Facial Muscle Activity Patterns in Clarinet Players: A Key to Understanding Facial Muscle Physiology and Dysfunction in Musicians

Abstract

Objectives: Facial muscle activity is crucial to controlling musical performance in wind instrument playing. Facial muscle dysfunctions are common in wind instrument players, dramatically affecting their professional musical activity and potentially leading to disabling symptoms. The aim of this pilot study on a cohort of healthy clarinetists was to use surface electromyography to identify the facial muscle activity patterns involved in stabilizing the mouthpiece, controlling emission and articulation during musical tasks in physiological conditions, also comparing muscle activity between less and more experienced clarinetists (students vs postgraduates/professionals). Methods: Surface electromyographic measures of the sternocleidomastoid, masseter, mentalis, mylohyoid and buccinator muscles were obtained from eight healthy clarinet players (four students and four postgraduates/professionals) performing two standardized musical tasks. Results: Overall, mean IEMG activity was significantly lower for the sternocleidomastoid than for the other muscles ( P = .000), and for the mouthpiece-stabilizing muscles (masseter and mentalis) than for those directly involved in controlling emission and articulation (buccinator and mylohyoid muscles) ( P = .000). Regardless of the musical task, the mean IEMG values were significantly higher in the students for the masseter ( P = .0007), buccinator ( P = .0001) and mylohyoid (0.000), while they were significantly higher in the postgraduates/professionals for the mentalis ( P = .000). No significant differences emerged between the two groups for the sternocleidomastoid ( P = .207). Conclusions: These preliminary data reflect a significantly higher overall facial muscle activity in the less-experienced group, potentially resulting in an overload, whereas the more expert players had more optimized muscle activity patterns.