The Saxophone Embouchure

In this short clip, the student exhibits a good saxophone embouchure - flattening the bottom lip, teeth on top, with corners of the mouth focusing the air.

Often taught incorrectly as "bottom lip over your bottom teeth", the saxophone lends itself more readily to a 'flattened lip'. The conical design of the instrument means that putting the lip over the bottom teeth will often dampen the reed vibrations making it hard to produce the lower notes. Exploring words that encourage the flattening of the lip include the pronunciation of the 'V' in the word 'Very', trying to 'smile & whistle' or trying to pronounce the words "wee and too" at the same time. Note the natural high tongue position in all of the examples above. The tongue drops lower in the mouth with the "lip over teeth" description often leading to poor articulation as the lessons progress.