The present invention relates to a musical instrument, especially to a saxophone.
With reference to
However, in the conventional saxophone, the side-Bb key 92 is deviated from the high F #key 91 along a vertical line, making fingering change from high F #to high G very difficult. As a result, notes played easily break up by mistake. Moreover, position of the side-Bb key 92 of the conventional saxophone also makes some high notes with staccato and notes with trill difficult to play.
With reference to
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a saxophone having an auxiliary side Bb key to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a saxophone having an auxiliary side Bb key for ease of playing.
The saxophone has a body tube, a high-F #structure and a side-Bb structure. The body tube extends upward and downward, and has a high-F #tone hole and a side-Bb tone hole. The high-F #structure is mounted on the body tube and has a high-F #tone-hole cover, a high-F #driving assembly, and a high F #key. The high-F #tone-hole cover selectively closes the high-F #tone hole of the body tube. The high-F #driving assembly is mounted on the body tube and connected to the high-F #tone-hole cover. The high F #key is connected to the high-F #driving assembly and drives the high-F #tone-hole cover to open or close the high-F #tone hole of the body tube. The side-Bb structure is mounted on the body tube and has a side-Bb tone-hole cover, a side-Bb driving assembly, an auxiliary key, and a main key. The side-Bb tone-hole cover is pivotally mounted on the body tube and selectively closes the side-Bb tone hole of the body tube. The side-Bb driving assembly is mounted on the body tube and connected to the side-Bb tone-hole cover. The auxiliary key is connected to the side-Bb driving assembly and drives the side-Bb tone-hole cover to close or open the side-Bb tone hole of the body tube. The auxiliary key is disposed above the high F #key of the high-F #structure along a vertical line. The main key is separated from the auxiliary key. The main key is connected to the side-Bb driving assembly and drives the side-Bb tone-hole cover to close or open the side-Bb tone hole of the body tube. The auxiliary key and the main key are separately arranged around a centerline of the body tube; the auxiliary key and the main key correspond in height position.
The advantage of the present invention is that the traditional side-Bb key is altered into an auxiliary key and a main key, and the auxiliary key is disposed above the high F #key while the main key is located substantially same as the traditional side-Bb key. As a result, a player can use either of the main key and the auxiliary key to open or close the side-Bb tone hole of body tube. Detailed advantages are as follows.
First, when switching from high F #note to altissimo high G note, the player may press the auxiliary key with a tip of the middle finger. As a result, fingering of switching notes is more ergonomic and motion of right-hand-fingers is reduced for ease of playing. In other words, the player can press the auxiliary key with ease, mitigating unintentional breaking up of notes when playing.
Second, when switching from altissimo high G note to high E note with staccato, the player may press the auxiliary key to reduce a distance that the right hand has to move, thereby keeping the sound continuous.
Third, when playing high F #note, altissimo high G note, and altissimo high G #note, the right hand may press the auxiliary key for better comfort and ease of playing.
Fourth, when playing high F #note and altissimo high G note with trill, the auxiliary key is capable of reducing motion of right-hand-fingers for ease of playing.
Fifth, the main key is positioned substantially same as the traditional side-Bb key such that the present invention is compatible with traditional saxophone fingerings.
Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
The body tube 10 extends upward and downward, and has a high-F #tone hole 11, a side-Bb tone hole 12, and multiple other tone holes. The high-F #structure 20, the side-Bb structure 30, and the multiple tone-hole controlling structures are used for controlling opening and closing of the tone holes of the body tube 10.
The high-F #structure 20 controls opening and closing of the high-F #tone hole 11. The high-F #structure 20 is mounted on the body tube 10 and has a high-F #tone-hole cover 21, a high-F #driving assembly 22, and a high-F key 23. The high-F #tone-hole cover 21 is pivotally mounted on the body tube 10 and selectively closes the high-F #tone hole 11 of the body tube 10.
With reference to
The high-F #-driving rod 221 extends upward and downward, and is rotatably mounted on the body tube 10. The upper connecting sleeve 222 is detachably located around a top end of the high-F #-driving rod 221. The lower connecting sleeve 223 is detachably located around a bottom end of the high-F #-driving rod 221. The upper connecting sleeve 222 and the lower connecting sleeve 223 form a mounting groove 224 (as shown in
The high-F key 23 is preferably a plate connected to the lower connecting sleeve 223 of the high-F #driving assembly 22 via a connecting rod. The high-F key 23 drives the high-F #tone-hole cover 21 to open or close the high-F #tone hole 11 of the body tube 10. To be precise, when high-F key 23 is not pressed by player, a resilient element (not shown in figures) of the high-F #driving assembly 22 drives the high-F #tone-hole cover 21 to close the high-F #tone hole 11.
With reference to
In the preferred embodiment, the high-F #driving assembly 22 has a first rocker 225, a second rocker 226, a connecting rod 227, and a high-F #-cover rod 228. The first rocker 225 and the second rocker 226 are disposed between the upper connecting sleeve 222 and the connecting rod 227. The first rocker 225 is fixed to a top end of the upper connecting sleeve 222. The second rocker 226 is fixed to a bottom end of the connecting rod 227. The first rocker 225 and the second rocker 226 are pivotally connected to each other. The high-F #-cover rod 228 is fixed between a top end of the connecting rod 227 and the high-F #tone-hole cover 21.
When the high-F key 23 is pressed, the high-F #-driving rod 221 is driven by the high-F key 23 to rotate, which in turn rotates the upper connecting sleeve 222, the first rocker 225, the second rocker 226, the connecting rod 227, and the high-F #-cover rod 228 to drive the high-F #tone-hole cover 21 to open the high-F #tone hole 11.
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The tone-hole controlling structures each control opening and closing of a respective one of the tone holes except for the high-F #tone hole 11 and the side-Bb tone hole 12. Each tone-hole controlling structure has a tone key, multiple rods, and a tone-hole cover. When the player presses the tone key, the rods are rotated such that the tone-hole cover opens or closes the respective tone hole. The tone-hole controlling structures are substantially same as tone-hole controlling structures in a traditional saxophone.
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The auxiliary key 33 and the main key 34 correspond in height position; that is, the auxiliary key 33 and the main key 34 are substantially same in height position, but height position of the auxiliary key 33 can slightly deviate from the main key 34. The main key 34 is positioned substantially same as the traditional side-Bb key such that the present invention is compatible with traditional saxophone fingerings.
With reference to
In summary, by designing an auxiliary key 33 and a main key 34 in the side-Bb structure 30, disposing the auxiliary key 33 above the high F #key 23, and disposing the main key 34 substantially same as the traditional side-Bb key, the present invention has the following advantages.
First, when switching from high F #note to altissimo high G note, the player may press the auxiliary key 33 with the tip of middle finger to control the side-Bb tone hole 12. As a result, fingering of switching notes is more ergonomic and motion of right-hand-fingers is reduced for ease of playing. In other words, the player can press the auxiliary key with ease, mitigating unintentional breaking up of notes when playing.
Second, when switching from altissimo high G note to high E note with staccato, unintentional gap of sound can be avoided.
Third, when playing high F #note, altissimo high G note, and altissimo high G #note, the right hand may press the auxiliary key 33 for better comfort and ease of playing.
Fourth, when playing high F #note and altissimo high G note with trill, the auxiliary key 33 is capable of reducing motion of right-hand-fingers for ease of playing.
Fifth, the main key 34 is positioned substantially same as the traditional side-Bb key such that the present invention is compatible with traditional saxophone fingerings.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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110142712 | Nov 2021 | TW | national |
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Number | Date | Country |
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M349534 | Jan 2009 | TW |