6.3 The Player’s Windway
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to control the embouchure by modifying the equivalent mechanical parameters of
the vibrating lips. The vocal tract is at the end of the respiratory system, which is
the supply of air of the brass player, and modifications of the vocal tract can help
the player to control the high static mouth overpressure required when playing very
high notes.
New investigation techniques such as real-time magnetic resonance imaging are
very promising. Pioneering studies by Iltis et al. (2015) investigated arpeggio playing on several brass instruments, charting the evolution of the player’s vocal tract
internal shape (oropharyngeal cavity size and tongue conformation) when moving
from lower to higher notes. Tuba and trombone playing showed a progressive
decrease in oropharyngeal area, with an upward and forward displacement of the
tongue. Trumpet playing showed progressive increases in oropharyngeal area, with
the posterior compartment showing the largest change. There was essentially no
change on oropharyngeal area in horn playing.
6.3.4 Respiratory Control
The discussion of the player’s windway so far has concentrated on its role as an
acoustic resonator upstream of the lips. We should keep in mind however that
the vocal tract is part of the pulmonary airways leading to the lungs (through the
trachea), all these subsystems constituting the pulmonary apparatus. The lungs,
a cluster of small elastic bags (alveoli) surrounded by the pleura, constitute an
air reservoir that a brass player fills before playing (inhalation) and empties progressively during sound production (exhalation). The action of respiratory muscles
allows air to circulate in the pulmonary apparatus by modulating the air pressure in
the lungs. It is therefore clear that the respiratory muscles are intimately involved in
the regulation of the quasi-static mouth pressure that the player controls to generate
oscillations of the lips.
Following the pioneering work of Bouhuys (1964), and taking advantage of
technological advances such as optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) (Aliverti
1996; Cala et al. 1996), a systematic study of the control of the respiratory system
during brass instrument performance has been undertaken by Vincent Fréour (2013).
Pressures at different points within the respiratory system were monitored using
transnasal balloon-catheter systems, and variations of chest wall volumes were
recorded using OEP. These measurements allowed for the quantification of the
activity of different groups of respiratory muscles during performance. Although the
results obtained come from only one player, self-consistent patterns were observed
during basic playing tasks of varying pitch and loudness.
During ascending and descending arpeggios with no dynamic constraints, Fréour
observed a sequential decay of abdominal and rib-cage volumes resulting in a
parallel activation of rib-cage and abdominal muscles during the playing task.
Abdominal muscles appear to be the primary generators of pressure, while ribcage muscle action is overall less, though certainly associated with fine control of
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to control the embouchure by modifying the equivalent mechanical parameters of
the vibrating lips. The vocal tract is at the end of the respiratory system, which is
the supply of air of the brass player, and modifications of the vocal tract can help
the player to control the high static mouth overpressure required when playing very
high notes.
New investigation techniques such as real-time magnetic resonance imaging are
very promising. Pioneering studies by Iltis et al. (2015) investigated arpeggio playing on several brass instruments, charting the evolution of the player’s vocal tract
internal shape (oropharyngeal cavity size and tongue conformation) when moving
from lower to higher notes. Tuba and trombone playing showed a progressive
decrease in oropharyngeal area, with an upward and forward displacement of the
tongue. Trumpet playing showed progressive increases in oropharyngeal area, with
the posterior compartment showing the largest change. There was essentially no
change on oropharyngeal area in horn playing.
6.3.4 Respiratory Control
The discussion of the player’s windway so far has concentrated on its role as an
acoustic resonator upstream of the lips. We should keep in mind however that
the vocal tract is part of the pulmonary airways leading to the lungs (through the
trachea), all these subsystems constituting the pulmonary apparatus. The lungs,
a cluster of small elastic bags (alveoli) surrounded by the pleura, constitute an
air reservoir that a brass player fills before playing (inhalation) and empties progressively during sound production (exhalation). The action of respiratory muscles
allows air to circulate in the pulmonary apparatus by modulating the air pressure in
the lungs. It is therefore clear that the respiratory muscles are intimately involved in
the regulation of the quasi-static mouth pressure that the player controls to generate
oscillations of the lips.
Following the pioneering work of Bouhuys (1964), and taking advantage of
technological advances such as optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) (Aliverti
1996; Cala et al. 1996), a systematic study of the control of the respiratory system
during brass instrument performance has been undertaken by Vincent Fréour (2013).
Pressures at different points within the respiratory system were monitored using
transnasal balloon-catheter systems, and variations of chest wall volumes were
recorded using OEP. These measurements allowed for the quantification of the
activity of different groups of respiratory muscles during performance. Although the
results obtained come from only one player, self-consistent patterns were observed
during basic playing tasks of varying pitch and loudness.
During ascending and descending arpeggios with no dynamic constraints, Fréour
observed a sequential decay of abdominal and rib-cage volumes resulting in a
parallel activation of rib-cage and abdominal muscles during the playing task.
Abdominal muscles appear to be the primary generators of pressure, while ribcage muscle action is overall less, though certainly associated with fine control of