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136
The
Effects
of
Breath
Instruction
Management
on
the
Performance
ElementaryBrass
of
Players
JRME 137
instrumentalists.
Areas that have been investigated
beginning
include strategies for rehearsals (Caimi, 1981; Price, 1983; Witt, 1986;
Yarbrough & Price, 1981) and curriculum for instrumental lessons
(Kendall, 1988). Several authors have commented about the lack of
research concerning the psychomotor process of learning to play an
instrument (O'Donnell, 1987; Rainbow, 1973).
Experts in wind playing, especially brass teachers, stress the importance of psychomotor skills. Johnson, in his 1981 book The Art of
TrumpetPlaying, states that "highly developed motor skills are critical
in implementing fine musical performance" (p. 6). The well-known
trombonist Denis Wick (1971) writes, "Playing any brass instrument
for an extended period at a high standard is very much an athletic
pursuit. It demands prolonged concentration, precise coordination"
(p. 25). Of the motor skills involved, the respiration process often is
mentioned as the most important physical aspect of brass playing
(Farkas, 1956; Johnson, 1981; Wick, 1971). Kleinhammer (1963)
states that "breath control is directly related to everything the trombonist plays" (p. 15). Kohut (1985), in his book Musical Performance:
Learning Theory and Pedagogy, discusses all aspects of musical performance. He stresses the importance of breathing for the musician,
writing that "breath directly affects intonation, articulation and diction, vibrato, dynamic level and intensity of the tone as well as phrasing, accents, and other aspects of musical expression" (p. 163).
Arnold Jacobs, long-time tubist with the Chicago Symphony, became
known for his work with musicians on the topic of respiration (Bobo,
1981a, 1981b; Jacobs, 1991: Kelly, 1983; Russo, 1973; Stewart, 1987).
He taught the same mode of abdominal/diaphragmatic
breathing
that has been described by the previously mentioned writers on brass
pedagogy (Kohut, 1985), stressing that the rib cage can be expanded
simultaneously with the abdomen. Jacobs instructed the instrumental teacher to "start mechanical movements without the instrument
so the student experiences change in the abdominal/diaphragmatic
relationship" (Kelly, 1983, p. 11).
Kohut (1985), in his writing on instrumental pedagogy, notes the
lack of concise, accurate writing about musical performance. He
stresses that perceptual-motor learning is a large part of musical performance, but that it is neglected as a research topic and in pedagogical sources. He gives a thorough explanation of the breathing
process for musicians and cites relevant research. Medical authorities, specialists in respiration, acousticians, and master teachers have
studied the breathing process. The research and knowledge from
these sources have not been synthesized into a systematic methodology for teaching brass players.
138 SEHMANN
Taylor (1968/1969) is perhaps the first to have surveyed the 20thcentury scientific and pedagogical sources on breathing as related to
wind playing. Taylor reported the most common type of respiration
used by most teachers and players of brass instruments to be abdominal/diaphragmatic breathing. Later scientific findings and expert
opinions support this survey.
Medical researchers have conducted studies on the breathing
process as to efficiency and functioning. Vellody, Nassery, Druz, and
Sharp (1978) studied the functions of the chest and abdominal
regions in breathing, finding that both areas of the torso contribute
to the possible capacity of the lungs. Such scientific knowledge has
provided a basis for an understanding of the breathing process as it
relates to musical performance. Druz and Sharp (1981) studied the
effect of body position on lung capacity and noted that an upright,
standing posture allowed the greatest amount of air to be inspired
into the lungs. Watson and Hixon (1985) found that active breathing
of the type used by singers and wind players involves different action
and uses different muscles than passive breathing.
Advances in technology for measuring respiration (Bouhuys, 1964;
Cugell, 1986; Konno & Mead, 1967) have made the study of breathing more objective and quantifiable. The instrumentation used by
Cugell (1986) in a study of brass players (respiratory inductive
plethysmography, or RIP) was similar to that used in the present
study to measure movement of the chest and abdomen during brass
playing. This method (RIP) was originally developed for medical personnel, but has been used for studying respiratory activity in musicians (Cugell, 1986; Fuks & Sundberg, 1999; Phillips & Sehmann,
1990; Phillips & Vispoel, 1990). The RIP equipment consists of one
elastic band placed to measure chest expansion and one to measure
abdominal expansion during respiration. All researchers found that
wind players and singers use a combination of abdominal and thoracic lung expansion to perform.
