Reed Selection and Sound Quality of an Alto Saxophone

摘要

To investigate the relationship between reed stiffness and sound quality, the samenote(concert Bb)was played on an alto saxophonewithsixdifferentreeds(1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, and 4). The relative amplitudes of the first fourharmonicsforeach of the reeds were compared. It was found that the softerreeds had the greater amplitude in upper harmonic intensities. Additionally, it was found that each harmonic followed a general trend, although they did not follow the same trendsin relationto one another.