Contrary to what some think, the vocal tract plays a fundamental role in wind musicians. It is not
only a distinctive feature of the musician, but also a valuable resource for sound modulation and
music production (Fritz et al., 2014).
In playing instruments such as trumpet, trombone, clarinet, oboe, saxophone and flute the
musician's vocal tract acts as the sound amplification and modulation system (Meyer, 2009).
In addition to amplifying the sound, the vocal tract also helps shaping the timbre of the instrument.
The shape and size of the vocal tract, individual characteristics of the musician and evolving during
life, can significantly influence the timbre of the wind instrument, giving a distinctive character to
the music produced (Chapman, 2013). With study of proper technique to acquire the voluntary
control of his own vocal tract, the musician learns to vary the timbre of the instrument in a dynamic
way, allowing for greater musical expressiveness (Titze, 2008).
Vocal tract preparation is a key element of training wind players. Breathing and airflow control
exercises, as well as embouchure technique (the position and use of the lips, tongue and teeth
when playing a wind instrument), are all essential to achieving good performances (Fagnan, 2005).
If the training of the vocal tract should be considered a fundamental element in the education of
wind musicians, it is also important, from the first years of studies, to schedule targeted
phoniatrician and dentists controls with Specialists expert in these musicians (Dana) .
References
Chapman, J. (2013). "Breath, Embouchure, and Articulation". The Instrumentalist, 67(10), 30-33.
Dana, P. “Traitements orthodontiques et instruments à vent,” Revue Médecine des arts N° 49
Dana, P. “Dispositif de protection des lèvres des musiciens dans le cadre d’un traitement
orthodontique : le protège-lèvres” Revue Médecine des arts N° 50
Fagnan, J. (2005). "Embouchure and Tone Production". The Clarinet, 32(4), 76-77.
Fritz, C., Blackwell, A.F., Cross, I., Moore, B.C.J., & Woodhouse, J. (2014). "Exploring violin sound quality:
investigating English timbre descriptors and correlating resynthesized acoustical modifications with
perceptual properties". The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 135(1), 303-312.
Meyer, J. (2009). "Acoustics and the Performance of Music". Springer.
Titze, I. R. (2008). "The Human Instrument". Scientific American, 298(1), 94-101.