From Breath to Sound: Linking Respiratory Mechanics to Aeroacoustic Sound Production in Flutes

This paper combines measurements from two different experimental set-ups (Montréal and Paris) in order to provide a global view, from breath to sound, of one flautist playing the flute. The main goal of the Montréal experiment was to provide data on the flautist's respiratory behavior during flute playing while the aim of the Paris experiment was to gather data for hydrodynamical and aeroacoustical analyses of the flute playing control parameters. The same professional standard player was studied in both experiments. Both locations included sound and mouth pressure recordings. In addition, Montréal measurements included: chest wall compartment volumes (with optoelectronic plethysmography) and the main respiratory muscle electrical activation. In Paris, additional direct measurements included lip opening area and the lip distance to the blowing hole of the flute. Global descriptions of flute playing, from the respiratory to hydrodynamical perspectives, are given. The results show that the blowing patterns are very similar, especially during performance of musical excerpts. Merging the data from the two experiments shows that the hydrodynamical control parameters are directly linked to the melodic structure of the music, independently of the pulmonary volume. This is interpreted as the result of the player's training to produce the muscular activation that is highly adapted to the pulmonary volume.