😮Your Best Shinobue Tone Lies INSIDE Your Mouth!👍
When it comes to playing the shinobue flute, much attention is given to achieving the right embouchure, focusing on the positioning of the upper and lower lips and the overall shape of the mouth. However, the internal dynamics of the mouth during playing are often overlooked.
WE NEED MORE SPACE INSIDE THE MOUTH!!
It's simple physics of acoustics. Imagine walking into a huge cathedral with a high ceiling and hard floor.
You say "Ah!!" and the sound of your voice echos and fills the large space.
Now, imagine that the same cathedral got hit by a tornado. The ceiling and walls have collapsed, everything got wet, and debris is everywhere. There was no more open space. Does your voice echo like it did before? No.
The same physics applies inside your mouth. You need space to resonate sound. That's why great singers like Beyonce open their mouths big, especially for the high notes. MORE SPACE = MORE SOUND
Now, this is where it gets a little tricky for playing shinobue, because...
We cannot play the shinobue with our mouths open!!
What do we do, then???
We must learn to keep our mouths open inside when our lips are closed!!!
Here are the pictures of Ms. Sarah Akiyoshi playing shinobue during our interview.
Her normal mouth position
It's challenging to observe what's happening inside someone's mouth, but upon a careful comparison of the pictures, you can notice that the distance between the bottom of her nose and upper lip is much longer when she is playing the shinobue (even a 1 mm difference is significant in shinobue playing). Her upper lip is pointing down to direct the breath into the mouth hole (utakuchi), and her chin is down as if she is trying to make a double chin. Her cheek looks puffier. All of these factors contribute to her having more space inside her mouth.
Here is an EASY exercise you can do to increase the space inside your mouth (OMMM exercise)
Say "OMMMMM". Your voice should sound low, deep, and rich. You should feel some vibration on your lips.
Drop your jaw so that your upper lip is more prominent (protruding) than your lower lip (like Ms. Sarah Akiyoshi's pictures above). Your upper and lower molars should be apart. Feel the space inside your mouth. You should NOT look pretty (per our society's shallow standards).
Play the shinobue without losing the space inside your mouth.
Imagine a tone with depth and dimension (not like a flat pancake).
Repeat the process for at least 5 minutes!
Now, you are on your way to creating the most beautiful shinobue sound!❤️