Craniofacial Morphology of Double Reed Instrument Players and Musical Performance

Abstract

The craniofacial morphology can be a very important feature to take in consideration when playing a wind instrument. The embouchure mechanism and the interrelationship with the craniofacial morphology of each wind instrumentalist can be relevant on the musical performance and the presence, or absence, of pain on the cranio-cervico mandibular complex (CCMC). Lateral teleradiographies were made to three bassoon players each of them being representative of the different types of occlusion, a malocclusion Class I, a malocclusion Class II and a malocclusion Class III, in order to obtain the measurement of the mouth opening, with the mouthpiece inside the mouth of the wind instrumentalist, and correlate these data with the respective craniofacial features. The mouth opening values with the mouthpiece inside the mouth of the musician with a malocclusion Class III is higher, than in those with malocclusion Class I or II. The authors of this paper considered the law of lever to explain the embouchure of a bassoon player with a malocclusion Class III. The mouthpiece is balanced as a lever, with the upper lip being on extreme of the lever, providing a full stabilization of the bassoon mouthpiece, while the lower part of the reed will be supported on the lower jaw, that works in this case as the fulcrum. This event is in accordance with the biomechanics of the temporomandibular joint during musical performance of this bassoonist with a malocclusion Class III, allowing a mouth opening with 17 mm. The lateral teleradiography provides the assessment of an intra-oral view of the embouchure mechanism. This image technique is a complement on the physiological aspects that occur regarding the interaction between the mouthpiece and the craniofacial morphology.