Saxophone’s cone shape makes it overblow an octave

Evidence

The saxophone is one example of such a designer instrument Most other instruments in wide use went through many stages of evolution, but the sax was engineered in a laboratory by Adolph Sax in Belgium to have new qualities: the loudness and projection of the brass family but the fast and flexible playing characteristics of the woodwinds. The result was a new branch on the musical tree of evolution. The saxophone is conical, with a clarinet-like single reed. Because it is a cone shape, the sax overblows by an octave—that is, the next harmonic. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1602

Categorization

• CANDY: The sax was designed in a lab, unlike evolved instruments — and its cone geometry dictates its octave overblowing.