In this video:
- How to place the mouthpiece in your mouth
- Teeth position
- Lip position
Embouchure comes from the French word bouche which means mouth
Embouchure means how you use your facial muscles and the shaping of the lips on your mouthpiece.
Playing with a proper embouchure is the only way you’ll ever be able to play your sax in its full range with a full, clear tone.
Your top teeth are resting on the top of your mouthpiece. Your bottom lip forms a cushion over your bottom teeth. Your bottom teeth are not touching the reed. So you have your bottom lip between your teeth and the reed acting as a cushion.
When you’re new at this or play many hours in a row, much the same way guitarists get sores on their fingers, you might develop a cut or sore. This is normal and you’ll get used to it and eventually will disappear.
So, to develop a proper embouchure, place your top teeth on your mouthpiece and your bottom teeth under your bottom inside lip.
Your tongue is back from the reed and shouldn’t touch the reed because it’ll constrict the movement of the reed which needs to vibrate super fast to produce a sound.