Scaling of reed instruments : the case of the saxophone family

Abstract

The saxophone family is one of the most extended musical instruments family from the contrabass to the sopranino. The timbre of these instruments is unmistakable: there is a small probability to mix up a saxophone with an oboe or a bassoon. Now a question is: What is so specific in the timbre of the saxophones? Notes of various saxophones are recorded, analyzed, and compared with those of other instruments such as the oboe. More specifically, the transient duration and the formant frequency are determined. Then, the question which physical parameters influence the transient duration and the formants is studied. The influence of geometrical parameters such as the cone angle and the length of the cone truncation will be discussed