Laryngeal activity during wind instrument playing: Video endoscopic documentation

Abstract

The starting point of this study was that two of the authors independently experienced vocal fatigue when singing after they had played their wind instruments. We studied six subjects who played flute, trumpet or saxophone (two subjects on each instrument), with the help of videofibrelaryngoscopy. They performed different tasks and the laryngeal and pharyngeal activity was investigated. We found that all six subjects manifested activation of the laryngeal muscles while playing, though the type of activation differed: the flautists manifested vocal fold activation during the production of vibrato, whereas the trumpet and saxophone players primarily used the larynx for regulation of pressure.

Key Words:

• laryngeal activity
• wind instruments