In several studies, investigators have measured respiratory function in wind instrumentalists (Berger, 1965; Bouhuys, 1964; Cugell,
1986; Huttlin, 1982; Smith, Kreisman, Colacone, Fox, & Wolkove,
1990; Van Middlesworth, 1978). Results from several of these studies
indicate that brass players have larger lung capacities than the average nonplayer; only Van Middlesworth reported no significant difference between the lung capacities of wind players and nonwind
players. Staples (1988) investigated the effects of different conditions
placed on brass players during inspiration and found that restricting
the chest and shoulders decreased measured lung capacity. Dennis
(1987/1988) researched the use of instruction in the Alexander tech-
JRME 139
140 SEHMANN
Subjects
The subjects in this study were all of the 64 brass students representing five elementary schools within a moderate-sizeIllinois school
district. Prior to the beginning of the study, the researcher set a minimum attendance level of eight lessons during the 10-week instructional sequence. Three students did not complete the study:one did
not meet the minimum attendance requirement, one student moved
out of the district, and one student dropped out of the instrumental
program. Therefore, 61 students completed all the requirements of
the study.
Subjects were grouped by instrument class for lessons, and these
same groups were used in the study so as not to disrupt the school
schedule and possibly bias the results (since students might have realized they were in an experimental research setting). The instrumental lesson groups were randomly assigned to experimental (breath
management instruction) and control groups. The lesson groups
were matched for group size prior to assignment to treatment or control; that is, groups of five students per lesson were assigned equally
to treatment or control, groups of four students per lesson were
assigned equally to treatment or control, and so forth. The 61 subjects that completed the study included 34 trumpet students, 6 horn
students, and 21 trombone/baritone students; tuba students were
not a part of the study due to the lack of tuba players in these grades
JRME 141
142 SEHMANN
involved in the study. The investigator explained the goals and theories behind the development of the manual, the physical characteristics of proper breathing and posture, and the procedures to be followed for record keeping. The teachers were given demonstrations
and tried specific exercises and activities for each lesson.
The first portion of the instructional sequence included postural
exercises to reduce muscle tension. The next part of the instruction
was the establishment of the technique of abdominal/diaphragmatic breathing, the type of breathing recommended by almost all brass
experts (Taylor, 1968/1969). The students' instruments were not
used in the first exercises.
The second set of breathing exercises were designed to improve
the exhalation portion of the breathing process, which determines
the actual tone production on brass instruments. These exercises
were intended to improve the action of the muscles involved in
breath management. Activities such as deflating the abdominal area
with the hands, exhaling in varied counting patterns, and exhaling
while tonguing imaginary quarter notes ("toh, toh, toh," etc.) were
part of these lessons. The instruction manual included instructions
that the chest should remain expanded as much as possible and
should not be restricted in any way for maximum volume of air
(Staples, 1988). The application of breath management instruction
to the subjects' instrumental playing occurred during the second 5week period of lessons. Students performed long tones throughout
their ranges while the instructors checked for application of abdominal/diaphragmatic breathing to tone production. Another exercise
consisted of tongued patterns designed to ensure that the breath
management remained the same in all styles of playing.
The sequence of treatment exercises were presented to all of the
lesson groups in the experimental group. Depending on the lesson,
5, 6, or 7 minutes were spent on this instruction during the regular
30-minute lesson; the remainder of the lesson was spent playing out
of the method book or working on solo and ensemble pieces. The
control group played only out of the method book or worked on solo
and ensemble literature.
Data Collection
Pretests and posttests of the three dependent measures of breathing (thoracic displacement, abdominal displacement, and lung
capacity), as well as the three dependent measures of performance
(tone quality, range, and duration) were obtained for each subject.
All of the measures were taken individually during separate sessions
by the investigator and an assistant during the 1-week pretest and
JRME 143
posttest periods.
