5 ms·

does it support transposing instruments? The sax - especially the soprano - can be very tricky to play consistently in tune.

ctrager 6y ago
I coded for transposing up or down by an octave, but not by other intervals. I imagine it wouldn't be hard for somebody to fork/modify the code to transpose by thirds, etc.
InitialLastName 6y ago
You'll be unlikely to be more than a quarter-tone out of tune though, no? I used to practice saxophone with a tuner to enforce intonation consistency; I could intentionally bend notes further, but I don't recall the tuner ever picking me up on the wrong note when I was playing naturally.
- ctrager 6y ago
  Just FYI, notice the configurable "Sensitivity" setting. The default of 12 let's you miss by about a quarter of a tone (half step) either way.
  - InitialLastName 6y ago
    I'm just saying that if they're playing moderately accurately, the note will read transposed, but it will be correctly annotated as sharp or flat.
    - singingfish 6y ago
      It's not too bad usually, but correcting for drift within the instrument and over time as it literally warms up is a thing.
jacquesm 6y ago
The sax can be a demon to play properly, it will warm up over the course of playing so you will end up going flatter and flatter as you play longer but you can correct for that with your embouchure or alternate fingerings. If you can re-tune (fourth line 'F') after you've warmed up the instrument. You do that on that F because it is roughly in the middle of the range of the instrument meaning you'll be off the minimum on the other notes. If you tuned it on the highest or lowest note the other end would be off considerably. The sax is a wonderful instrument but it is definitely a finicky one, I've never found one that had all the notes in tune when played without corrective measures, and I'm not even sure that it could be done, the flexibility you get in making it go sharp or flat on purpose comes with the price of having to correct almost every note you play.
- singingfish 6y ago
  I've got a yamaha bari that is amazingly consistently in tune with itself. My cheap soprano, less so, but there is a place for a loud bluesy slightly out of tune oboe from time to time.
  - jacquesm 6y ago
    A baritone has one advantage: it is so large that the relative precision with which it is constructed is high in relation to the frequencies that it puts out so being out a half millimeter on a valve seat will not immediately have a huge effect. Also: have you ever thought about how undefined the frequency of a sax really is? The seal is a large, round flap that drops down over a circular hole with a raised edge. Even if you open it fast there is a gradient there and no matter what you do the hole itself is shaped to practically guarantee a different frequency response for every part of its circumference! It's a miracle it works at all (same goes for flute, oboe and clarinet).

ctrager 6y ago

I coded for transposing up or down by an octave, but not by other intervals. I imagine it wouldn't be hard for somebody to fork/modify the code to transpose by thirds, etc.

InitialLastName 6y ago

You'll be unlikely to be more than a quarter-tone out of tune though, no? I used to practice saxophone with a tuner to enforce intonation consistency; I could intentionally bend notes further, but I don't recall the tuner ever picking me up on the wrong note when I was playing naturally.

ctrager 6y ago
Just FYI, notice the configurable "Sensitivity" setting. The default of 12 let's you miss by about a quarter of a tone (half step) either way.
- InitialLastName 6y ago
  I'm just saying that if they're playing moderately accurately, the note will read transposed, but it will be correctly annotated as sharp or flat.
  - singingfish 6y ago
    It's not too bad usually, but correcting for drift within the instrument and over time as it literally warms up is a thing.

jacquesm 6y ago

The sax can be a demon to play properly, it will warm up over the course of playing so you will end up going flatter and flatter as you play longer but you can correct for that with your embouchure or alternate fingerings. If you can re-tune (fourth line 'F') after you've warmed up the instrument. You do that on that F because it is roughly in the middle of the range of the instrument meaning you'll be off the minimum on the other notes. If you tuned it on the highest or lowest note the other end would be off considerably. The sax is a wonderful instrument but it is definitely a finicky one, I've never found one that had all the notes in tune when played without corrective measures, and I'm not even sure that it could be done, the flexibility you get in making it go sharp or flat on purpose comes with the price of having to correct almost every note you play.

singingfish 6y ago
I've got a yamaha bari that is amazingly consistently in tune with itself. My cheap soprano, less so, but there is a place for a loud bluesy slightly out of tune oboe from time to time.
- jacquesm 6y ago
  A baritone has one advantage: it is so large that the relative precision with which it is constructed is high in relation to the frequencies that it puts out so being out a half millimeter on a valve seat will not immediately have a huge effect. Also: have you ever thought about how undefined the frequency of a sax really is? The seal is a large, round flap that drops down over a circular hole with a raised edge. Even if you open it fast there is a gradient there and no matter what you do the hole itself is shaped to practically guarantee a different frequency response for every part of its circumference! It's a miracle it works at all (same goes for flute, oboe and clarinet).