the generalTENDENCY


Intonation measurements paint a picture of the tuning of instruments. Now all wind instruments are imperfect, yet the degree to which they are differs and sets limits to the ability to play in tune.

We will have to cope with inevitable deviations in intonation. A saxophone happens to be a conical woodwind with all its accompanying peculiarities. It is in principle possible to arrange tone holes in such a way as to reach a neutral equal temperament in the first register. In consequence, the second register would be unusable. In practice we must therefore reach such a compromise that both registers can be used: some notes should be chosen flat in one register in the other not to be too sharp in the other.
Apart from the influences of tone holes, the standard type of behavior of saxophone intonation is more or less as shown in the graph below. Postion and size of holes still can change a lot for the better (or for the worse) in these curves. The bundle gives different positions of the mouthpiece on the cork. The first and the second register are shown with a break. The second break is actually not a change of register, but gives the 'break' that arises from the separate group of tone holes from D3 upward.

Now this is what we have to deal with. What that means in practice can be found on the pages for the SATB instruments. It turns out that we cannot define any intonation characteristic in advance for any one specific note in any one specific instrument: one instrument maker might choose another compromise than another. Any allegation on notes that always are too sharp or too flat (and therefore will need a certain correction fingering) is better checked in the real situation first.