Bb tenor saxophone
C#7
| Acoustics of the saxophone |
Bb tenor saxophone |
C#7 |
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Fingering Acoustic schematic Non-specialist introduction
to acoustic impedance Notes are the written pitch. |
At high frequency, things get very complicated. High frequency waves can travel
further past open tone holes (the air in the tone hole doesn't have much time
to move at high frequencies) and so the pitch of the high frequency peaks are
thus affected more than the low frequencies by the subtle effect of reflections
near the open tone holes at the end of the bore. Yes, we could think of this
as a somewhat flat seventh harmonic of E4. Or a very sharp
ninth harmonic of A#3. For notes so far above the
cut-off
frequency, the entire bore is involved and one could say that any open tone
holes operate not only as register holes, but as minor adjustments to the frequency
of the desired resonance. No problem for Catherine, however. She just plays
it (sound spectrum and file below).
Sound spectrum
of a Bb saxophone
played using fingering for C#7.
For more explanation, see
Introduction to saxophone acoustics
You can hear C#7
played.
Alternative Fingering |
Bb saxophone |
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Fingering Acoustic schematic Non-specialist introduction
to acoustic impedance Notes are the written pitch. |
You can hear XX
played with alternative fingering.
|
Contact:
Joe Wolfe
/ J.Wolfe@unsw.edu.au |
a key depressed
a key not depressed
a hole covered 
a hole uncovered
a
part of the mechanism that is not normally touched 
