Tuning, Intonation, And The Saxophone
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Chad Criswell
Mar 12, 2013, 3:16:11 PM3/12/13
to publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Chad Criswell
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=47553
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=47553
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Tuning, Intonation, And The Saxophone
Author: Chad Criswell
Word Count: 485
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=47553&ca=Education
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=47553
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=47553
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Playing your saxophone in tune with others in your band requires much more than simply playing a reference note into a tuner and adjusting the mouthpiece on the instrument. In order to really understand the tuning process and how best to tune your saxophone it helps to know the physics behind the sound that you produce while playing. When we are talking about physics and the saxophone we are dealing in the realm of invisible vibrations called sound waves.
To better understand these sound waves it helps to think about a guitar string. When you pluck a note on a guitar the string vibrates at a specific rate or �frequency.� The length of this string dictates what frequency the string will vibrate at. By moving your finger up and down the fretboard you can change the pitch to any of a dozen or so pitches. Now think about a fretless guitar. Instead of a dozen pitches you could potentially have hundreds of pitches, each very slightly different that the other. Saxphones behave in this same way but use a vibrating column of air instead of a vibrating string.
When you add or subtract fingers on the saxophone you are changing the overall length of the tube, creating shorter or longer sound waves in the process. Many things can affect this resultant wave. A key that is not adjusted properly can partially close over an open hole causing all notes above that key to be slightly flat. Likewise a key that is left open when it should be closed can make other notes out of tune or at the very least sound less focused.
Two saxophones that are not perfectly tuned to each other will always vibrate at different frequencies even when playing the same note. When two sound waves of the exact same frequency are played together they reinforce each other creating a stronger, more pleasing overall sound. When two pitches are slightly out of tune they occasionally collide with each other causing a disturbance in the combined wave form. This phenomena creates audible �beats� or bumps in what the listener hears. Each bump in the combined sound is literally the two sound waves slamming into each other. It is often easier to understand this process by seeing it visually. Take a look at the examples shown at http://library.thinkquest.org/19537/Physics.html.
As a saxophone player it should be your goal to learn how to play your instrument in perfect tune. Unfortunately this requires more than simply tuning your concert A or B-flat. Now that you know a little about the physics of sound however, you can begin to understand the inherent pitch problems of your saxophone and relate this to your overall performance and study routine.
About The Author: Chad Criswell is the national music technology columnist for NAfME Teaching Music Magazine. He also owns and operates his own music education and technology resource site located at http://MusicEdMagic.com.
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=47553
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Chad Criswell
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=47553
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=47553
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Tuning, Intonation, And The Saxophone
Author: Chad Criswell
Word Count: 485
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=47553&ca=Education
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=47553
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=47553
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Playing your saxophone in tune with others in your band requires much more than simply playing a reference note into a tuner and adjusting the mouthpiece on the instrument. In order to really understand the tuning process and how best to tune your saxophone it helps to know the physics behind the sound that you produce while playing. When we are talking about physics and the saxophone we are dealing in the realm of invisible vibrations called sound waves.
To better understand these sound waves it helps to think about a guitar string. When you pluck a note on a guitar the string vibrates at a specific rate or �frequency.� The length of this string dictates what frequency the string will vibrate at. By moving your finger up and down the fretboard you can change the pitch to any of a dozen or so pitches. Now think about a fretless guitar. Instead of a dozen pitches you could potentially have hundreds of pitches, each very slightly different that the other. Saxphones behave in this same way but use a vibrating column of air instead of a vibrating string.
When you add or subtract fingers on the saxophone you are changing the overall length of the tube, creating shorter or longer sound waves in the process. Many things can affect this resultant wave. A key that is not adjusted properly can partially close over an open hole causing all notes above that key to be slightly flat. Likewise a key that is left open when it should be closed can make other notes out of tune or at the very least sound less focused.
Two saxophones that are not perfectly tuned to each other will always vibrate at different frequencies even when playing the same note. When two sound waves of the exact same frequency are played together they reinforce each other creating a stronger, more pleasing overall sound. When two pitches are slightly out of tune they occasionally collide with each other causing a disturbance in the combined wave form. This phenomena creates audible �beats� or bumps in what the listener hears. Each bump in the combined sound is literally the two sound waves slamming into each other. It is often easier to understand this process by seeing it visually. Take a look at the examples shown at http://library.thinkquest.org/19537/Physics.html.
As a saxophone player it should be your goal to learn how to play your instrument in perfect tune. Unfortunately this requires more than simply tuning your concert A or B-flat. Now that you know a little about the physics of sound however, you can begin to understand the inherent pitch problems of your saxophone and relate this to your overall performance and study routine.
About The Author: Chad Criswell is the national music technology columnist for NAfME Teaching Music Magazine. He also owns and operates his own music education and technology resource site located at http://MusicEdMagic.com.
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=47553
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages