embouchure

American  

[ahm-boo-shoor, ahm-boo-shoor, ahn-boo-shyr] / ˌɑm bʊˈʃʊər, ˈɑm bʊˌʃʊər, ɑ̃ buˈʃür /

noun

plural

embouchures

1. the mouth of a river.

2. the opening out of a valley into a plain.

3. Music.

   1. the mouthpiece of a wind instrument.

   2. the adjustment of a player's mouth to such a mouthpiece.

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embouchure British  

/ ˌɒmbʊˈʃʊə /

noun

1. the mouth of a river or valley

2. music

   1. the correct application of the lips and tongue in playing a wind instrument

   2. the mouthpiece of a wind instrument

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Etymology

Origin of embouchure

1750–60; < French, equivalent to embouch ( er ) to put (an instrument) to one's mouth ( em- em- ¹ + bouche mouth < Latin bucca puffed cheek) + -ure -ure

Explanation

If you play the flute or trumpet, you might know that embouchure refers to the way you put your mouth on the instrument in order to make the proper sound. Sometimes the mouthpiece itself is also called an embouchure. Brass and woodwind instruments are all played by blowing into or across an opening, the embouchure. As a method of playing such instruments, embouchure is a way of holding your mouth-including lips, facial muscles, and teeth. This often involves buzzing your lips against the instrument's mouthpiece. Embouchure is a French word that means "river mouth" (from bouche, "mouth") and it used to actually refer to the mouth of a river.

Example Sentences

Trumpeters need to play all the time because of the embouchure and muscle memory.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2025

Rogers’s own music is often hyper urgent and fast-acting, but in the relaxed time scale of this performance allowed, she savored every extended-technique tool in her embouchure.

From New York Times • Apr. 23, 2023

It’s usually the second one — it at least tells me what kind of strength I have in my embouchure.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2020

The embouchure, or position of lips and mouth, necessary to coax musical notes from the horn’s twisted metal is notoriously tricky.

From Washington Post • Jan. 17, 2020

He said, “It’s called a recorder. Once you’ve developed a little wind, and some tone and a embouchure we’ll move on to something a little more complicated.”

From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis