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A Descriptive Comparison of Oral Cavity Movements Between Brass Instrumentalists Performing Large Interval Slurs
Peter W Iltis1, Jens Frahm, Dirk Voit
1Dep. of Kinesiology, Ken Olsen Science Center, Gordon College, 255 Grapevine Road, Wenham, MA 01984, USA. peter.iltis@gordon.edu.
Medical Problems of Performing Artists
|December 6, 2024
Summary
Brass musicians, including horn and trumpet players, use patterned tongue movements to adjust their oral cavity shape during large interval slurs. These adjustments may aid in producing higher notes, with potential application for trombone players as well.
Area of Science:
- Brass instrument performance
- Vocal tract acoustics
- Physiology of wind instruments
Background:
- Previous research identified oral cavity movement patterns in French horn players during large interval slurs.
- This study compares these patterns across horn, trumpet, and trombone players.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare oral cavity movements during large interval slurs in horn, trumpet, and trombone players.
- To determine if specific tongue movements correlate with pitch changes in these musicians.
Main Methods:
- Real-time MRI (RT-MRI) at 20 msec resolution was used in sagittal and coronal planes.
- 10 trumpet, 9 horn, and 10 trombone players performed octave and octave+3rd slurs.
- Tongue movement and oral cavity cross-sectional area were measured using custom software and Image J.
Main Results:
- Horn and trumpet players exhibited patterned tongue movements, narrowing and widening the air channel during ascending and descending slurs, respectively.
- These movements were more pronounced with larger intervals and primarily occurred in the anterior oral cavity.
- Trombone players did not show the same consistent patterned movements.
Conclusions:
- Oral cavity conformational changes, or vocal-tract tuning, may assist horn and trumpet players in executing large interval slurs in the upper register.
- Trombone players might utilize similar strategies for extreme upper register playing, requiring further investigation.
