Violin making; the neck or ‘chiver’ of the saxophone made of porcelain; will ceramic sound different?
The idea, which has been in my drawer of dreams for over 10 years, intend to insert a graft on the saxophone. Precisely, the project intended to realize one of the pieces of the saxophone, exactly the neck or ‘chiver’, in porcelain. The idea comes from the deep desire to boost music so that music could give a boost to the world. In my imagination this is also the union of man and woman, of white and black, of East and West. Born in an intuitive way, the idea is quite well-founded.
Why put a hybrid piece on the saxophone?
The saxophone was born as a "hybrid". Adolphe Sax has built a musical instrument that joined toghether the single reed of the clarinet mouthpiece to the body of an instrument of the brass family, with a key system similar to the clarinet, oboe and flute. It belongs to the woodwind family, but allows a large volume of sound. The shape is conical and the constituent material is a thin sheet of brass, with variable thickness among the various manufacturers.
The influence of material on the sound of the saxophone is yet under discussion.
A.Sax argued that the tone of an instrument is determined by the proportions of the column of air contained in it, and then material and shape are not very decisive. Despite this, all producers have carried out researches on materials and some of those companies have experimented and produced new alloys and new finishes for the saxophone. There was also a saxophone in acrylic plastic, whose sound was not so different, and perhaps this was mainly due to the fact that the neck of the instrument was manufactured in brass.
It seems that among the parameters that determine the sound of the sax there is the mouthpiece and the thickness of the lamina of the instrument. Definitely another one of these parameters is the shape of the neck or ‘chiver’, that receives special attention from the designers. His erroneous construction can seriously affect the instrument's performance in terms of sound quality or affect the ease of issuing notes. The influence of the rest of the instrument is much lower.
The construction of the saxophone requires firing, a processing phase in which the stem is heated to high temperatures to facilitate the subsequent response to sound vibrations.
The saxophone was almost immediately used in jazz, a genre for which has become a symbol. In the twenties, jazz music was considered the 'devil's music': just few notes were able to contaminate the ear of so-called 'white culture'.
Why porcelain on the saxophone?
The white porcelain thickness can be so thin as to allow even transparency. It is a quality of ceramic material able to withstand extreme stress, both in terms of mechanical stress and temperature. Because porcelain is said to have miraculous qualities. It strikes me above all the belief that true porcelain is contrary to the poison. When food poisoned is infused into the porcelain, the object will be broken.
Finally, porcelain seems to enshrine strong memoryies according to those who use it. Any movement, which is imprinted in the working process, returns into the final shape after cooking.
Intuitively, I believe that there are many reasons to try to built the necks in porcelain, technical and symbolic reasons, and after all these years I still think is a good project. Thickness required, cooking in both working process, memory of human acts and emotions while playing the instrument, the possibility to reveal real poison and not prejudices, and finally the possibility that porcellain could add something magic to the sound of the instrument. I never even once tried to build it. Sometimes, I hope that someone will try to realize it, in order to listen to it.
Actually, some musicians have found good this idea. H.T., one of the best saxophonist in the world, too. I would like right him to play this saxophone! The best Italian manufacturer of saxophones had listened to the project, and sent me the bare neck of their alto-saxophone to allow me to try.
Still, my questions are: ‘will ceramic sound different?’; 'how will it sound'?; ‘Who will play it?’; ‘Will it break when played?’; 'Will it be able to give something good to the music and to me?’
Perhaps my aspiration is to share it with someone who only embrace its potential? Maybe I'm just waiting to put it in unrealized projects?
Violin making; the neck or ‘chiver’ of the saxophone made of porcelain; will ceramic sound different?
The idea, which has been in my drawer of dreams for over 10 years, intend to insert a graft on the saxophone. Precisely, the project intended to realize one of the pieces of the saxophone, exactly the neck or ‘chiver’, in porcelain. The idea comes from the deep desire to boost music so that music could give a boost to the world. In my imagination this is also the union of man and woman, of white and black, of East and West. Born in an intuitive way, the idea is quite well-founded.
Why put a hybrid piece on the saxophone?
The saxophone was born as a "hybrid". Adolphe Sax has built a musical instrument that joined toghether the single reed of the clarinet mouthpiece to the body of an instrument of the brass family, with a key system similar to the clarinet, oboe and flute. It belongs to the woodwind family, but allows a large volume of sound. The shape is conical and the constituent material is a thin sheet of brass, with variable thickness among the various manufacturers.
The influence of material on the sound of the saxophone is yet under discussion.
A.Sax argued that the tone of an instrument is determined by the proportions of the column of air contained in it, and then material and shape are not very decisive. Despite this, all producers have carried out researches on materials and some of those companies have experimented and produced new alloys and new finishes for the saxophone. There was also a saxophone in acrylic plastic, whose sound was not so different, and perhaps this was mainly due to the fact that the neck of the instrument was manufactured in brass.
It seems that among the parameters that determine the sound of the sax there is the mouthpiece and the thickness of the lamina of the instrument. Definitely another one of these parameters is the shape of the neck or ‘chiver’, that receives special attention from the designers. His erroneous construction can seriously affect the instrument's performance in terms of sound quality or affect the ease of issuing notes. The influence of the rest of the instrument is much lower.
The construction of the saxophone requires firing, a processing phase in which the stem is heated to high temperatures to facilitate the subsequent response to sound vibrations.
The saxophone was almost immediately used in jazz, a genre for which has become a symbol. In the twenties, jazz music was considered the 'devil's music': just few notes were able to contaminate the ear of so-called 'white culture'.
Why porcelain on the saxophone?
The white porcelain thickness can be so thin as to allow even transparency. It is a quality of ceramic material able to withstand extreme stress, both in terms of mechanical stress and temperature. Because porcelain is said to have miraculous qualities. It strikes me above all the belief that true porcelain is contrary to the poison. When food poisoned is infused into the porcelain, the object will be broken.
Finally, porcelain seems to enshrine strong memoryies according to those who use it. Any movement, which is imprinted in the working process, returns into the final shape after cooking.
Intuitively, I believe that there are many reasons to try to built the necks in porcelain, technical and symbolic reasons, and after all these years I still think is a good project. Thickness required, cooking in both working process, memory of human acts and emotions while playing the instrument, the possibility to reveal real poison and not prejudices, and finally the possibility that porcellain could add something magic to the sound of the instrument. I never even once tried to build it. Sometimes, I hope that someone will try to realize it, in order to listen to it.
Actually, some musicians have found good this idea. H.T., one of the best saxophonist in the world, too. I would like right him to play this saxophone! The best Italian manufacturer of saxophones had listened to the project, and sent me the bare neck of their alto-saxophone to allow me to try.
Still, my questions are: ‘will ceramic sound different?’; 'how will it sound'?; ‘Who will play it?’; ‘Will it break when played?’; 'Will it be able to give something good to the music and to me?’
Perhaps my aspiration is to share it with someone who only embrace its potential? Maybe I'm just waiting to put it in unrealized projects?