"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message
...
In article , Iain Churches
wrote:

"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message
...
In article , Don
Pearce wrote:


It's quite difficult to see how the exterior finish could affect the
sound which is produced not by the metal, but by the air column. Of
course the metal interacts strongly, but all the same...

Well, I'd expect the amplitudes of the displacements of the vibrations
of the metalwork to be much smaller than those of the air in the
column. However the stiffness is also very different. And the shape,
etc, of the instrument presumably determine how effectively it acts as
an 'antenna' to couple the vibrations into the surroundings.

For a thin tube...

Ahem:-) It's a long cone actually, Jim,

Well, to a physicst, a 'cone' is just a tune whose cross-section varies
along the length. :-)

I read the above as "'just a tube whose cross-section varies
along the length" Hope that was correct.

It seems that, to a musical instrument designer. the difference
between a cone and a tube is of great importance. As the
design is based on physics, one would have thought that the
difference would be important to a physicist too:-)

The saxophone designed in 1844 and intended for a specific role,
has not evolved from other instruments, as has the clarinet for
instance, which started life as the "chalumeau" a low pitched
wooden pipe with seven holes.

The clarinet is the only cylindrical bore reed instrument, and
overblows on the 12th and not the octave as with other woodwinds.
It has predominantly odd numbered overtones. The fundamental
is 1 x f , 3 x f, 5 x f, 7 x f, etc.

The Oboe, English Horn, Bassoon, and Saxophone are conical
bore woodwinds. These conical bore reed instruments all overblow
the octave, not 12th, as with the clarinet. They produce all of the
overtones, both odd and even, that is: 1 x f, 2 x f, 3 x f, 4 x f, 5 x f,
etc.

It is the strength of the various overtones in relation to the fundamental
that makes an oboe sound different from a soprano saxophone, an alto
saxophone from from an English horn, etc.

and not very thin either. 10kgs
is a typical weight for a tenor saxophone.

Do not juge the thickness of the brass by the edges of the tone-holes.
These are thinner rings that are soldered on afterwards.

Fair enough. So far as I can recall I've never picked up a saxophone, so
had no idea how heavy they are!

Surprisingly heavy:.)

That does raise the question. Is the thickness for durability, etc, or to
get the desired sound?

Probably for both reasons. Some Chinese made straight soprano
saxophonesare faily lightweight, and have a thin sound.

Many saxophones are bought for marching use, (military bands
and also US high-school marching bands) They even have a lyre
clip on them. The military look after their instruments, and in
the British Army many musicians use their own, for which they
are paid an allowance. But the high school bands, it seems,
give them rough treatment, resulting in dings and dents, and
even take them out in the rain!

Iain