me know how it works for you!

All the best,
Catherine

A "qui" to better tone and articulation

Greetings,

I remember being told by several teachers to help create evenness in double tongued passages by practicing a passage with all the articulations on the "fore syllable" and then with all articulations on the "back syllable."

When practicing on the (not-so-"back") syllable "key" or, better, pronounced with a French accent as "qui" there is the huge added benefit of excellent positioning of the tongue and the upper lip for maximum tonal resonance and flexibility in addition to articulation ease. The more I practice EVERYTHING with a "qui" syllable, the better my tone sounds in general.

Please let me know how this works for you!

Best,
Catherine

Chopstick: Take 2

Greetings,

About three weeks ago, I was practicing my buzzing while driving (Yes, I buzz in my car. It's great to be warmed up already when I get to the university or a rehearsal!) and I noticed that my upper lip and tongue were in a great relationship, rather like a ballroom dancing partners responding to slight pressure and gesture from the other.

Then I started thinking about the Chopstick Exercise, and it "hit me" to try the Chopstick Exercise, emphasizing the relationship between the upper lip and the tongue with the chopstick on TOP of the tongue!

I did not post about this immediately because I wanted to test out the effects of doing this over time before suggesting it to you.

My experience is that working this way a few minutes a day helps me to lift my upper lip--in fact, to lift my entire embouchure, activating the zygomatic major muscle, encouraging the tongue to stay wide, and allowing for much flexibility with the center of the lips.

When doing this exercise, please remember to keep the tongue in relationship with the upper lip. The benefit seems to stem from doing it with this focus. I suggest starting out by buzzing with the chopstick in this position.

Try it for yourself!
Please let me know how it works for you.

Catherine

Chopstick and Tonguing

Greetings,

This video is a response to a subscriber request for more specific information about how to tongue with a chopstick in the mouth.

Please let me know if there is a specific topic you would like me to post a blog article or video about.

All the best,
Catherine

Update on "Uplifting" Embouchure Practice Technique

Wow!

After practicing with the bandage strips on my face this morning, I decided to leave them on for a while to see how being aware of these facial muscles affected how I went about other activities (I did not venture outside with my bandage "whiskers", though I don't think of myself as being allergic to being conspicuous.

What I noticed is that being aware of these muscles improved my head balance and shoulder use while doing these varied tasks:
using the computer (typing, looking at the monitor, using the mouse)

writing on the desk
talking
listening
washing dishes
folding clothes
vacuuming
cooking

I admit I did not keep them on while eating...

The big message for me today is the reminder of a lesson learned from my study of the Alexander Technique -- we are always "practicing!"

Best,
Catherine

"Uplifting" Embouchure Practice Technique

Hello,

In this video, I share with you my discovery of the week, a simple way of increasing your awareness of the use of your upper lip while practicing!

I found this to be enlightening during my own practice, and each student who tried it in their weekly lesson found it helpful in identifying the action of the zygomatic major and caninus muscles of the face.

To better understand the location and function of these muscles, I suggest you visit the interactive Dataface website.

Let me know how this idea works for you!

Catherine