Talk:Saxophone
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discussion
I just took this out: "Do we need saxophone lessons, buddy?" Minnie Bannister of the Goons.
It isn't even the most famous Goon use of saxophone, which is when Captain Neddy of the US Cavalry says, "Somebody has been smuggling saxophones to the Indians", whereupon the sax section of the band plays "Indian Love Call".
But none of it, amusing though it may be, belongs in an encyclopedia article on the saxophone. Ortolan88
Is there a reason Saxophonefingeringchart.jpeg is rotated 90 degrees? Luke 02:50, 26 Jan 2004 (UTC)
Does the musician playing the saxophone have to be there? Personally, I think it scares me more than helps me understand (I hate to think that I look like that when I play my tenor). Ilyanep 21:57, 31 Jan 2004 (UTC)
I'm afraid I don't know enough about saxaphones to take a crack at the captions, though I'd like to see them improved. Perhaps a player could give it a try. (See Wikipedia:Captions for some ideas.) Thanks! -- ke4roh 15:43, Jul 11, 2004 (UTC)
"distinctive loop bringing the bell upwards"?
Uh... What about soprano Saxophones? There are also "straight" altos, for that matter...
- it mentions that, in the next sentence....Rick Boatright 21:18, 12 Jul 2004 (UTC)
It also says "The loop at the bell, whilst now synonymous with the saxophone, has little effect on the sound". If you've ever heard a straight alto then you really notice the difference. It's perhaps not so obvious with the sopranos but when I asked Snake Davies (session player to the stars) where he stood on straight versus curved sopranos, he said "Put it this way, all three of my sopranos are curved" - Dom.
The Sax Company
The article mentions various manufacturers. When did saxophones cease to be manufactured by the Sax company? Does that company still exist? Adambisset 23:23, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Adolphe's son, Adolphe Edouard, sold the family business to the Henri Selmer company in 1928. - Dom.
erorrs in discussion of b-flat fingerings
First, two of the B-flat fingerings are mislabeled. The "bis" fingering is the middle one pictured, not the right one. The right one should be called the "side" B-flat. (source: common knowledge, but since that's unlikely to persuade to the person who made the mistake, here's a url that indirectly confirms that the bis key is that little key underneath the left-hand first finger: http://www.runyonproducts.com/clar.bis.html )
Second, "the split Bb fingering is used in chromatic passages"? If by "chromatic" you mean a A-Bb-B or B-Bb-A passage, then most would consider the split fingering is a poor choice. (Use the side fingering.)
"The left-hand fingering is often used in passages that have no B-naturals"? Correct except (as per above) the left-hand fingering is called the bis fingering.
"while the bis fingering is useful for the A-Bb trill"? Both the bis fingering and the side fingering are good for A-Bb trill. (On the other hand, the Bb-C trill pretty much requires the side fingering, though in this case the side Bb key should remain held down even for the C so perhaps not the best example.)
Also, the "split" fingering is also frequently called the "one and one" fingering, and it should probably be noted that any one (or combination) of the three right-hand fingers may be used, not necessarily the top one.
Might also mention that with the bis fingering, the left index finger depresses both the B key and the bis key simultaneously. (Some novice players attemtp to depress the bis key with the second finger, which is either never done or is a rare/advanced technique, depending on who you ask.)
- Thanks for the suggestions. Done! --Bcrowell 05:23, 28 Jan 2005 (UTC)
I've added a link to my own free printer-friendly basic fingering chart. I realize this could be seen as bogus self-promotion, so please feel free to delete it if you think it's not worth linking to. --Bcrowell 23:41, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Materials (plastic mouthpieces)
Regarding the following sentence:
- Plastic mouthpieces do not produce a good tone, and should not be used if at all possible.
