Woodwind instrument

Abstract

To provide a woodwind instrument that facilitates easier cleaning of an instrument body and improves playing quality.SOLUTION: A woodwind instrument 1 according to this embodiment comprises: a body (second tube 4 and neck 5) having upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B capable of changing octave of sound, and a key link system for opening and closing the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B, respectively. The upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are formed such that opening ends on the inner wall surface side do not protrude from the inner wall surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a woodwind instrument having tone holes that allow the octave of the sound to be changed. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a saxophone in which (1) the octave tone holes (high register keys, hereafter referred to as "upper octave tone holes") on the neck and (2) the octave tone holes (low register keys, hereafter referred to as "lower octave tone holes") on the second tube can be opened and closed by operating a key link system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 54-130414 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In general, the upper and lower octave tone holes are formed using extremely thin pipe members, with the inner diameter of the former being approximately 1 mm to 2 mm and the inner diameter of the latter being approximately 2.3 to 2.8 mm.

[0005] When a saxophone is played, the water vapor contained in the breath condenses inside the tube, forming a water film on the inner wall. For this reason, conventional saxophones are designed so that the pipe members protrude from the inner wall of the tube, in order to prevent the pipe members from being blocked by the inflow of this water film (see "pipe member 112" in Figure 7(a)).

[0006] The amount of protrusion is generally set to about 1 mm for most upper octave tone holes, whereas for lower octave tone holes, the length of the pipe member is often longer (for example, 10 mm or more) than for upper octave tone holes (for example, 5 mm), and so the amount of protrusion tends to exceed the 1 mm mentioned above.

[0007] For this reason, in conventional saxophones, when cleaning the inside of the tube (neck and second tube) with a cleaning cloth (hereinafter referred to as a "swab"), the cloth would get caught on the above-mentioned pipe components, causing the swab to clog, and in some cases, the pipe components would bend and become damaged or broken.

[0008] Furthermore, in conventional saxophones, depending on the amount of protrusion and outer diameter of the above-mentioned pipe components, there is a risk of disrupting the air flow within the tube, which may affect the quality of the performance (air flow).

[0009] The present invention provides a woodwind instrument that allows for easy cleaning of the inside of the tube and improves the quality of playing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The woodwind instrument of the present invention is a woodwind instrument that comprises a tube body having a tone hole that can change the octave of the sound, and an opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes the tone hole, and the tone hole is formed in such a way that the open end on the inner wall surface of the tube body does not protrude from the inner wall surface.

[0011] Preferably, the sound hole is constituted solely by a through-hole that penetrates the wall of the tube body.

[0012] In this case, preferably, the sound hole is formed in a tapered shape.

[0013] Preferably, the wall portion has a bulging portion that bulges outward, and the sound hole is provided in the bulging portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate cleaning of the inside of the tube and improve the quality of playing, while still having a relatively simple configuration. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of a woodwind instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of a portion of the woodwind instrument of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the woodwind instrument of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing a modification of FIG. 3. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a woodwind instrument according to a modified example. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing a modification of FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional woodwind instrument. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to designate the same parts, and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of a woodwind instrument according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view of the woodwind instrument of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the woodwind instrument of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing a modified example of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a woodwind instrument according to a modified example, FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing a modified example of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional woodwind instrument.

[0018] As shown in Figure 1, the woodwind instrument 1 of this embodiment is an alto saxophone, and its basic configuration, like that of a known alto saxophone, includes a bell 2, a first tube 3, a second tube 4, a neck 5, a mouthpiece 7, and a key link system 20 as an opening and closing mechanism.

[0019] Bell 2 is the part from which sound is produced and is shaped like a morning glory. First tube 3 is formed in a roughly U-shape and is connected to the lower end of bell 2. Second tube 4 is formed in a roughly linear tapered shape and is connected to the end of first tube 3 opposite the end to which bell 2 is connected. Neck 5 is formed so as to be curved in a roughly V-shape (roughly U-shape or S-shape) and is connected to the upper end of second tube 4. Mouthpiece 7 is the part into which air can be blown with reed 6 attached to its lower part and is connected to the upper end of neck 5.

[0020] A plurality of soldered or drawn tone holes 8 are provided in the walls of the bell 2, first tube 3, and second tube 4. The peripheral walls that form each tone hole 8 are formed so as to protrude outward from the outer wall surfaces of the bell 2, first tube 3, and second tube 4. Each tone hole 8 is provided in a different direction around the bell 2, first tube 3, and second tube 4, from the perspective of improving operability and design.

