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Forum » Legit Saxophone » soprano mute?


by Bariboy
(18 posts)
16 years ago

soprano mute?

hello everyone, my professor asked me a question and i thought i would run it through you guys. he is playing soprano sax for a chamber piece. it is a YAS-475, selmer c*. the tells me that it is too whinny for the piece that we are playing. he suggested that he would make a soprano mute, like an alto one but for soprano. so my questions are : 1. with what materials and how would he want to go about making it? 2. is there any way to make it less whinny without changing the set-up, he doesn't want to change them. thanks for you help!!

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  2. by OANegrin
    (26 posts)
    16 years ago

    Re: soprano mute?

    Setup is fine, though it will want to be bright. It's OK. He needs to learn how to voice. Contact Donald Sinta, the professor of saxophone at University of Michigan, to obtain a copy of his "Voicing" book.

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    1. by Bibimbop
      (53 posts)
      16 years ago

      Re: soprano mute?

      The Voicing book by Sinta has now been republished in a second edition. Contact Eric Satterlee at Meridian Winds to order a copy: www.meridianwinds.com

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  3. by Jason McFeaters
    (4 posts)
    16 years ago

    Re: soprano mute?

    Start with some wire, like a metal clothes hanger, or something similar, and shape it into a circle (your finished product will look like a donut). Wrap it with some cloth just to the size that it will fit into the bell. Now finish with some felt to make it look pretty. Mutes work great on alto, but it could fall out of your soprano. Another method is to glue some "mole foam" across from the low Bb hole (on the inside of course). This works great and never falls out, the only problem is that it is not removable like the donut style mutes.

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  4. by hemkestudent
    (5 posts)
    15 years ago

    Re: soprano mute?

    Marcel Mule used to play sitting with the bell between his knees. He would mute in a way certain notes as needed, or helped the intonation on some notes by covering more/or less the area around the bell. FYI- the traditional saxophone mute will really only effect your low Bb, B and C the most. It will also lower the pitch a little.

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