Abstract
It is shown that a gold-plated device mounted on a tenor saxophone, forming a small bridge between the mouthpiece and the S-bow, can change two characteristics of the radiated sound: (1) the radiated acoustic energy of the harmonics with emission maxima around 1500–3000 Hz, which is slightly reduced for tones played in the lower register of the saxophone; (2) the frequency jitter of all tones in the regular and upper register of the saxophone show a two-fold increase. Through simulated phase-shifted superimpositions of the recorded waves, it is shown that the cancellation of acoustic energy due to antiphase superimposition is significantly reduced in recordings with the bridge. Simulations with artificially generated acoustic waves confirm that acoustic waves with a certain systematic jitter show less cancelling of the acoustic energy under a phase-shifted superimposition, compared to acoustic waves with no frequency jitter; thus, being beneficial for live performances in small halls with minimal acoustic optimization. The data further indicate that the occasionally hearable “rumble” of a wind instrument orchestra with instruments showing slight differences in the frequency of the harmonics might be reduced (or avoided), if the radiated acoustic waves have a systematic jitter of a certain magnitude.
Highlights
Under the experimental setup described in the Material and Methods section, the mounting of a gold-plated bridge generated significant changes in two of the investigated parameters: (1) the distribution of the radiated energy among the harmonics displayed in the power spectra and (2) the frequency jitter of the radiated acoustic waves
A reduction of radiated acoustic energy in the range of the “Singer formant” could be of general benefit when playing in a wind instrument orchestra, as the orchestra may sound more homogenous without excessively pronounced overtones in the frequency range of 1000–3000 Hz [15]
Whereas the effect of the gold-plated bridge on the distribution of the radiated acoustic energy was small and limited to tones in the lower register of the saxophone, an approximate two-fold increase in frequency jitter due to the mounted gold-plated bridge was observed over the entire regular tone range of the tenor saxophone, with the same linear function among the respective harmonics
Summary
W. Lim. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Several professional musicians playing wind instruments (i.e., brass and woodwind), and musical conductors of wind instrument orchestras, have started to regularly use a metal device mounted on the instrument in such a way that it forms a bridge between the mouthpiece and the S-bow (or the body) of the wind instrument (see Figure 1 of gold-plated sound bridge mounted on a tenor saxophone)
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