Investigating vocal tract effects during note transitions on the saxophone

The resonances of the vocal tract are used by single-reed woodwind players for tuning purposes, timbre modification, and other musical effects. Using pressure or impedance measurements, the influence of the vocal tract on saxophone playing has been previously studied for steady tones. This study considers note transitions in which the players might perform vocal tract modifications (e.g., wide intervals) and combines pressure and reed bending measurements to analyze the effect of the vocal tract as well as its dependence on the articulation technique. The measurement setup consists on recording the acoustic pressure in the players' mouth and in the mouthpiece of the instrument. A strain gauge attached to the reed surface captures both the reed oscillations and the tongue-reed interaction due to articulation. Complementary details about the playing technique are obtained by recording the upper teeth force on the mouthpiece and the open-closed configuration of two selected keys. Preliminary results show that saxophonists are able to drive the vibrations of the reed by modifying the vocal tract configuration, while adapting the blowing pressure and tongue-reed interaction to the articulation technique.