The Rim Blown Embrochure
In order to make a sound on a rim blown flute you have to do three things simultaneously:
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Occlude the end of the flute
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Create a thin stream of air which blows directly across the cutting edge
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Create an opening in front of the cutting edge to make a sound hole
The original flute from the broken-flute cave in Arizona, had only a continuous thin rim for the embouchure.
![](https://primary.jwwb.nl/public/w/b/z/temp-zilntgilitwsvprswhve/gvhdwn/img_2076.jpg?enable-io=true&enable=upscale&crop=1427%2C923%2Cx1%2Cy0%2Csafe&width=430&height=278)
![](https://primary.jwwb.nl/public/w/b/z/temp-zilntgilitwsvprswhve/g3ws8o/img_2104heic.jpg?enable-io=true&enable=upscale&crop=1919%2C1545%2Cx1%2Cy0%2Csafe&width=303&height=244)
![](https://primary.jwwb.nl/public/w/b/z/temp-zilntgilitwsvprswhve/kias5u/img_2103heic.jpg?enable-io=true&enable=upscale&crop=1919%2C1571%2Cx0%2Cy1%2Csafe&width=303&height=248)
![](https://primary.jwwb.nl/public/w/b/z/temp-zilntgilitwsvprswhve/6ta5wz/img_21092heic.jpg?enable-io=true&enable=upscale&crop=1920%2C1813%2Cx0%2Cy1%2Csafe&width=303&height=286)
This style of embouchure was probably played either obliquely
or intradentally
If you would like to hear how these sound listen to Marlon Magdalena at https://youtu.be/Fb8-ksHbI1A?feature=shared
More recent adaptations of the embrochure have included an external ramp along one side of the edge. This is based on the Japanese Shakuhachi flute embouchure. This creates a shallow notch to aid in creating the sound hole. The Shakuhachi is designed to be played along the wide edge, creating variations in the sound and amounts of air.
![](https://primary.jwwb.nl/public/w/b/z/temp-zilntgilitwsvprswhve/pxbkre/img_2077.jpg?enable-io=true&enable=upscale&crop=1508%2C1234%2Cx0%2Cy0%2Csafe&width=373&height=305)
My more recent adaptation of the embouchure has in internal ramp, based on the southern Chinese Xiao. The Xiao is a meditative instrument designed to create pure tones. This is closer to the sound I find so haunting in the ancestral puebloan flutes,
![](https://primary.jwwb.nl/public/w/b/z/temp-zilntgilitwsvprswhve/2hsz8k/img_2081.jpg?enable-io=true&enable=upscale&crop=1918%2C1575%2Cx1%2Cy0%2Csafe&width=263&height=216)
This is a diagram of the more recent embrochure adaptations.
![](https://primary.jwwb.nl/public/w/b/z/temp-zilntgilitwsvprswhve/u0ahat/rimblownflute.jpg?enable-io=true&enable=upscale&crop=1655%2C1101%2Cx0%2Cy0%2Csafe&width=1066&height=709)