Bb tenor saxophone
C7
| Acoustics of the saxophone |
Bb tenor saxophone |
C7 |
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Fingering Acoustic schematic Non-specialist introduction
to acoustic impedance Notes are the written pitch. |
Note the subtle effects of downstream tone holes at high frequencies. This
fingering for C7 is much like the fingering of A#5,
except that a tone hole at the end of the clarinet (G#/C# key) is opened. The
two impedance curves look much the same at low frequencies, because at low frequencies
the waves are well reflected near the first open tone hole. 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 - see cut-off
frequency) 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. 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.
Sound spectrum
of a Bb saxophone
played using fingering for C7.
For more explanation, see
Introduction to saxophone acoustics
You can hear C7
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.
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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 