[0021] A pad tray 9 (not shown), into which a pad (not shown) can be attached, is provided at a position corresponding to each tone hole 8. By operating a lever (not shown) or the like, the pad tray (cup) 9 can open, partially open, or close each tone hole 8.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the key link system 20 is a device for changing the octave of the sound by opening and closing the upper octave tone hole 11A and the lower octave tone hole 11B as tone holes.

[0023] 2 and 3, the upper octave tone hole 11A is formed so as to penetrate a bulge 10A provided at a predetermined position on the neck 5. The upper octave tone hole 11A according to this embodiment has a hollow, generally cylindrical shape.

[0024] Bulging portion 10A has a hollow dome shape and is provided so as to bulge outward at a predetermined position on neck 5. Upper octave tone hole 11A is configured to be opened and closed by the operation of upper octave arm 21A, which is supported on neck 5 so as to be able to swing freely.

[0025] The bulge 10A can be attached to the neck 5 by, for example, brazing, soldering, or screws to close an opening formed in advance in a predetermined position on the neck 5 with a cup member formed in a hollow dome shape. In this case, the upper octave tone hole 11A (hole) may be formed in the cup member beforehand before attachment to the neck 5, or it can be formed in the cup member after attachment.

[0026] Furthermore, the bulging portion 10A can be obtained not only by welding the cup member as described above, but also by forming (pressing into a bulging shape) the neck 5 during the manufacturing stage.

[0027] The upper octave arm 21A is provided at its tip with a pad tray 22A to which a pad 23A can be detachably attached. The upper octave arm 21A is configured so that the upper octave tone hole 11A is closed via the pad 23A by swinging the pad tray 22A toward the neck 5.

[0028] Like the upper octave tone hole 11A, the lower octave tone hole 11B is formed so as to penetrate a bulge 10B provided at a predetermined position on the second tube 4. The lower octave tone hole 11B according to this embodiment has a hollow, generally cylindrical shape.

[0029] Bulging portion 10B has a hollow dome shape and is provided so as to bulge outward at a predetermined position on second tube 4. Lower octave tone hole 11B is configured to be opened and closed by the operation of lower octave arm 21B, which is supported so as to be able to swing freely on second tube 4. Bulging portion 10B can be provided on second tube 4 in a manner similar to the method for providing bulging portion 10A on neck 5, as described above.

[0030] Like the upper octave arm 21A, the lower octave arm 21B is provided at its tip with a pad tray 22B to which a pad 23B can be detachably attached. The lower octave arm 21B is configured so that the lower octave tone hole 11B is closed via the pad 23B by swinging the pad tray 22B toward the second tube 4.

[0031] As shown in Figure 2, the upper and lower octave arms 21A, 21B are each configured to swing by operating the key link system 20. The key link system 20 itself is similar to that of known alto saxophones (for example, prior art document (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open Publication No. 54-130414)), so a detailed explanation will be omitted; however, in this embodiment as well, the upper and lower octave arms 21A, 21B can each be swung by pressing the octave lever 24 attached to the second tube 4.

[0032] Specifically, in this embodiment, when the octave lever 24 is pressed, only one of the upper and lower octave arms 21A, 21B swings in conjunction with other keys (for example, opening the desired tone hole 8). In other words, when one of the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B is opened, the other is automatically closed, so to speak.

[0033] As a result, in this embodiment, as with the well-known alto saxophone, (1) When the octave lever 24 is not pressed, the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A and 11B are both closed, so the standard first octave sound is produced. (2) When the octave lever 24 is pressed and only the lower octave tone hole 11B is open, for example, in the case of an alto saxophone, the notes F (Re) to B (So#) of the second octave, which is one note higher than the first octave, are produced. (3) By pressing the octave lever 24, when only the upper octave tone hole 11A is open, for example, in an alto saxophone, the note next to B, C (La) in the second octave, is produced. It looks like this.

[0034] Here, the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B according to this embodiment will be compared with conventional octave tone holes for explanation.

[0035] As shown in Figure 7(a), a conventional octave tone hole 111 is constructed by utilizing the internal space of a pipe member 112. The pipe member 112 is inserted into a through-hole formed in a substantially dome-shaped cover member 110, and is attached to the body of the alto saxophone (the second tube 4 and neck 5) via the cover member 110.

[0036] The inner diameter of the pipe member 112 is approximately 1 mm to 2 mm for the upper octave tone holes, and approximately 2.3 to 2.8 mm for the lower octave tone holes.

[0037] The length of the pipe member 112 is generally about 5 mm for the upper octave tone holes, but can be 10 mm or longer for the lower octave tone holes. Therefore, when attached to the body of the alto saxophone, the pipe member 112 is positioned so that it protrudes from the inner wall of the body. This protrusion tends to be about 1 mm for the upper octave tone holes, but even longer for the lower octave tone holes.

