Klarinet Archive - Posting 000979.txt from 2000/11

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] Article: Breathing and Support
Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 07:52:49 -0500

On Wed, 29 Nov 2000 22:47:29 +0100, chnani@-----.fr said:

> Bonsoir,
>
> i did you know this article about "larynx and woodwind's players" :
> http://www02.so-net.ne.jp/%7Es-mukai/English/Blow.html
>
> i don't know if it is a well known publication.

No, I didn't. I suppose this is the 1989 paper listed as #26 in his
references?

It is interesting to know that photographs (taken through
laryngo-fibroscopes stuck up players' noses!) show that the larynx is
largely, though not entirely closed during expert performance, and that
we have no independent feedback on the degree of its closure. Also that
vibrato on some instruments involves modulating the glottic aperture.

But I think some of the discussion is naive, and not well informed
either. For example, the author concludes that 'physiologically, it is
impossible to create vibrato by diaphragm control...because the phrenic
nerve which controls the diaphragm discharges only during inspiration.'
This is rather like saying that you can't move your arm up and down
periodically by using your bicep. But obviously you can, because the
return is guaranteed by your tricep. Similarly with the
abdomen/diaphragm opposition.

The author also says that 'Man cannot blow well when his lips are numbed
by local anesthesia although capability for motor function is normal.
These phenomena are readily observable at oral surgeries and dental
procedures. This implies that sensory feedback from the lips is
indispensable for blow. The author thinks that one of the most
important functions of the lips is as receptors of the airflow and of
vibrations which are essential information for airflow control during
blow.' [As you can gather, this is a slightly crude translation from the
Japanese]

I'd say that that statement casts a bit of a cloud over the scientific
status of the paper. The case of Adolf Herseth is well-known, and
Andrew Marriner, principal clarinet of the LSO here, had to endure a
period of recovery when a sensory nerve was severed in dental surgery.
However, he did recover his full playing abilities, despite the loss of
feeling in his lip.

But it all helps to build up the complete picture. Thanks for posting
it, Charles.

I've meant for some time to say something about an article that Abe sent
me, all about tongue position related to played register, which
concluded, on the basis of X-rays of the author taken from the side,
that the position of the *back* of the tongue was correlated with the
register. But I can't lay my hands on it at the moment -- so it'll have
to wait.

We're quite lucky to have this research, if you think about it. The use
of X-rays on that scale would be thought much too dangerous nowadays.
But perhaps there are other, more modern techniques.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE GMN family artist: www.gmn.com
tel/fax 01865 553339

... Never take a beer to a job interview.

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