Saxophone Ligatures

THE BEST WAY TO HOLD A REED ON

What does a ligature do?

A ligature clamps the reed to the mouthpiece. Think of this a bit like when you hold a ruler on the edge of a table and flick the bit sticking over so it goes "boing". You need to hold the part of the ruler firmly, or the end sticking over does not vibrate well. The same principle applies to the way a reed vibrates on a mouthpiece. Think of the ligature as the pressure that holds the butt of the reed against the table of the mouthpiece, so the blade (= the boingy bit of the ruler) can vibrate nicely.

Ligatures have developed a long way since the days when clarinetists would just wind a piece of cord or leather thong around the reed to secure it to the mouthpiece (but some people still swear by this method). These days some very sophisticated ligatures are being made by manufacturers with all kinds of claims that various enhancements can improve your sound. How much of that is true and how much is marketing hype to get you to part with your hard earned cash is open to debate, more on that later.

Most ligatures are tightened by one or two screws, either laterally (from the side) to tighten a band around the mouthpiece and reed, or from the top directly down onto the reed (as with the Otto Link type). Do not overtighten the screws, they should be tight enough to just stop the reed from slipping or to take up any slight warpage in the reed or table of the mouthpiece. Of course, there should never be any warpage of the mouthpiece table, and you should always prepare your reeds by sanding or scraping to make them flat, but sometimes a previously even reed can warp very slightly while playing, and if a ligature is tight enough it will apply pressure to flatten a slightly warped reed against the table. If the surface of the reed is not held against the table then the sound can be slightly muffled or harder to produce. You will probably notice this most often when trying to play quiet low notes.

Does a ligature affect the sound of the saxophone?

Some people consider that the type of ligature affects the sound, however this topic has been hotly debated. I’ve never noticed this as long as the ligature is a good fit for the mouthpiece and is holding the reed firmly, and neither the reed or mouthpiece table are uneven (see above). It is very important that the ligature is not too distorted or badly fitting or the tone will definitely suffer. For this reason the more flexible textile based ligatures may sound better, but only if compared to a damaged or poorly fitting metal one, as they do not get damaged by dropping them, sitting on them or most other kinds of abuse you can find for them. But the bog standard 2-screw type will sound as good as anything provided it is the right size and is in good working order.

Ligatures and Reeds with a good even surface

A reed with an even surface and a ligature which fits well. This could be either a metal lig that is correct for the mouthpiece or a fabric ligature which molds to the reed. This is ideal.

A reed with an even surface and a metal ligature which is too flat. As the reed surface is good, this will most likely be fine.

A reed with an even surface and a metal ligature which is too concave. As the reed surface is good, this also will probably be fine unless it is extremely distorted.

In the examples above, nearly every ligature will hold the reed properly against the table, allowing the tip to vibrate properly. Note that this applies only to slightly ill fitting or distorted ligatures, if they are extremely damaged, of course there will be issues.

Mouthpiece Table is Convex

The pressure to the centre might just compress the centre of the reed enough to make the surface flat against the table, but would need to be very tight and may crush the fibres of the reed..

Pressure to the edges may bend the reed around the bulge in the table, but could also considerably distort the reed nearer the tip, probably affecting the sound

Even pressure from a well fitting or fabric ligature would do a bit of both, but there may still be some distortion of the reed near the tip. But in mild cases of warpage this will be fine.

Mouthpiece Table is Concave

Pressure to the centre would bend the reed in, but would also distort it nearer the tip, so affecting the sound

Pressure to the sides will not work as the reed will never lie against the table and will not vibrate properly

Again, even pressure might just work if the sides are compressed slightly and the middle is bent inwards, but still some distortion near the tip..

So what does all this show?

In all of the last six examples, it is very much up to the shape and type of ligature whether the reed is held properly against the table, allowing the tip to vibrate properly, or whether the vibrating part of the reed gets distorted. If the mouthpiece is distorted some ligatures will be bad, some may be OK, giving the impression that ligatures have an effect on the sound generally, whereas this is only likely to be true in some cases where the mouthpiece (or reed) is out of whack.

In the first three examples, as the reed and mouthpiece work fine with very little pressure on the reed, and not much difference at which point the pressure is applied, then a differnt ligature will make no differnce to the way the reed vibrates.