Editing Saxophone (section)

===Mouthpiece and reed===
{{Main|Mouthpiece (woodwind)|Reed (instrument)|Reed clipper|ligature (musical instrument)}}
[[File:Mouthpiece tenor saxophone.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tenor saxophone mouthpieces, ligatures, reed, and cap]]

The saxophone uses a single-reed [[Mouthpiece (woodwind)|mouthpiece]] similar to that of the clarinet. Each size of saxophone (alto, tenor, etc.) uses a different size of reed and mouthpiece.

Most saxophonists use reeds made from ''[[Arundo donax]]'' cane, but since the middle of the twentieth century some have been made of fiberglass or other composite materials.  Saxophone reeds are proportioned slightly differently from clarinet reeds, being wider for the same length.  Commercial reeds vary in hardness and design, and single-reed players try different reeds to find those that suit their mouthpiece, embouchure, and playing style.

Mouthpiece design has a profound impact on tone.<ref name="erousseau">{{cite web | url=http://www.eugene-rousseau.com/discussions.htm#Art | at=The Art of Choosing a Saxophone Mouthpiece | last=Rousseau | first=Eugene | author-link=Eugene Rousseau (saxophonist) | title=Discussions | website=EugeneRousseau.com | access-date=27 April 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405192044/http://www.eugene-rousseau.com/discussions.htm#Art | archive-date=2016-04-05 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Different mouthpiece design characteristics and features tend to be favored for different styles. Early mouthpieces were designed to produce a "warm" and "round" sound for classical playing. Among classical mouthpieces, those with a concave ("excavated") ''chamber'' are truer to Adolphe Sax's original design; these provide a softer or less piercing tone favored by the [[Sigurd Raschèr|Raschèr]] school of classical playing. Saxophonists who follow the French school of classical playing, influenced by [[Marcel Mule]], generally use mouthpieces with smaller chambers for a somewhat "brighter" sound with relatively more upper harmonics.  The use of the saxophone in dance orchestras and jazz ensembles from the 1920s onward placed emphasis on [[dynamic range]] and projection, leading to innovation in mouthpiece designs. At the opposite extreme from the classical mouthpieces are those with a small chamber and a low clearance above the reed between the tip and the chamber, called high ''baffle''. These produce a bright sound with maximum projection, suitable for having a sound stand out among amplified instruments.

Mouthpieces come in a wide variety of materials including [[Vulcanization|vulcanized]] rubber (sometimes called [[hard rubber]] or [[ebonite]]), plastic and metals like bronze or [[surgical steel]]. Less common materials that have been used include wood, glass, crystal, porcelain and bone. Recently, [[Delrin]] has been added to the stock of mouthpiece materials.

The effect of mouthpiece materials on tone of the saxophone has been the subject of much debate. According to [[Larry Teal]], the mouthpiece material has little, if any, effect on the sound, and the physical dimensions give a mouthpiece its tone color.<ref>{{cite book|first=Larry|last=Teal|title=The Art of Saxophone Playing|location=Miami|publisher=Summy-Birchard|year=1963|isbn=978-0-87487-057-2|page=17|quote=A preference as to material used is up to the individual, and the advantages of each are a matter of controversy. Mouthpieces of various materials with the same dimensions, including the chamber and outside measurements as well as the facing, play very nearly the same.}}</ref> There are examples of "dark" sounding metal pieces and "bright" sounding hard rubber pieces. The extra bulk required near the tip with hard rubber affects mouth position and airflow characteristics.

{{Listen
| filename     = Jazz Funk no1 (saxophone).flac
| title        = A saxophone song with electric piano and drums in the background
}}