Talk:Saxophone/Archive 1

message: I just took this out: "Do we need saxophone lessons, buddy?" Minnie Bannister of the Goons.
It isn't even the most famous Goon use of saxophone, which is when Captain Neddy of the US Cavalry says, "Somebody has been smuggling saxophones to the Indians", whereupon the sax section of the band plays "Indian Love Call".  
But none of it, amusing though it may be, belongs in an encyclopedia article on the saxophone.  Ortolan88
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Is there a reason Saxophonefingeringchart.jpeg is rotated 90 degrees? Luke 02:50, 26 Jan 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: discussion

message: Uh... What about soprano Saxophones? There are also "straight" altos, for that matter...
:it mentions that, in the next sentence....Rick Boatright 21:18, 12 Jul 2004 (UTC)
thread_title:  "distinctive loop bringing the bell upwards"? 

message: The article mentions various manufacturers. When did saxophones cease to be manufactured by the Sax company? Does that company still exist? Adambisset 23:23, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)
thread_title:  The Sax Company 

message: First, two of the B-flat fingerings are mislabeled. The "bis" fingering is the middle one pictured, not the right one. The right one should be called the "side" B-flat. (source: common knowledge, but since that's unlikely to persuade to the person who made the mistake, here's a url that indirectly confirms that the bis key is that little key underneath the left-hand first finger: http://www.runyonproducts.com/clar.bis.html )
Second, "the split Bb fingering is used in chromatic passages"? If by "chromatic" you mean a A-Bb-B or B-Bb-A passage, then most would consider the split fingering is a poor choice. (Use the side fingering.)
"The left-hand fingering is often used in passages that have no B-naturals"? Correct except (as per above) the left-hand fingering is called the bis fingering.
"while the bis fingering is useful for the A-Bb trill"? Both the bis fingering and the side fingering are good for A-Bb trill. (On the other hand, the Bb-C trill pretty much requires the side fingering, though in this case the side Bb key should remain held down even for the C so perhaps not the best example.)
Also, the "split" fingering is also frequently called the "one and one" fingering, and it should probably be noted that any one (or combination) of the three right-hand fingers may be used, not necessarily the top one.
Might also mention that with the bis fingering, the left index finger depresses both the B key and the bis key simultaneously. (Some novice players attemtp to depress the bis key with the second finger, which is either never done or is a rare/advanced technique, depending on who you ask.)
:Thanks for the suggestions. Done! --Bcrowell 05:23, 28 Jan 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  erorrs in discussion of b-flat fingerings 

message: A whole lot of content was deleted from this article, including three entire sections (namely Mouthpieces, Reeds, and Writing for the saxophone). This is pretty drastic and probably should have been discussed here first.  I also found this note embedded in the article (though commented out): 
: I am going to skip parts of technique to leave for others.  Right now, writing from the technique books I have on hand and m own personal experience, I am going to write Embourchure now and Altissimo tomorrow when I can find my Sigurd Rashear [sic] book.
I get the impression that an editor has been treating this as a work-in-progress.  Please remember that the article is still viewable in the meantime. May I suggest that you not work on the article piecemeal?  Instead, until you're ready to finsh, leave the rest of the article intact.  (Also I've taken the above comment out of the article, it really belongs here.) To be frank, given the anonymous edits and disappearing content, I thought someone had been vandalizing the article. -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 13:45, 14 May 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: More restoration: all the material following (what was left of) the "Technique" section was deleted, including references, external links, categories and interwikis. Whatever else you think doesn't belong in an article about saxophones, you really should leave that stuff in. -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 14:15, 14 May 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Restore gutted content 

message: Today (4 October) I added text to the effect that (1) the vast majority of saxophonists start their studies on alto saxophone, and (2) most of them end up staying on alto. 
I base (1) on my knowledge of school bands in America and Japan (typical distribution, between 4 and 10 alto players for every tenor player) and (2) on knowledge of the saxophone studios at several U.S. universities that have major saxophone programs (typical distribution, 8 to 15 alto players per tenor player). I think anyone who has judged a solo-ensemble contest or an audition for an all-state band can attest to these ratios.
However my edits have been reverted by User Badagnani, who pointed out to me that the List of saxophone players has more tenor players on it than alto.  This is, of course, because it was built largely by someone with a great knowledge of jazz and rock sax players. The number of people in the world who start on alto (as opposed to tenor or bari) is clearly a large majority. I would like to hear thoughts of the others who have worked on this page as to whether I can restore my edits. - SaxTeacher (talk) 01:46, 4 October 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Prevalence of alto saxophone

