Intraoral pressure and sound pressure during woodwind performance.

65 Pages·2015·1.18 MB·English

by  Bowling, Micah

INTRAORAL PRESSURE AND SOUND PRESSURE DURING WOODWIND PERFORMANCE
Micah Bowling
Dissertation for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
May 2016
APPROVED:
Kathleen Reynolds, Major Professor
Mary Karen Clardy, Committee Member
Daryl Coad, Committee Member
John Holt, Chair of the Division of Instrumental
Studies for the College of Music
Benjamin Brand, Director of Graduate Studies for
the College of Music
James Scott, Dean of the College of Music
Costas Tsatsoulis, Dean of the Toulouse
Graduate School
Bowling, Micah. Intraoral pressure and sound pressure during woodwind performance.
Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), May 2016, 57 pp., 5 tables, 4 figures, references, 15
titles.
For woodwind and brass performers, intraoral pressure is the measure of force exerted
on the surface area of the oral cavity by the air transmitted from the lungs. This pressure is the
combined effect of the volume of air forced into the oral cavity by the breathing apparatus and
the resistance of the embouchure, reed opening, and instrument’s back pressure. Recent
research by Michael Adduci shows that intraoral pressures during oboe performance can
exceed capabilities for corresponding increases in sound output, suggesting a potentially
hazardous situation for the development of soft tissue disorders in the throat and
velopharyngeal insufficiencies. However, considering that oboe back pressure is perhaps the
highest among the woodwind instruments, this problem may or may not occur in other
woodwinds. There has been no research of this type for the other woodwind instruments.
My study was completed to expand the current research by comparing intraoral
pressure (IOP) and sound pressure when performing with a characteristic tone on oboe,
clarinet, flute, bassoon, and saxophone.
The expected results should show that, as sound pressure levels increase, intraoral
pressure will also increase. The subjects, undergraduate and graduate music majors at the
University of North Texas, performed a series of musical tasks on bassoon, clarinet, flute, oboe,
and alto saxophone. The musical tasks cover the standard ranges of each instrument,
differences between vibrato and straight-tone, and a variety of musical dynamics. The data was
collected and examined for trends. The specific aims of this study are to (1) determine whether
there is a correlation between IOP and sound pressure, (2) shed light on how well each
instrument responds to rapid fluctuation, and (3) determine which instruments are most
efficient when converting air pressure into sound output.
Results of this study raised concerns shared by previous studies – that woodwind
players are potentially causing harm to their oropharynx by inaccurately perceiving intraoral
pressure needed to achieve a characteristic sound. Evidence found by this study suggests that
while oboists generate high intraoral pressure for relatively little sound output (a fact
corroborated by past studies), the same cannot be said for all of the woodwind instruments,
particularly the flute.
Copyright 2016
By
Micah Bowling
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Chapters
1.INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Statement of Purpose
2.BACKGROUND AND FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.EXPERIMENTAL METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Description of Musical Tasks
Equipment and Experimental Setup
Experimental Procedure
Protocol for Data Analysis
4.RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.DISCUSSION OF RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
7.APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8.BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
iii
LIST OF TABLES
1.TABLE 1 Demographic Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.TABLE 2 Numerical Data from Selected Group Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.TABLE 3 Numerical Data from Selected Individual Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.TABLE 4 Numerical Data from Selected Multiple Woodwind Performer Samples . . . . . . . . . 34
3.TABLE 5 Vibrato Amplitude Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
iv
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1.FIGURE 1 Musical Task 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.FIGURE 2 Musical Task 2 & 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.FIGURE 3 Linear Representation of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.FIGURE 4 Pearson Correlation Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
v
FOREWORD
My interest in intraoral pressure stemmed from my own personal experiences with nasal leaks
during performance. As a woodwind performance major, I sought out information pertaining to
nasal leaks in search of a solution to the problem. These searches led me to the topic of
intraoral pressure and its effects on performance.
vi
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
In recent research by Michael Adduci, the model for this study, oboe performance was
studied to show the trends in the relationship between intraoral pressure and sound pressure
levels. His study was designed to create a scientific basis for pedagogical techniques among
oboe performers.1
For many years, the study of musical instruments has been an oral tradition in an
apprenticeship-like setting. Often, the instructor will try to best describe the results desired
from their music students. This common tradition lacks a methodical or scientific basis. The
topic of respiration is a key example of this discrepancy. Many instructors tell their students to
exhale using the diaphragm muscle, but an anatomical study of the body proves that the
diaphragm only acts as an active muscle during the inspiratory process. During forced
expiration, the body relies on the use of the muscles of the abdominal wall (rectus abdominus,
internal and external obliques, and transversus abdominus muscles) and the internal intercostal
muscles. As these muscles contract, there is an increase in abdominal pressure and
compensatory decrease in thoracic volume, resulting in air being forced out of the lungs.
Contrary to what is commonly taught, during this entire process of exhalation, the diaphragm
serves only in a passive capacity.2
This generalization (“support from the diaphragm”) by performance instructors is not
meant to cause confusion for the student or mislead them about the way the body functions;
rather, this imprecise description and generalized instruction is a result of the body’s inability to
1 Adduci, M. D. (2011). Dynamic Measurement of Intraoral pressure and Sound Pressure With Laryngoscopic
Characterization During Oboe Performance. Denton, Texas.
2 Patton, K., & Thibodeau, G. (2009). Anatomy & Physiology (7th Edition ed.). Mosby.
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physically distinguish the delicate intricacies of the respiration process. Involuntary respiration
activates the autonomic nervous system, the system that controls involuntary actions and
reflexes in the body. Several factors outside of the control of consciousness regulate the
different variables of ventilation, such as the level of carbon dioxide in the blood (PaCO2),
oxygen tension (PaO2), and pH. Respiratory control is achieved through involuntary activation
of neural and chemical receptors located throughout the body. This activation signals
respiratory centers in the brain to alter breathing patterns accordingly. Although it is true that,
to an extent, some breath control is voluntary, it can never be completely regulated by the
conscious. Musicians are perhaps more aware of their body than the general population, but
this accuracy diminishes greatly as the amount of respiratory pressure increases.
A. J. Payne determined that humans are capable of distinguishing expiration pressures
within the magnitude required for speaking. As the expiration pressure increases past the
speaking magnitude, however, the ability of humans to accurately distinguish these pressures
diminishes as the pressure magnitude target level increased.3 These findings were further
supported in a study by A. Anastasio and Bussard, which showed that during oboe
performance, oboists were only capable of producing 1 PSI (pounds per square inch), lower
than their maximum pressure of 2.5 – 3.5 PSI and substantially lower than the self-estimations
of 20-90 PSI made by the oboists prior to performance.4 This concept suggests that performers’
perceptions of their maximal expiration pressures vary greatly from the reality, serving as the
3 Payne, A. J. (1987). Intraoral Air Pressure Discrimination for an Open Versus Closed Tube Pressure System.
University of Florida.
4 Anastasio, A. a. (1971). Mouth Air Pressure and Intensity Profiles of the Oboe. Journal of Research in Music
Education , 19, 62-76.
2