[0038] This is because when air is blown into the mouthpiece 7, the water vapor contained in the breath condenses inside the tube (the second tube 4, the neck 5, etc.) and forms a water film on the inner wall surface, and this prevents the octave tone holes 111, 211 from being blocked by the inflow of this water film.

[0039] However, if the pipe member 112 protrudes from the inner wall surface of the tube body, a problem occurs in that the so-called swab is clogged when cleaning the inside of the tube body, and since the pipe member 112 is an extremely thin tube, it may bend and become broken or damaged.

[0040] In contrast to this, the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B according to this embodiment are formed by directly penetrating the walls of the bulging portions 10A, 10B or the second fin 4, as described above (see FIGS. 3 and 5). That is, in the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B, the open ends on the inner wall surface side of the tubular body are positioned so as not to protrude from said inner wall surface, so that problems such as clogging of the swab or damage to parts, etc., do not occur when cleaning the tubular body.

[0041] Furthermore, since the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B according to this embodiment are holes (thickness-less holes) formed in the bulging portions 10A, 10B, which have a relatively thin wall (see FIG. 3), even if the insides are blocked with a film of water, the film of water can be easily blown away by the breath blown into the tube body. Therefore, the woodwind instrument 1 according to this embodiment does not suffer from the adverse effect that occurs when the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are blocked with a film of water, i.e., the problem of being unable to raise the octave of the sound (the above-mentioned problem of being unable to change the sound of the first octave to a sound of the second octave or higher).

[0042] In addition to the conventional octave tone holes shown in FIG. 7(a), there are also those shown in FIG. 7(b).

[0043] As shown in Figure 7(b), the octave tone hole 211 of this embodiment is not made of the pipe member 112 as shown in Figure 7(a), but is formed by penetrating a cover member 210. The cover member 210 is arranged so that the end of the cover member 210 on the inner wall surface side of the tubular body protrudes from the inner wall surface.

[0044] In the embodiment shown in Figure 7(b), no pipe member is used, so there is no problem such as the pipe member bending when cleaning the inside of the tube. However, as in the embodiment shown in Figure 7(a), the cover member 210 protrudes from the inner wall surface of the tube, so the swab is prone to clogging.

[0045] Furthermore, in this configuration, the protruding area of ​​the cover member 210 within the tube body increases, making it more likely that the cover member 210 will obstruct the flow of air, which may affect the quality of the performance (air flow).

[0046] In contrast to this, in the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B according to this embodiment, there is nothing protruding from the inner wall surface of the tube body, so there is no problem of a decrease in the quality of playing.

[0047] In this regard, the inventor played a woodwind instrument 1 provided with upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B and confirmed that the sound (performance quality) of the first octave as described above, as well as the sound (performance quality) of the second octave and above, was in no way inferior to that of a conventional alto saxophone.

[0048] In the above embodiment, the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are formed in a hollow, generally cylindrical shape, but this is not limiting. For example, as shown in Figure 4(a), the bulges 10A, 10B may be formed to taper gradually toward the openings (tops) so that the thickness of the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B is minimized. Alternatively, as shown in Figures 4(b) and 4(c), the convex side (outer wall surface) or concave side (inner wall surface) may be tapered.

[0049] This configuration reduces the thickness of water films that may form on the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B, making it possible to more reliably blow them away with air blown into the tube. From the perspective of efficiently blowing away water films, this configuration is particularly effective when the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are formed in the relatively thick bulges 10A, 10B. It goes without saying that this configuration is also effective when the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are formed in the thin bulges 10A, 10B.

[0050] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are formed in the bulging portions 10A, 10B, respectively, but as shown in Figure 5, they can also be formed directly in the wall of the linearly formed tube body (second tube 4, neck 5).

[0051] In this case, the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are not limited to being formed in a hollow, generally cylindrical shape (see FIG. 5). In order to minimize the thickness of the holes of these octave tone holes 11A, 11B, the tube body may be formed so as to gradually taper toward the opening (see FIG. 6(a)). It is also possible to form the outer wall surface or the inner wall surface in a tapered shape (see FIGS. 6(b) and 6(c)).

[0052] Even with this configuration, the same effect can be obtained as when the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are formed in the bulging portions 10A, 10B (see Figures 3 and 4). From the viewpoint of efficiently blowing away water films, it is preferable to adopt this configuration regardless of the thickness of the wall of the tube body.

