Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Flute piece position to reduce wrist pain

I found that my left wrist had been hurting more and more after holding the flute for a while. It turns out (according to http://www.jennifercluff.com/lineup.htm#align) a good number of professional flute players recommend aligning the flute mouth piece in this manner:

"align the far side of the embouchure hole (the striking edge, where the air splits) with the center of the flute's keys."

In my case, my flute has a little arrow/notch indicating the center of the flute keys (highlighted in yellow here):



This is new to me: my mouth piece used to be tilted farther away from my mouth, making my left wrist strain uncomfortably. I had no idea for so long =/. This way, the wrist doesn't have to bend as much.

(Also I feel like I can hit lower notes better now...)

Keep in my mind, as the article linked above says, that this is recommended for most flute players, but doesn't apply to all; it depends on "the formation of the lips, chin, hands, arms and the level of the player's development."

But it works for me.

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