message: Are there any prominent saxophone glissandos in Rhapsody in Blue?  The spectacular glissando in the opening bars is a clarinet, not a saxophone.
Tom Duff 03:25, 19 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Glissando 

message: Not included in the types of saxophones were the sopranino, bass and contra-bass saxophones.  They are quite rare, but they are worth mentioning. AmbExThErMaL 22:02, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Not included where?  All of these are mentioned in the article.  Badagnani 22:42, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  More types of saxes 

message: Reverts by me done as edits to a FA should be done with more care. --Bhadani 17:23, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Reverts

message: The controversial text about the acoustical effects of lacquer is improved by the recent updates, but still needs work.  In particular, http://www.acoustics.org/press/133rd/2amu4.html should not be used in support of the contention that different lacquers produce different tonal qualities in saxophones, for at least three reasons: (1) this research was done with a French horn, not a saxophone (2) it did not compare the effects of different lacquers, only lacquered versus unlacquered (3) it did not address tone quality, only sound pressure level.  Four reasons, if you believe as I do that the research or at least its presentation was lacking in experimental rigor; there is, for example, no discussion of random or systematic errors in the results. -- Rsholmes 03:20, 15 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I realize it wasn't the best source, but I was just finding something quickly... there are many discussions that could be useful at the alt.music.saxophone newsgroup.  I didn't have much time before, but I wanted to do _something_ in, as that part was being deleted as "original research" and a "made-up fact," which it clearly is not... I'll work on finding better sources, hopefully within the next day. --Varco 04:08, 15 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: It would also help to differentiate between lacquer and plating, e.g., silver plating. Pedantically yours, Gyrofrog  (talk) 05:03, 15 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Effects of lacquer 

message: It may be of interest that, while an alto saxophone reed is larger than a clarinet reed, I think it is the same size as an alto clarinet reed and a clarinet reed is the same size as a soprano sax reed.  I know for a fact that in an emergency, one can play a bass clarinet with a tenor sax reed and a contrabass or contralto clarinet with a bari sax reed--sizes are the same, but there are minor differences in shape.--Todd 21:05, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Actually, alto sax reeds are wider than alto clarinet reeds, and clarinet reeds are both narrower and longer than soprano sax reeds.  Just ask any doubler, or stop by a music store that sells reeds one at a time, and have a look at them.  You are correct about bass clarinet reeds and tenor sax reeds - they are are pretty much indistinguishable. SaxTeacher (talk) 06:44, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

text: I don't think it's all that standardized (and some companies just use "soft", "medium", "hard", etc.).  I've never seen more than "5", myself, but don't doubt 6s exist somewhere.--Todd 18:44, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Saxophone Reeds 

message: I have changed the date that Sax was awarded his patent to June 28, 1846 - this is the date given in Kotchnitsky's book 'Sax and his Saxophone.'  I will add this book to the references at the bottom of the article as well. SaxTeacher (talk) 19:37, 19 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Date of Sax's patent

message: I wanted to add three techniques to the list of tone effects: 1) subtone (or sotto voce); 2) tongue slapping; 3) fluttertongue (or Flatterzunge). But this section of the text is cut off on my edit page. Will try again, once I've become a more experienced Wikipedian. Meanwhile if anyone cares to add these entries, please do. They are part of the sax vocabulary in jazz, funk and even contemporary classical music.
Sluzzelin 18:19, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Tone effects 

message: To avoid a revert war, please discuss proposed non-minor edits here before making them. -- Rsholmes 13:41, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Recent edits

message: someone changed first sentence under history header
"The saxophone was developed circa 1840 by Al Gore, a Belgian-born instrument-maker, flautist, and clarinetist working in Paris."
i changed the line to 
"The saxophone was developed circa 1840 by Adolphe Sax, a Belgian-born instrument-maker, flautist, and clarinetist working in Paris."
this is my first time to change smthn in article so... :)
--L 0 0 P 15:19, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Masterfully done. :) ¦ Reisio 17:08, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  bad joke