An acoustic analysis of single-reed woodwind instruments with an emphasis on design and performance issues and digital waveguide modeling techniques
Gary P. Scavone · 1997
this paper, many of the saxophone mouthpiece facing designs prevalent in the 1920's were such that the reed frequency could not be raised much above the playing frequency of notes in the top of the second register. The notes written at about D6 could be achieved as reed regimes, but it was not possible to play many notes in the third register of the instrument. It was also not possible to play the second register without opening the register hole, because the reed frequency was too low to add energy to the oscillation at a higher component. More recent mouthpiece facing designs have allowed the reed frequency to be raised to a range analogous to that of the clarinet so that the third register is possible and the second register can be played without the register hole (Thompson, 1979). Given the fact that Adolphe Sax demonstrated a three octave range on the saxophone in the 1840's (Rascher, 1970), the validity of this example is unlikely. Further, this author has performed on saxophone mouthpieces (and instruments) from the 1920's and has never had difficulty achieving a range of at least three and a half octaves. Performers of reed woodwinds are typically affected by instrument response problems when they CHAPTER 2. ACOUSTICAL ASPECTS OF WOODWIND DESIGN & PERFORMANCE 87 travel to locations of significant elevation difference from their normal place of practice. By considering the reed's role as a pressure-dependent air valve, it is reasonable to expect variations in reed response between different elevations. At high elevations, the ambient air pressure is lower. Thus, the pressure variations within the air column will oscillate about a lower ambient pressure value. Because the reed functions properly for a particular range of pressure differences across it and becaus...