Why is the headjoint of the flute so important?




The headjoint is singularly the most important part of the flute, not only for sound production but also for tuning. Flute makers continually strive to make the ‘perfect’ headjoint, however because this is such a subjective topic, the perfect headjoint will probably never be made. Broken down in to three distinct parts, the tube, lip plate and the chimney or riser, most headjoints give different strengths and tonal widths in various parts of the octave. There are various reasons for the different headjoint characteristics of the various manufacturers - different parabolic curves, varying embouchure sizes, angles and depths. What can be said with certainty however is that a student will advance quicker, and to a higher standard if they play on a flute resplendent with a responsive headjoint.

As a specialist flute company, we understand the importance of the headjoint. Unlike most other manufacturers, we do not manufacture a standard headjoint for our complete range. Instead we have studied and researched what tonal requirements a new flute student through to a professional desires.

When Trevor J. James started the Company in 1979, his specialisation was headjoint design. Working closely with the top flute players of the day enabled him to quickly understand that almost every player required something tonally different from a headjoint. Taking this deep understanding of the headjoint and transferring this knowledge into the design of his student - 10x MkII headjoint. The new player requires a flute headjoint to be free blowing throughout the range. In the early months they will often find the low octave difficult to sound and therefore the headjoint for the Trevor J. James 10x MkII has been designed to give the new player the sound qualities which encourages and supports their practice and development.

Developing your flute sound - The 'Performers' Series

The developing flute player requires a little bit more resistance with their headjoint, which gives them the opportunity to find their sound whilst experimenting with differing tonal colours. The flute headjoints of the 'Performers' Privilege (silver-plated), Cantabile (silver head) and Virtuoso (silver tube) Series models are designed with lip plate and riser designs to give re exactly that.

The advanced flute player - The 'Masters' Series

The advanced player will really appreciate the tonal qualities of these handmade headjoints on the Trevor J. James 'Masters' Series instruments. The headjoints on these flutes give the player the opportunity to really roam around the tonal spectrum to locate the sound qualities and colours required.

Additional Trevor J. James headjoint options

Trevor J. James silver headjoint with 9k gold riser	Trevor J. James silver headjoint with 9k gold lip plate and riser	Allen / James 25th Anniversary handmade 9k gold headjoint

	Trevor J. James Models
Options	10x MkII	'Performers' Series	'Masters' Series	'Masters' Series alto flutes
Curved headjoint		Privilege 2 only
'shaped' lip plate design
9k gold riser
9k gold lip plate & riser
9k gold headjoint
Engraved lip plate
Allen / James handmade

The Trevor James & Co. Traditional Vs 'Shaped' lip plate options

The ‘Shaped’ lip plate

The lip plate is slightly ‘shaped’ enabling your lip and chin to come closer to the embouchure hole. The shoulders of the lip plate are also raised from the side to the centre allowing the chimney to be greater in height, especially at the sides of the chimney. These features generally assist a greater volume and ease of immediate tone production. Especially obvious is the strength of the low and mid range notes, whilst the high notes tend to be uncompromising and speak freely. The sides of the embouchure are rounded at the top and have slightly more undercutting at the sides than the traditional lip plate. This lip plate certainly encourages ease of sound production.

TJJ ‘Traditional’ lip plate

From left to right, this lip plate is quite flat overall and radiuses slightly tighter than the tube. The chimney is recognised as the modern standard by the world’s great headjoint makers. The embouchure is rectangular with a small amount of over cutting at the topsides and a small to medium amount of undercutting at the undersides of the embouchure. This is accepted as a good overall standard for both student and professional players and follows the style of the original Boehm lip plates with the modification, especially to the chimney (riser) as developed by Albert Cooper.

Which is the best style?
What can be said for certainty is that everybody’s face, jaws, lips and breathing are individual to themselves. The only way to see which headjoint is suitable is to try them both.