I had an ephiphany this past week and wanted to share. I have been adapting to a normal/standard grip for a few days now and had been struggling to even get sound from the flute, trying various offset angles for the headjoint and different embouchure shapes.
Then, I noticed that the condensation pattern at the blow edge (the one opposite my lips) of the embouchure hole was shifted too far to the left (see pic above). I deduced that I was not directing the airstream correctly to the center of the blow edge and moved my lips to the right to compensate. Lo and behold, I was able to get sound consistently again.
I practice in the morning and in the evening. In the morning, my lips feel fuller and it has been difficult for me to play consistently because the airstream wasn’t formed properly. By examining the condensation pattern, I was able to focus the airstream more finely, even during morning practice!!!
In general, I find that I get the best sound when the condensation pattern is a small, elongated triangle shape, centered on top of the blow edge (see pic above). When the base of the triangle is too wide, it usually means that my airstream is too broad and the notes are not spot on.
Using this technique, I seem to be able to play longer without having moisture build-up inside the flute dampen the notes.
I hope some of you find this tip useful. I have never seen it mentioned in any of the flute books. Note: the condensation pattern is most noticeable in cold weather in an unheat room. It evaporates within seconds after I stop playing, so I have to examine it quickly. I don’t know if the condensation pattern is visible during warm weather. I didn’t realize its value until now.
Training the embouchure this way is much easier than using a mirror. I can barely see my lips with the flute in the way, never mind whether the embouchure is properly formed.
Headwizer - I noticed the same thing some time ago and found it useful. But as soon as things get warmed up, no go. A picture of this was posted on a web site somewhere a while ago but I don’t recall where it was. I do notice, though, after the flute is warm, that I can see tiny droplets of saliva just in the right spot - when I’m on. Occasionally, the droplets are on the back side of the blow hole and I haven’t figured out why that is.
Looking at your embouchure hole in a mirror is rough when you’re playing a blackwood flute - no way can you see where you lip is in relation to the hole. One day I had my son hold a flashlight over the hole in front of the mirror and he thought I was losing it. I had him take a few pictures from above and that gave me a better idea of where I was - but that was a while ago. Now I just adjust.
“I noticed the same thing some time ago and found it useful. But as soon as things get warmed up, no go.”
In warmer weather, maybe there is something that you can put around the embouchure hole that will produce something similar to a condensation pattern? Of course, one could always practice inside a walk-in refrigerator during the summer months.
“One day I had my son hold a flashlight over the hole in front of the mirror and he thought I was losing it. I had him take a few pictures from above and that gave me a better idea of where I was”
Taking those pictures must have required a bit of maneuvering. The problem is that my embouchure is not fixed - not yet anyway. Even if I could take a picture of it, the next time, the embouchure might be mal-formed in another way. The nice thing about using the condensation pattern is that you can instantly determine what the embouchure is doing wrong.
Since you brought up blackwood, I suspect that the condensation pattern would be hard to see on light colored woods like boxwood.
Ok, I added some pics to the first post. They were taken quickly (had to rush before the pattern evaporated), so they are not the best quality. Still, this technique has been so useful to me that I wanted to give more details.
BillG, I tried to find the site you mentioned but a Google search did not locate it.
HW, I stumbled upon this way of observing embouchure airflow some time ago and it has really helped my tone too. I mentioned it in a post in October (http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=23037&highlight=). Those pics illustrate better than words.
Headwizer - try here - http://www.piping.se/Marcus%20Hernon/hernon.htm
there used to be a number of pix on his site showing the embouchure moisture stream. I have a few pix on my hard drive but I don’t have a site and can’t, therefore, post them here. You have to click on “my flutes” to get there.
That’s Marcus Hernon’s site. I don’t see airstream pics though - at either the “My Flutes” link or “Pictures” link. My site is already getting usage near the bandwidth limit or I would offer to host the pics. How about uploading your pics to a Yahoo photo album and making the album accessible to the public?
I think the more pics of airstream patterns, the better. I’m glad I started learning flute in the fall to be able to take advantage of this type of embouchure diagnosis. With this technique I am learning to hold the flute lightly in a standard grip and without crushing my bottom lip.
The problem is that my embouchure is not fixed - not yet anyway. Even if I could take a picture of it, the next time, the embouchure might be mal-formed in another way. The nice thing about using the condensation pattern is that you can instantly determine what the embouchure is doing wrong.