what is adjusted in the saxophone to correct flats or sharp pitches?

Answer 1

Woodwind instruments have to assembled before you play them (an oboe and flute have three parts, I think, while a clarinet has five) -- and one of those pieces is the mouthpiece.

The mouthpiece is where the reed is attached, if it's a reed-using instrument rather than a flute or some other woodwind.

With all of these instruments, you can change the distance the mouthpiece is pushed down on the rest of the instrument, so you have 1/2-1" of give that you can adjust.

Saxophone players thus pull their mouthpiece on/off a certain amount to "tune" up. They might have to adjust this more than once in a performance/practice, since the pitch of the instrument is actually influenced by its temperature, and it will "warm up" as you play it, making it flatter in pitch.

Also, a woodwind player, by changing how tightly their mouth is around the mouthpiece, can change pitch as they go. (Tighter muscles = sharp; looser muscles = flat). But if the whole instrument is out of tune, it's easier on the lips and more consistent in pitch for the mouthpiece to be adjusted in length.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

I believe the tail piece in front of the mouth piece can be lenthened or shortened to correct the instrument that is suffering from this ailment.