Just sax

(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...


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Subject: Tuning in West African music
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