This assertion has been made before. I'm certain that thousands of saxophonists would disagree. I've changed the statement to reflect a previous edit which I thought was more NPOV. (Previous edits along these same lines equated plastic mouthpieces with student mouthpieces, and vice versa. I would suggest instead that cheap mouthpieces are inferior because of the finish, regardless of the material. (And there are exceptions even among the cheapest mouthpieces, e.g. many players would agree that Rico Royal mouthpieces are a good value.) A mouthpiece technician could re-face the mouthpiece and it would sound great, yet still be made of plastic.) I've also removed the external link to classicsax.com, as mentioning a mouthpiece vendor in a description of mouthpieces seems like spam (though this may not have been the intent). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 13:33, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- The same anonymous editor has posted the same content, and based on my above comments I have reverted the edit, again. If the editor happens to read this, can we please discuss this here? Your edit is highly POV. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 20:35, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- For future reference (in the event of relevant future edits), as well as to respond to Taxman's request for references (see below), I wish to direct interested parties to page 17 of The Art of Saxophone Playing by Larry Teal:
- A preference as to material used is up to the individual, and the advantages of each are a matter of controversy. Mouthpieces of various materials which have exactly the same dimensions, including the chamber and outside measurements as well as the facing, play very nearly the same. . . . Plastic has proved to be a good material and is in wide use . . . and is popular in student mouthpieces, where ruggedness and precision are required at low cost.
- I will add this reference to the article. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 19:18, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- For future reference (in the event of relevant future edits), as well as to respond to Taxman's request for references (see below), I wish to direct interested parties to page 17 of The Art of Saxophone Playing by Larry Teal:
Request for references
Hi, I am working to encourage implementation of the goals of the Wikipedia:Verifiability policy. Part of that is to make sure articles cite their sources. This is particularly important for featured articles, since they are a prominent part of Wikipedia. The Fact and Reference Check Project has more information. Thank you, and please leave me a message (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Taxman&action=edit§ion=new) when you have added a few references to the article. - Taxman 17:20, Apr 22, 2005 (UTC)
- Well, I've added one, anyway: Larry Teal's The Art of Saxophone Playing. Actually I'm surprised this wasn't already mentioned. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 19:33, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- Great, thank you. Got more? :) - Taxman 20:25, Apr 22, 2005 (UTC)
Vibrato?
Vibrato is an integral part of saxophone playing. It isn't mentioned once in this article! I think it needs to be included. And why is this nominated as one of the best Wikipedia articles? I think it lacks a lot of information. --Berserk798 17:49, 8 May 2005 (UTC)
- This was a featured article. Then, due to a lack of references, the article was basically whiped and is in the process of being redone.
- Vibrato is not an integral part of saxophone playing - not even in classical playing in which I often hear the most evil of vibratos that could shake the world into pieces. Mention vibrato you like, but it is nowhere near integral. What's integral to saxophone playing is the instrument, the player, the ability to play and nothing more. ¦ Reisio 18:13, 2005 Jun 17 (UTC)
Restore gutted content
A whole lot of content was deleted from this article, including three entire sections (namely Mouthpieces, Reeds, and Writing for the saxophone). This is pretty drastic and probably should have been discussed here first. I also found this note embedded in the article (though commented out):
- I am going to skip parts of technique to leave for others. Right now, writing from the technique books I have on hand and m own personal experience, I am going to write Embourchure now and Altissimo tomorrow when I can find my Sigurd Rashear [sic] book.
I get the impression that an editor has been treating this as a work-in-progress. Please remember that the article is still viewable in the meantime. May I suggest that you not work on the article piecemeal? Instead, until you're ready to finsh, leave the rest of the article intact. (Also I've taken the above comment out of the article, it really belongs here.) To be frank, given the anonymous edits and disappearing content, I thought someone had been vandalizing the article. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 13:45, 14 May 2005 (UTC)
- More restoration: all the material following (what was left of) the "Technique" section was deleted, including references, external links, categories and interwikis. Whatever else you think doesn't belong in an article about saxophones, you really should leave that stuff in. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 14:15, 14 May 2005 (UTC)
Clinton/Yeltsin photo
I don't feel that this photo is appropriate in this article, since Bill Clinton is not really a saxophonist. Perhaps a photo of Marcel Mule or Charlie Parker would be more appropriate.
- I agree that another photo would be more appropriate. The trick, perhaps, is finding a photo whose copyright doesn't prevent it from being included in Wikipedia. Another great picture would be the one of Sigurd Rascher posing with all the members of the saxophone family (or Rahsaan Roland Kirk playing multiple saxes at once). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 17:04, 17 Jun 2005 (UTC)
