As a teacher and clinician, I’ve encountered many students that cannot clearly express in words how to form an embouchure. In fact, many of them seem confused on the basics. At most, the student has a vague idea of a couple of specific qualities an embouchure should possess, such as “firm corners” and a “flat chin.” While technically correct, I don’t think it is specific enough for a refined and strong embouchure. Over the years, I have boiled down constructing an embouchure to a set of concise, easily memorized steps. While by no means entirely comprehensive, I do think this provides enough direction to get started. I’ve included some tips to troubleshoot and further explain the “why’s and how’s” of each step.

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