Acoustics of the saxophone

Bb tenor saxophone

D5

Music Acoustics UNSW

Conventional Fingering

Impedance

Fingering
a key depressed
a key not depressed
a hole covered
a hole uncovered
a part of the mechanism that is not normally touched
Details in fingering legend.

Acoustic schematic
a closed tone hole
an open tone hole

Non-specialist introduction to acoustic impedance
Non-specialist introduction to saxophone acoustics

Notes are the written pitch.
Frequencies are the sounding frequency, for Bb saxophone.
Unless otherwise stated, the impedance spectrum is for a Bb saxophone.


Impedance spectrum of a Bb tenor saxophone measured using fingering for D5.

This is the first standard fingering for a note in the second register – meaning that it plays at the second peak on the impedance spectrum. It differs from D4 (the corresponding note in the first register) in that it uses a register hole. This causes a leak in the bore that weakens (and mistunes) the first impedance peak, but has little affect on higher peaks – see register hole for an explanation, and compare with D4, whose impedance spectrum is almost identical except for the first peak. Above about 1 kHz, the curve is irregular: see the discussion in cut-off frequency.

Compare with the impedance spectrum for a soprano sax on written D5: same fingering but sounding one octave higher.

Sound


Sound spectrum of a Bb tenor saxophone played using fingering for D5.
For more explanation, see Introduction to saxophone acoustics.

Sound Clip

You can hear D5 played.

Alternative Fingering

tenor saxophone

Impedance

Fingering
a key depressed
a key not depressed
a hole covered
a hole uncovered
a part of the mechanism that is not normally touched
Details in fingering legend.

Acoustic schematic
a closed tone hole
an open tone hole

Non-specialist introduction to acoustic impedance
Non-specialist introduction to saxophone acoustics

Notes are the written pitch.
Frequencies are the sounding frequency, for Bb saxophone.
Unless otherwise stated, the impedance spectrum is for a Bb saxophone.


Impedance spectrum of a Bb tenor saxophone measured using alternative fingering for D5.This fingering is not usually used for D5, except in trills from C5 or C#5. It uses the fingering for C#5 (no fingers!) plus one palm key to open an extra tone hole. So this fingering is still in the first register, and its impedance curve looks much like that for C#5, shifted up 6%, and quite unlike the curve for the second register D6 shown above.

Sound


Sound spectrum of a Bb tenor saxophone played using alternative fingering for D5.
For more explanation, see Introduction to saxophone acoustics.

Sound Clip

You can hear D5 played with alternative fingering.
Fingering legend
How were these results obtained?

Contact: Joe Wolfe / J.Wolfe@unsw.edu.au
phone 61-2-9385-4954 (UT +10, +11 Oct-Mar)
© 1997-2009 Music Acoustics UNSW