Found this on MSNBC of all places:
Secret to superior saxophone play revealed
Research finds professional musicians change the shape of their vocal tracts
John Coltrane and other famed jazz saxophonists hit piercing high notes that amateurs can't by expertly changing the shape of their vocal tracts, research now reveals.
The finding addresses a longstanding debate about how professional musicians pull off acoustic stunts.
The shape of the vocal tract produces different kinds of resonances ? the amplification of specific frequencies of sound. For at least 25 years, musicians and scientists have argued over what role the acoustics of the vocal tracts of saxophonists and other reed instrument players had in influencing their notes, with opinions ranging from "negligible" to "crucial."
For the rest of the story check out http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23053961/
Secret to superior saxophone play revealed
Research finds professional musicians change the shape of their vocal tracts
John Coltrane and other famed jazz saxophonists hit piercing high notes that amateurs can't by expertly changing the shape of their vocal tracts, research now reveals.
The finding addresses a longstanding debate about how professional musicians pull off acoustic stunts.
The shape of the vocal tract produces different kinds of resonances ? the amplification of specific frequencies of sound. For at least 25 years, musicians and scientists have argued over what role the acoustics of the vocal tracts of saxophonists and other reed instrument players had in influencing their notes, with opinions ranging from "negligible" to "crucial."
For the rest of the story check out http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23053961/