User Manual

ARTURIA – BRASS 2 – USER’S MANUAL
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Different positions of the Resonator
In the world of virtual saxophones, the instrument makers are less limited to these
questions of practical order, and it is much easier and more flexible to reduce the length
of the resonator than to introduce 10 to 15 holes on the virtual resonator.
8.3.1.3 Role of the Reed
We have seen that the reed also plays its role on the pitch when an instrument produces
a note. Normally, it cannot change the frequency of the note produced more than a
fraction of the tone in relation to the notes selected with fingerings. These small
variations in the frequency are used to produce, for example, vibrato.
Moreover, the reed offers the saxophonist much more flexibility than the resonator
because there is much more liberty to change pressure on the reed, breath, etc. This
control translates physically into a number of parameters that influence more or less the
timbre (color) of the results. One problem with these parameters is that they can
influence the frequency of the final note at the same time. In BRASS 2, we free ourselves
of this problem by precisely determining the variation of frequency produced by each
parameter so that one “A” always remains an “A” independently of the reed parameters.
8.3.1.4 A bit of musical physics… a bit of instrumental practice…
To play the saxophone, the saxophonist pushes his bottom lips firmly against the reed
and his top teeth against the mouthpiece. The pressure must be equal in force: neither
too strong (because the reed would then be closed off and will have a sound too dismal
and weak) nor too weak (because the reed will begin to vibrate on its own oscillation
frequency resulting in a false note). The position of the lips on the reed is also important
because if the mouthpiece is pushed too far into the mouth the pinch of the lips will not
have enough control over the reed, but if it is not pushed in enough, the vibration on the