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ePaper created 2014-02-05, 10:56:17 | version 1.26.00
“These experimental conditions might be somewhat artificial, but they are realistic enough to allow us to draw conclusions about normal playing practice,” says Richter. All of the key movements are captured on film: The larynx at the upper end of the windpipe allows the air the musician breathes in to enter into the lungs, the vocal cords participate in the tone control. The vocal tract, the space between the lips and the larynx, influences the pressure and speed of the air, controlled above all by the shape and position of the tongue. The respiratory system in the chest provides the air and thus the energy. In the case of brass instruments, the lips are also im- portant, because they create the sound. The sci- entists demonstrate all of this not only with the French horn, but also with the trumpet, clarinet, oboe, recorder, and flute. “We instructed the mu- sicians to use the basic techniques for sound creation one after the other,” reports Spahn. For example, they played short and long, high and low, soft and loud, and staccato and legato notes. The films illustrate clearly what happens in the vocal tract, the larynx, and the respiratory system when musicians create these notes. The researchers produced around 20 video clips for each instrument from inside the body. The films made with the help of the MRI scan- ner show a two-dimensional view, those recorded through the head mostly from the side, those through the chest from the front. The soft parts of the body are displayed in grayscale. The films re- corded with the endoscope are in color and leave a spatial impression. “Much of what the films show is transferable to other instruments,” says Richter. For example, the technique of double- tonguing always works the same way – players of wind instruments can play notes in more rapid succession when they thrust their tongue forward against their teeth and upwards against the roof of their mouth by turns. But there are also differ- ences. Trumpet players, for instance, raise their tongue sharply to make notes higher, making the space between it and the roof of their mouth nar- rower but the space in the throat wider. The air flows faster, the pressure is higher. In the case of the clarinet, by contrast, the same technique is used to make lower notes. The peculiarity of the oboe, a high-pressure instrument, is that the play- er often has to breathe out superfluous air at the end of a musical phrase before breathing in fresh air. And with the recorder, the way to brighten or darken a tone is by shaping one’s vocal tract as one would when pronouncing an A, E, I, O, or U. Raised Tongue, High Note These findings are not entirely new to musicians and researchers. There have already been several attempts to capture the movements inside the mouths of wind players. However, the new films made by the Freiburg research team are of much higher quality thanks to the modern methods used to make them. The films have particularly great po- tential for use in the classroom. In addition to the clips on the six instruments, the researchers also made films using color computer animations that illustrate basic principles of anatomy – such as the parts the larynx is made up of and where the dia- phragm is located. These clips also explain the Oral cavity and throat, larynx, chest area (from left): Video clips illustrate what happens in the key parts of the body when wind instru- mentalists employ basic techniques of sound production and articulation. Source: Helbling Verlag in the vocal tract, the larynx, and the respiratory system when musicians create these notes. The end of a musical phrase before breathing in fresh air. And with the recorder, the way to brighten or darken a tone is by shaping one’s vocal tract as one would when pronouncing an A, E, I, O, or U. Raised Tongue, High Note These findings are not entirely new to musicians and researchers. There have already been several attempts to capture the movements inside the mouths of wind players. However, the new films made by the Freiburg research team are of much higher quality thanks to the modern methods used to make them. The films have particularly great po- tential for use in the classroom. In addition to the clips on the six instruments, the researchers also made films using color computer animations that illustrate basic principles of anatomy – such as the parts the larynx is made up of and where the dia- phragm is located. These clips also explain the system when musicians create these notes. The researchers produced around 20 video clips for each instrument from inside the body. air. And with the recorder, the way to brighten or darken a tone is by shaping one’s vocal tract as one would when pronouncing an A, E, I, O, or U. Raised Tongue, High Note These findings are not entirely new to musicians and researchers. There have already been several attempts to capture the movements inside the mouths of wind players. However, the new films made by the Freiburg research team are of much higher quality thanks to the modern methods used to make them. The films have particularly great po- tential for use in the classroom. In addition to the clips on the six instruments, the researchers also made films using color computer animations that illustrate basic principles of anatomy – such as the parts the larynx is made up of and where the dia- phragm is located. These clips also explain the Brass instrument without brass: The research team built their own instruments like this metal-free French horn to use for the films they took of brass instrumental- ists in an MRI scanner. Photo: FIM Oral cavity and throat, larynx, chest area (from left): Video clips illustrate what happens in the key parts of the body when wind instru-Oral cavity and throat, larynx, chest area (from left): Video clips illustrate what happens in the key parts of the body when wind instru- 22