Tone Hole Adjustment for a Wooden Saxophone
* Presenting author
Abstract:
A wooden saxophone body requires a wall thickness of about 6 mm. The corresponding tone hole chimney height increase is relevant for the tuning. The task is therefore to adapt the tone hole layout while keeping the main bore unchanged so that the resonance properties of a wooden saxophone correspond to those of a normal saxophone.Firstly, geometry was determined from computer tomography images of a tenor saxophone. Using a 1D waveguide model, input impedance curves were calculated for this geometry and compared with measurements. Next, the sensitivity of the first resonance frequencies to variation in the three tone hole parameters distance from mouthpiece, diameter, and chimney height was examined for each fingering.In good agreement with Nederveens ”Acoustical Aspects", we found that the pitch shift following a chimney height increase of 6 mm can be compensated by a 20 to 50% diameter increase, which would affect the timbre.As a step towards redesign, tabulated results of necessary parameter changes for each single tone hole are presented. Further steps are to include the effect of closed tone holes, and construct a prototype. Tests under controlled playing conditions could help formulating impedance targets for algorithmic optimization of reed woodwind tuning.