 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sdr
Date: 2008-02-18 05:14
Attachment: 319_776_F1.jpeg (98k)
From:
Science 8Feb2008:
Vol. 319. no.5864, p776
Experienced Saxophonists Learn to Tune Their Vocal Tracts
Jer Ming Chen, John smith, Joe wolfe
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-02-18 12:55
Ok, I don't know what paper it's from, but here's the article:
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"How top saxophonists shape up while learning to hit the high notes"
by Roger Highfield
"THE secret of musicians hitting piercing high notes is all to do with the shape of the vocal tract, say scientists."
"Many musicians have tried to ape the piercing, near-scream quality of the top notes hit by John Coltrane, one of the most influential saxophonists in jazz, but now scientific measurements taken from professional and amateur sax players show how they might do it. The Australian team behind the study said its findings could potentially help budding saxophonists learn how to improve their playing."
"Researchers have long debated how resonance in the vocal tracts of reed instrument players affects the notes of their instruments, as well as shape and speech."
"To play the highest octaves, resonance in the tract of professional players was consistently tuned close to the sounded note. This allows the vocal tract to boost the saxophone's resonance, which is weak in the highest octaves."
"Amateur saxophonists seem to be unable to tune this resonance - to change the shape of their vocal tracts - in an accurate way that allows them to play notes in this high range, says the team at the University of New South Wales, Sydney."
"Although the changes to the vocal tract, shaped by the position of the tongue at the back of the mouth, the glottis and jaw, are too subtle to explain, this new understanding could help budding saxophonists increase their range, says Jer-Ming Chen, one of the researchers."
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Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2008-02-18 13:01)
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2008-02-18 14:38
Nice to see something scientific once in a while.
Although I remember lessons on "voicing", which were exactly about figuring out for yourself what you need to do with your tongue/throat/mouth to make notes come out right. Whatever that means.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-02-18 14:43
The science and formulae are one thing, putting it into practice and getting the desired results (by trial and error) are something else.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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