source file: mills3.txt Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 00:45:04 +0100 Subject: Just sax From: Alex (Idealism or oxymoron?) Bob, Your method for the steel guitar is quite interesting. We do something like that in the sense that we usually try to note which notes have a flat or sharp "tendency" (as staying precisely on tune on a single note is itself a bit of an issue). What I was thinking of was of practicing the 14db deviation from 12ET. My idea was to tune my instrument at 440+12db (something close to 444, it seems) and then calibrate the tuner at 440 trying to switch from +14db notes (i.e., tuned to 12ET) to correct notes (i.e. just major thirds:12ET-14db). Of course, this is no replacement for any group practice but the -14db target isn't that easy to reach. Then, I wanted to do the same thing with minor thirds which gets a bit more complicated as, on a sax, it's better to lower a note than to raise it (because the jaw has to be relaxed). >Since you're only playing one note at a time, you have a much simpler problem than a steel >guitarist. Well, *I* wouldn't say that, of course... ;-) The concept of tuning a sax is usually limited to adjusting the mouthpiece so that notes are in a correct range. But our main problem is that any movement from the lower lip causes a certain change in pitch. We can also change the pitch using corrective fingerings which are usually hard to use on anything but long notes. Then, everything changes from one instrument to another. To make things rather amusing, temperature has a very important effect on metal instruments... So we have to fiddle a lot. Our lower lip acts somewhat like the slide of a trombone but this tuning method can change the quality of the sound, may be quite hard at ppp, in the lower range or on a flat note. So it takes a lot of practice to make this method acurate. >I love classical sax quartets, by the way. Really? Wow! First time I hear that from a steel guitarist! ;-) > Someday I'd like to hear a steer guitar with one. Well, if you ever come to Montreal, give me a call, we might think of something... SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu From: Alex Subject: Tuning in West African music PostedDate: 31-01-98 00:45:49 SendTo: CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH ReplyTo: tuning@eartha.mills.edu $MessageStorage: 0 $UpdatedBy: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH,CN=Manuel op de Coul/OU=AT/O=EZH RouteServers: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=notesrv1/OU=Server/O=EZH RouteTimes: 31-01-98 00:45:00-31-01-98 00:45:01,31-01-98 00:43:44-31-01-98 00:43:45 DeliveredDate: 31-01-98 00:43:45 Categories: $Revisions: Received: from ns.ezh.nl ([137.174.112.59]) by notesrv2.ezh.nl (Lotus SMTP MTA SMTP v4.6 (462.2 9-3-1997)) with SMTP id C125659C.008271D0; Sat, 31 Jan 1998 00:44:48 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA03033; Sat, 31 Jan 1998 00:45:49 +0100 Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 00:45:49 +0100 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA03031 Received: (qmail 8138 invoked from network); 30 Jan 1998 15:44:42 -0800 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 30 Jan 1998 15:44:42 -0800 Message-Id: <199801302341.SAA17852@ulys.POSTE.UMontreal.CA> Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu