Flute, clarinet, oboe, saxophone, bassoon, trumpet, french horn, trombone, and tuba

A musician who plays one of these instruments will vary the posture depending on the need to control airflow since posture will control the area from which diaphragmatic and intercostal breath is drawn. Playing these instruments depends on the way the mouthpiece is held (the embouchure) which is controlled by the facial and pharyngeal muscles.

Posture affects how the musician supports the instrument while sitting or standing and in operating the keys or valves of the instrument that dictate the pitch of the note played by the fingers. For example, the traditional open-holed flute requires the left shoulder to roll forward, while the right shoulder tracks in the opposite direction. Adding to that, rotation of the head and neck to the left for the embouchure. The left wrist is often held in an extremely bent position while the hand is also extended in order to support the instrument by the curled left index finger and both thumbs, counter-balanced by the right little finger.

This promotes strain of the forearm muscles and the muscles which permit extension of the fingers and thumbs. The tendency to project the head and neck forward and use shallow breathing increases the chances of developing neck, shoulder, and breathing imbalances. The whole system can be compromised by the way the body is torqued around the instrument.

 Taking the time to strip back the layers and learn one's own mechanical defaults and imbalances will have a profound effect on the longevity of this musicians career and performances.