[0053] As described above, the woodwind instrument 1 according to this embodiment is a woodwind instrument 1 that includes a tube body (second tube 4 and neck 5) having upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B that can change the octave of the sound, and a key link system 20 that opens and closes the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B, and the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are formed in such a way that the open ends on the inner wall surface side of the tube body do not protrude from the inner wall surface (see Figures 3 and 5).

[0054] With this configuration, in this embodiment, when cleaning the inside of the tube, problems such as clogging of the swab and damage to the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B do not occur, and there is no deterioration in the quality of playing (air flow). As a result, this embodiment makes it possible to easily clean the inside of the tube and improve the quality of playing.

[0055] Furthermore, in the woodwind instrument 1 according to this embodiment, the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are formed solely by through-holes that penetrate the walls of the tube body (the second tube 4 and the neck 5).

[0056] With this configuration, the present embodiment does not require a conventional pipe member (see FIG. 7(a)), and therefore the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B can be easily formed.

[0057] Furthermore, in the woodwind instrument 1 according to this embodiment, the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are formed in a tapered shape (see FIGS. 4 and 6).

[0058] With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B (thickness of the hole at the smallest diameter portion) in this embodiment. As a result, the thickness of any water film that may form on the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B can be reduced, making it possible to more reliably blow it away with breath blown into the tube.

[0059] In addition, the woodwind instrument 1 according to this embodiment has bulging portions 10A and 10B in the wall of the tube body (second tube 4 and neck 5) that bulge outward, and the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A and 11B are provided in the bulging portions 10A and 10B, respectively (see Figure 3, etc.).

[0060] With this configuration, this embodiment can have an external shape similar to that of a conventional octave tone hole (see FIGS. 3 and 7). Therefore, this embodiment can be directly applied to a conventional alto saxophone by attaching the bulges 10A and 10B to the wall of the tube without processing (for example, bending) or replacing the upper and lower octave arms 21A and 21B. As a result, this embodiment can be made highly versatile.

[0061] In the above embodiments, the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are applied to an alto saxophone, but the present invention can also be applied to other saxophones (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone).Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to instruments other than saxophones as long as the instrument has a structure in which the octave effect can be obtained by opening the octave tone holes.

[0062] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are formed by penetrating the wall of the tubular body (see, for example, FIGS. 3 and 5). However, they can also be formed by inserting a ring-shaped (annular) member into the penetrating portion, provided that it does not protrude from the inner wall surface of the tubular body. Examples of such ring-shaped members include a ring-shaped member made of wire or the above-described pipe member 112 (see FIG. 7(a)) thinly cut in the radial direction. Furthermore, the octave tone holes 111, 211 (see FIG. 7), which are exemplified as conventional octave tone holes, can also achieve the same effect as the present invention by shortening the length of the cover members 110, 210 so that they do not protrude from the inner wall surface of the tubular body.

[0063] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the upper and lower octave tone holes 11A, 11B are formed to have a substantially circular shape in a plan view (see FIG. 3, etc.), but they can also be formed to have other shapes, for example, a polygonal or star shape.

[0064] The above-described embodiments do not limit the present invention, and modifications that do not deviate from the spirit of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

[0065] Furthermore, the structure, method, and the like of the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0066] For example, it is possible to combine two or more components into one, or conversely, it is possible to configure one component from two or more separate components and connect them together.

[0067] Furthermore, each of the above embodiments is merely one of the best modes currently available. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 1: Woodwind instruments 2: Bell 3: Ichiban tube 4: Second tube (body) 5: Neck (body) 6: Lead 7: Mouthpiece 8: Tone hole 9: Pad tray 10A,10B:Bulging part 11A: Upper octave tone hole (sound hole) 11B: Lower octave tone hole (sound hole) 20: Key link system (opening and closing mechanism) 21A: Upper octave arm 21B: Lower octave arm 22A, 22B: Pad tray 23A, 23B: Tampon 24: Octave lever 110, 210: Cover member 111,211: Octave tone hole 112: Pipe member

Claims

1. A woodwind instrument comprising a tube having a tone hole capable of changing the octave of a sound, and an opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the tone hole, A woodwind instrument, wherein the tone hole is formed in such a way that the open end on the inner wall surface side of the tube does not protrude from the inner wall surface.

2. 2. The woodwind instrument according to claim 1, wherein the tone holes are constituted solely by through-holes that penetrate the wall of the tube body.

3. 3. The woodwind instrument according to claim 2, wherein the tone holes are tapered.

4. The wall of the pipe has a bulging portion that bulges outward, 4. The woodwind instrument according to claim 1, wherein the tone holes are provided in the bulging portion.

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