Embouchure collapse Embouchure collapse Embouchure collapse is a generic term used by wind instrument players to describe a variety of conditions which result in the inability of the embouchure to function. The embouchure is the purposeful arrangement of the facial muscles and lips to produce a sound on a wind or brass instrument. In brass playing, it involves vibration of the membrane area of the lips. Embouchure collapse in its various forms and extremities generally results in difficulty in playing for extended periods (especially if playing loudly and/or in the high register) or a complete inability to play. The former applies mainly
Mouthpiece (woodwind) reflect the theory that the mass of metal over the shank of the mouthpiece, which contacts the neck cork, stabilizes the connection and enhances the integrity of the harmonic series. On a capped double-reed instrument the function of the mouthpiece is simply to provide a chamber within which the reed can vibrate, with a hole through which air can be blown. On a fipple flute the mouthpiece, or fipple, provides a shaped passageway for air to be blown against an edge, producing turbulent flow which excites the resonant vibrational modes of the air column. A pirouette is a wooden mouthpiece