The measures of thoracic and abdominal displacement were
obtained using respiratory inductive plethysmography. This method
was originally developed for monitoring medical patients, but has
been used for studying respiratory activity in singers and wind players
(Cugell, 1986; Fuks & Sundberg, 1999; Phillips & Sehmann, 1990;
Phillips & Vispoel, 1990). The instrument used was a Respitrace unit
(Ambulatory Monitoring, Inc., Ardsley, NY). This breath measurement device consists of two gauze-like Respibands placed around the
subject's torso, one at upper chest level and one at the abdominal
level. The Respibands contain sensors that, when connected to a pen
chart writer (called a "penwriter"), are able to transmit the amount of
torso displacement at these two levels. Measures of displacement were
produced by the penwriter tracings and were measured in millimeters. These measurements were made during the performance of long
tones. A statistical analysis of the sum of the measurements for the
three trials was done for both thoracic and abdominal displacements.
Lung capacity was measured before and after the treatment period with a Respiradyne pulmonary function monitor. The investigator
recorded the lung capacity, called "vital capacity" in the medical
world, in liters on three separate trials. Statistical analysis was done
on the total of the three trials. Three trials have been used in previous studies (Bencowitz, 1984; Huttlin, 1982; Phillips, 1983; Staples,
1988) and have been accepted as reliable. Lung capacity was included in the study to determine if taking a "deeper" breath (abdominal/diaphragmatic mode) increased subjects' lung capacity. A significant increase in capacity was not expected.
Tone quality was assessed using an 6tude from a beginning level
band book, Best in Class (Pearson, 1982). The subjects' performances
were recorded and later scored by judges experienced in working
with beginning brass students. Prior to listening to the taped examples, the judges attended a training session and practiced using the
rating scale on sample etudes. Four items from a multiple item 5point rating scale (Abeles, 1973) for clarinet performance were used.
The range test consisted of subjects playing scales from music provided by the investigator. The investigator recorded the highest and
lowest pitches played by each subject on three trials. The number of
half-steps between the highest and lowest pitches was calculated, and
the total number of half-steps for the three trials was the score for the
range measure.
The measure of duration determined how long each subject could
sustain a pitch. The same concert pitch (the concert B-flat nearest
middle C) was played in the same register by each instrument (on the
144 SEHMANN
staff, these appeared for the trumpet, as middle C; for the horn, as
the F above middle C; and for the trombone, as the B-flatjust below
middle C). Research shows that equivalent concert pitches produce
the same airflow rate on all brass instruments (Cugell, 1986;
Bouhuys, 1964). To ensure similar playing levels, the subjects first
practiced the pitch while looking at a decibel meter (100 dB at one
meter). When the reading on the decibel meter dipped to the line
below the set level, the subject was instructed to stop playing. This
procedure was repeated three times.
RESULTS
Reliability estimates for thoracic displacement, abdominal displacement, vital capacity, range, and duration range from 0.85 to
0.99. The interjudge reliability estimate (coefficient alpha) for
judges' scores of the tone quality ratings was 0.92.
A two-by-three-by-three factorial design was used in the study. The
three independent variables were Group (experimental and control), Instrument (trumpet, horn, and trombone), and Grade
(fourth, fifth, and sixth grade). The data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate analyses of covariance on the SAS computer
program (SAS, 1989). The results are shown in Table 1. The results
for main effects showed that the experimental group had significandy higher scores than the control group (p < 0.05) on breathing
and performance measures. Among the breathing measures, significant differences were found for abdominal displacement, but not for
lung capacity and thoracic displacement. These results were expected, since the instruction stressed increased abdominal expansion
and did not work toward increased thoracic expansion. Among the
performance measures, significant differences were observed for
range and duration, but not for tone quality.
There were no significant grade level main effects for either the
breathing or performance measures according to a MANCOVA
analysis. However, there were significant effects for instrument classification. In both duration and tone quality, differences were noted.
The horns had significantly higher duration scores than either the
trombones or trumpets. Tone quality scores were significantly lower
for trombones when compared with horns, but only marginally lower
when compared with trumpets.
