Thoughts on the Flute Embouchure and Online Teaching
How I Try to Demystify Flute Playing in This New Reality (Part 1 of Many...)
I have a lot of ideas to share about teaching the flute embouchure, far more than I can explain in a short article. So, I really need to restrain myself here and accept that this will need to be an ongoing discussion. This morning, I’m simply reflecting on what it’s like to teach a concept like flute embouchure to my online flute studio.
If you’re a flute teacher too, I hope you’re adapting well to this…
Trying to describe an embouchure to someone feels a bit like describing a poem or a joke. This is because the flute embouchure is to some degree, elusive. It is an abstract idea that can be broken down to mechanics, but in doing so, only yields better playing for a fraction of players. Not that there’s anything particularly groundbreaking about this, but when teaching I always combine these things: 1) mechanical explanation 2) metaphor/imaginative 3) demonstration. I VERY good at #1 and #3, and am currently working very hard to get better with #2.
Truthfully, some students, without having ever taken a private lesson, have a basic idea about how to form an embouchure right away. Either their band teacher gave them halfway decent advice, or they are good at mimicking what they see in person/online.
However, for most of us who were at the typical starting age for flute needed a bit more coaching. Our mind/body connection just wasn’t quite there yet, and in fact, learning an instrument is sometimes what develops fine motor skills, body awareness, etc (sorry for stating what you already know, babe). And the flute embouchure isn’t obvious for most.
Something on my endless to-do list is to make a video about how to make a first sound on the flute to put up on my website. Currently ALL of the lessons that I teach are online and while Zoom has made leaps and bounds, there is always a challenge in terms of creating a comfortable back-and-forth. It’s one thing to listen to a student play an exercise or piece, then follow with my feedback. But when I’m trying to explain BIG concepts that take a little more time, it doesn’t take long to feel like something in the student’s environment is causing a distraction, or that some of my words are being cut out on their end by a bad connection. It’s honestly amazing that Zoom works as well as it does, though.
This is why I have started teaching more workshops online such as my bootcamps. I can always hit the ‘record’ button and participants must raise their hands before asking questions. The students who don’t ask questions may or may not be taking in everything, but they can always rewatch the recording later if they feel so inclined (and at least they aren’t interrupting anyone else’s learning).
But I do think that a short video just explaining basic flute mechanics to put on my website for my new students would be super useful. If the student doesn’t get it after watching my video, then I can give them more personalized, tailored advice. And I believe the present and future of flute teaching is about placing real value on the teacher’s ability to give personalized feedback. This will truly separate the super teachers from those who are either inexperienced or phoning it in. I’m going to go out on a limb to say that there are some teachers who have made an entire career out of saying the same exact things over and over. I’ve seen it happen a lot in masterclasses. Now will I be doing the same thing too? Yes, but the difference is that my “flute principles” (I hate my word choice here, but it’s the best I have right now) are what become either my free teaching content for TikTok and YouTube or pay-to-watch videos. Students will need to pay for the premium, personalized feedback that actually makes them better players in the long run (although I’ve gotten many, many DMs from followers thanking me for my content and telling me that it helped them place well in their school auditions!).
So, what are my thoughts on the flute embouchure aside from being elusive? Maybe I’ll get to that next time, babe.