Voice and vocal tract of wind instrumentalists: Integrative literature review

Abstract

Objective: To perform an integrative review of the literature on the voice and characteristics of the vocal tract of wind instrumentalists in order to compare the findings of such studies and better understand the possible vocal risks to which these musicians may be exposed. Methodology: A search was performed in the following databases SciELO, LILACS, PubMed and Google Scholar. The articles were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the studies were checked as suitable to the researched topic, only studies available in Portuguese, English or Spanish were selected, further the title and the abstract of the selected articles were analyzed. The research was: What are the characteristics of voice and vocal tract configurations of wind instrumentalists? Results: Seven articles were selected to compose the sample of the present review. The full text of the selected articles was read and their data were organized and cataloged. Conclusion: Wind instrumentalists had voice qualities with more tension and instability than non-instrumentalists, and had discrete voice deviations. The vocal folds are medialized while the instrument is being played. Separate wind instrument categories should be studied so that the influence of this practice on the vocal tract can be better explored.