Klarinet Archive - Posting 000538.txt from 2003/02

From: "Bill Semple" <wsemple@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Quick query on the soprano sax
Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 16:49:44 -0500

I have played the clarinet, and only the clarinet, for forty-three years.
Recently, my dixieland band asked me to play the soprano sax on a few tunes,
using an instrument built in the 1920's and gifted to the band by its long
time reedman, who unfortunately succumbed to cancer last year.

I've managed to get some decent sound out of this thing (it's a Conn), but
when I hit low G, it lets out a honk like a goose and jumps an octave. If I
am extra careful, and distend my embouchure just so, I can get that lower G.

Is overblowing a soprano sax easily done, and is this the problem, or do I
have leaks? Of course I know I should check for leaks, but I am also
interested in the acoustical properties of this instrument and its penchant
for doing oddball things.

William T. Semple
Office: 202-364-2466
Home: 540-364-4823
Cell: 540-903-6645

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