The effect of standing and sitting postures on breathing in brass players
- Submitting institution
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University of South Wales / Prifysgol De Cymru
: B - B – Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
- Unit of assessment
- 33 - Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies : B - B – Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
- Output identifier
- 4821274
- Type
- D - Journal article
- DOI
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10.1186/2193-1801-3-210
- Title of journal
- SpringerPlus
- Article number
- -
- First page
- 210
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 1
- ISSN
- 2193-1801
- Open access status
- Out of scope for open access requirements
- Month of publication
- -
- Year of publication
- 2014
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
-
-
- Research group(s)
-
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- This paper addresses issues that are central to brass teaching and performance. The question posed was whether breathing patterns in brass players differ when standing compared to when sitting on a flat seat or on a downward sloping seat typical of some ergonomic chairs. The study involved 30 RWCMD student brass players and one professional trumpeter. Lung function was measured using a spirometer. Electromyographic recordings were made from abdominal respirato-ry muscles while chest and abdominal circumference were measured using a plethysmograph that gathered information from elastic belts placed around the body. Textbooks on brass pedagogy have argued that posture affects respiratory function but have not based this on objective study. Our spirometry results showed that many of these ideas were incorrect and respiratory parameters were largely unaffected in postures typical of performance. Another notion that is common in brass pedagogy is that sitting upright mimics standing posture in the context of breathing. We found that this was not the case. Statistical analysis showed that when playing on a flat or sloping seat, the abdominal muscles were significantly less active than when standing, although the abdominal wall movement contributed more to breathing. This is largely because the abdomen is often held tensed when standing. There was no significant difference in breathing between sitting on a flat and a sloping seat.
Kevin Price, a professionally experienced “standing” solo performer and “sitting” ensemble player who employed apparently different breathing strategies in different contexts, was involved in the design and development of the protocols, recruitment of the subjects and the interpretation of the results. Alan Watson has experience in electromyography and was in charge of the physiological recordings and initial data analysis.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
- -