Pitch, Intonation, And Saxophone

Play your saxophone in harmony with others in your group requires more than simple reproduction of a reference note in a tuner and adjust the voice of the instrument. To understand the adjustment process and the best way to solve the saxophone is useful to know the physics behind the sound produced during playback. When we talk about physics and the saxophone we deal in the field of invisible vibrations called sound waves.

To better understand these sound waves, it is useful to think of a guitar string. When you hit a note on a guitar string vibrates at a certain speed or "frequency". The length of this chain that determines the frequency of the string will vibrate to. By moving your finger up and down the fretboard, you can change the pitch with any of a dozen seats. Now, consider a fretless guitar. Instead of a dozen places you could potentially have hundreds of sites, each slightly different. Saxphones behave similarly, but uses a vibrating column of air instead of a vibrating string.

By adding or subtracting the fingers on the saxophone to change the length of the tube, creating more or less long sound waves in the process. Many things can affect the resulting wave. A key is not properly adjusted can partially close a gaping hole, making all the notes above the keys or slightly flattened. Similarly, a key that is left open when it should be closed can do other musical notes or sound less less specific.

Two saxophones that are not perfectly matched to each other always vibrate at different frequencies, even when playing the same tone. When two waves of same frequency are played together, they reinforce each other to create a louder and more pleasant in general. When two points are a bit out of touch from time to time, they collide with each other, causing a disturbance in the combined waveform. This creates acoustic "beats" or bumps in what the listener hears. Every bump in the sound literally combined the two sound waves slamming into each other. It is often easier to understand this process by seeing visually.

As a saxophonist who should be your goal to learn to play your instrument in perfect harmony. Unfortunately, this requires more than simply optimizing your concert or flat. Now that you know more about the physics of sound, but you can begin to understand the problems inherent in the melody of his saxophone and a link to their overall performance and systematic study.