DISCUSSION
The results of this study show that breath management instruction
is effective in improving both breathing and performance aspects of
JRME 145
Table 1
MANCOVAand ANCOVAResultsfor Breathingand PerformanceMeasures
Grade (G)
T xI
TxG
F= 0.44
(12, 80)
F= 1.90*
(12, 80)
F= 0.73
(12, 80)
F= 0.98
(12, 80)
Thoracic displacement
F= 0.03
(1, 50)
F= 0.01
(2, 50)
F= 0.19
(2, 50)
F= 0.48
(2, 50)
F= 0.09
(2, 50)
Abdominal displacement
F= 8.83**
(1, 50)
F= 0.20
(2, 50)
F= 1.82
(2, 50)
F= 0.35
(2, 50)
F= 0.24
(2, 50)
F= 2.72
(1, 50)
F= 1.15
(2, 50)
F= 0.28
(2, 50)
F= 0.67
(2, 50)
F= 2.22
(2, 50)
F= 12.51**
(1, 50)
F= 0.11
(2, 50)
F= 1.92
(2, 50)
F= 0.57
(2, 50)
F= 0.55
(2, 50)
F= 21.63**
(1, 50)
F= 6.30*
(2, 50)
F= 0.33
(2, 50)
F= 0.60
(2, 50)
F= 1.19
(2, 50)
F= 3.59*
(2, 50)
F= 0.13
(2, 50)
F= 0.65
(2, 50)
F= 1.14
(2, 50)
Measure
Treatment (T)
MULTIVARIATE
F= 6.35**
(6, 40)
Instrument (I)
UNIVARIATE
Vital capacity
Range
Duration
Tone quality
F= 1.45
(1, 50)
* p < .05; ** p< .01.
Note.Multivariatetests were run using the GLM procedure from SAS (1989). Pretest
scores on all six dependent variablesserved as covariatesin the MANCOVAanalysis.A
single covariate (the appropriatepretest measure) was used in the follow-upANCOVA
analysis.
measures were
brass playing. Group main effects for the dependent
found to be significant for the sample of fourth through sixth grade
brass players. The results of the study reinforce the view that improving the brass player's breathing will improve the player's performance (Dale, 1965; Johnson, 1981; Kohut, 1985; O'Donnell,
1987).
146 SEHMANN
JRME 147
stress using the airstream to produce higher pitches instead of using
embouchure (or mouthpiece) pressure. An inspection of the means
for the range measure shows that the control group increased about
1 half-step in overall range, while the experimental group increased
their range about 5 half-steps.
Significant group differences also were found for the duration
measure. The control group did show a decrease in their duration
scores; perhaps the effects of improper breathing cause the inconsistency in both inspiration and expiration and can have a negative
effect on this aspect of playing. The results of these two measures
show that the treatment (breath management instruction) made a
positive difference in an important component of brass-playing duration. This may have occurred because certain of the exercises
stressed the control or slow emission of the air. These techniques
enable the subjects to learn to relax the diaphragm more slowly, permitting the subject to conserve breath.
Among the experimental group, the horns had significantly better
scores on the duration test than either the trumpets or trombones.
This is probably due to the initial bore size of the instrument. The
horns, of all the instruments in this study, have the narrowest leadpipe and, therefore, the most resistance and less air expended on the
same airflow rate, allowing subjects to play slightly longer. More resistance makes it easier to slow the flow of air through the aperture.
Tone quality varied little from pretest to posttest between groups.
It may take longer than 16 weeks to see any change in the tone quality of elementary brass players, or the rating scale used for judging
may be too imprecise to measure small differences in tone. Also, tone
quality may be a function of other variables than just breathing style;
these variables might include instrument, aural memory, aural tone
model, articulation, and embouchure.
The tone quality scores for the trombone players were significantthan those for horn or trumpet players. Tone quality may be
lower
ly
a function of variables other than just breathing style (e.g., instruand
ment, aural memory, aural tone model, articulation,
embouchure). The young trombonists are playing in a range lower
than their own singing range, and this may cause a difference in
aural perception of the pitches as well.
Taken as a whole, the results indicate that the addition of some
breath management instruction is more effective than traditional
instruction alone for enhancing breathing and performance skills.
The absence of group-by-instrument and group-by-grade interactions, coupled with the significant group main effects, indicates that
the breath management instruction was equally effective with all
148 SEHMANN
grade levels and instrument classes. Brass teachers should be focusing on teaching breathing skills to their students to obtain the most
abilities. Future research might focus
growth in their performance
on high school students and the benefits of breath instruction for
skills.
increasing their performance
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