Bb tenor saxophone

D#6

Conventional Fingering

Impedance

Fingering a key depressed a key not depressed a hole covered a hole uncovered a part of the mechanism that is not normally touched Details in fingering legend. Acoustic schematic a closed tone hole an open tone hole Non-specialist introduction to acoustic impedance Non-specialist introduction to saxophone acoustics Notes are the written pitch. Frequencies are the sounding frequency, for Bb saxophone. Unless otherwise stated, the impedance spectrum is for a Bb saxophone.

This note is still in the second register – it plays at the second peak on the impedance spectrum. On most other woodwinds, the corresponding note would lie in the third register, using a resonance related to the third peak of the note G#4. However, that peak falls above the cut-off frequency, which is about 1 kHz, and is too weak (and too sharp).

This fingering uses a register hole. This causes a leak in the bore that weakens the first impedance peak. Above the second peak, the curve is irregular: see the discussion in cut-off frequency.

Compare with the impedance spectrum for a soprano sax on written D#6: same fingering but sounding one octave higher.

Sound

Sound spectrum of a Bb tenor saxophone played using fingering for D#6.
For more explanation, see Introduction to saxophone acoustics.

Sound Clip

You can hear D#6 played.