Composing for Eb Alto Sax

Question I have is why do student models saxes have such horrible intonation? The cruddiest flute will sound like crap, but still have fairly good intonation. It seems any sax that doesn't cost a fortune is out of tune with itself. We had this one alto in middle school where the upper register was nearly a half step sharper than the lower register, what gives?

Aaand, why do soprano saxes have a bad rap for intonation? It is basically a conical clarinet made of brass, does it depend on the quality, or are all sopranos hard to play in tune?

Question I have is why do student models saxes have such horrible intonation? The cruddiest flute will sound like crap, but still have fairly good intonation. It seems any sax that doesn't cost a fortune is out of tune with itself. We had this one alto in middle school where the upper register was nearly a half step sharper than the lower register, what gives?

Aaand, why do soprano saxes have a bad rap for intonation? It is basically a conical clarinet made of brass, does it depend on the quality, or are all sopranos hard to play in tune?

Saxophones are the most mechanically complex woodwind instruments to make or repair (as several repairmen have told me), therefore there's a lot to go out of adjustment. An instrument not in adjustment will be out of tune, simple as that.

As to soprano saxophones... there are a lot of really cruddy models out there. There's a few manufacturers that get it right, though. Selmer, Yanagisawa... I play a Yanagisawa curved soprano saxophone that just blows me away with how well in tune it is. Not sure about Yamaha, I don't like Yamaha saxophones, the metal is too thin and they sound thin because of that.

I'll try to make a more detailed post when I have time. This has been a week from hell!!! I'm so behind with reviews. :(

Forgive me if I digress, but what's so different from a saxophone to a flute? Or a bass clarinet? You press a key, it yanks on a lever which is attached to a rod which rotates, the other end being a pad fixed to another lever. Same thing for saxes, flutes, clarinets, oboes, bassoons.... So why is the sax always the one that's so hard to build in interest of intonation? That is the question I'm getting at, what aspect of a sax is the issue in this matter? The conical bore? That fact that it is brass? It is fundamentally a brass cornett with a mostly a flute's key system and clarinet mouthpiece. And I digress again, I've always wondered why we need different systems for different intruments. Obviously, the clarinets overblow at a twelft, so they have an excuse. But flute, oboe, bassoon, and sax all overblow at the octave. I always wondered why they couldn't just have one related key system, why it doesn't work. Like for instance, C#, Eb, F#, Ab, Bb, and C are fingered differently on each of those instruments. Why? I'm suprised nobody has tried to make one key system for all instruments, that only has minor discrepancies, for octave keys, ect.

I've always wondered why we need different systems for different instruments. Obviously, the clarinets overblow at a twelfth, so they have an excuse. But flute, oboe, bassoon, and sax all overblow at the octave. I always wondered why they couldn't just have one related key system, why it doesn't work. Like for instance, C#, Eb, F#, Ab, Bb, and C are fingered differently on each of those instruments. Why? I'm surprised nobody has tried to make one key system for all instruments, that only has minor discrepancies, for octave keys, etc.

That has been tried, and most of them failed because either a) the system was unreliable, b) the essential timbre and quality of the instrument was altered in an unacceptable way, or c) the players outright rejected it.

For example, the Boehm system oboe worked mechanically but sounded like a saxophone because in order to have the correct pitch, you have to have the tone hole the correct size and proportion for it's position on the instrument. So the Boehm system oboe had HUGE tone holes compared to the normal oboe (called the Conservatory system in the US)... which fundamentally altered the timbre of the instrument, which was unacceptable.

The flute and the saxophone have a similar basic fingering system with a few minor differences, mostly related to the fact that a flute is (generally) an open cylindrical pipe with a saxophone is a closed conical pipe and required venting to reliably extended its range to its higher partials.

The bassoon is a relic of a much older, haphazardly designed family and has a narrow conical bore (like the oboe), and would suffer the same problem as the oboe if an attempt was made to modify its system.

Forgive me if I digress, but what's so different from a saxophone to a flute? Or a bass clarinet?

Well, let's see... method of tone production (reed vibrating against a mouthpiece, reed vibrating against another reed, air column split by striking a sharp lip), internal bore dimensions and shape, size, materials, method of construction, where the keys are mounted (on top of the tube? drilled into the tube? protruding into the bore?).

So why is the sax always the one that's so hard to build in interest of intonation? That is the question I'm getting at, what aspect of a sax is the issue in this matter? The conical bore? That fact that it is brass?

The other woodwinds are several hundred years older than the saxophone. The saxophone has had only about 160 years to reach it's current form. Due to its wide, conical bore, the tone holes have to be large, and the pads to cover them have to have the right amount of height in order for the note to sound without being muffled. The placing of the tone holes has to be correct to obtain the correct pitch. The bore of the instrument has to have the right taper. There are so many things to go wrong that it takes a lot of time to bring into the right adjustment.

Ok, well, I don't really think this has much to do with the topic but I don't know. Does anybody know how the embouchure for the Altissimo notes is for the alto sax???

Ok, well, I don't really think this has much to do with the topic but I don't know. Does anybody know how the embouchure for the Altissimo notes is for the alto sax???

Not much different than the normal embouchure, maybe a tiny bit firmer.

I find saxophone really easy to write for!

Haha.

It's like the french horn, it blends well with the brass section and the woodwind section and is easily one of the most versatile in the Concert Band.