Posted by JeffO on September 14, 2003 at 15:48:26:
In Reply to: The Diaphragm posted by AAR on September 13, 2003 at 22:00:04:
In playing a wind instrument, the abdominal muscles contract expelling air through the opened vocal fold,
The muscles of the back play as much or nearly as much of a role in exhalation as the abdominals do.
I like thinking of the torso as a bellows, as Mr. Jacobs described, using the whole torso to exhale. Thinking about contracting the abs can introduce unnecessary tension.
Jeff