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I published this short addendum to my book, Playing The Akai EWI5000 Electronic Wind Instrument, to accommodate visually impaired saxophonists who use screen readers. I provide here purely textual descriptions of the EWI’s saxophone fingerings and instructions on how to configure the EWI to emulate the saxophone.
I begin by describing the various bits on the body of the EWI, referring exclusively to their touch and feel, and without resort to their appearance. I, then, provide the factory-reset instructions, to ensure that the instrument is in a playable state. Next, I enumerate all the saxophone fingerings, including the alternate fingerings, that the EWI supports. Finally, I describe the quirks and the features of the EWI’s silicone mouthpiece.
The main goal of this document is to enable a visually impaired, experienced saxophonist to begin playing the EWI in its factory set-up, as quickly as practicable. To keep things simple initially, I suggest using a pair of earphones equipped with a 3.5 mm stereo jack, instead of attempting to set up the EWI’s built-in wireless audio capability.
The EWI5000 is similar in size to a soprano saxophone—about an arm’s length. But it is constructed as a rectangular, plastic tube. The front side of the body has 13 metal touch sensors and 2 plastic side keys. The touch sensors support different note fingerings. The side keys are menu-up and menu-down buttons that enable navigating among the EWI’s onboard menus, as well as increase or decrease the set-up parameter value under each menu. The back side of the instrument has several touch sensors, buttons, knobs, and switches, as well as a 3.5 mm stereo earphones jack, a five-pin MIDI DIN connector, and a two-digit LED display. The 13 touch keys are discussed later in the fingerings section. In this section, I describe the other components, starting at the bell (bottom) end and moving up toward the mouthpiece (top) end.
At the bottom end of the instrument, there is a shallow, rectangular cavity that houses a USB Type B connector and a 6.35 mm audio output jack. The earphones jack and the MIDI connector are located one below the other, about a hand’s width above the bottom end.
To find the earphones jack, anchor the right-hand little finger in the bottom cavity and slide the right thumb upward along the centre line of the flat, back side of the instrument body. As the thumb glides up, the first port it encounters, the small one, is the earphones jack, and the large one above it is the five-pin, MIDI output jack.
Above the MIDI output jack, there is a flat space about two fingers’ width in size. In that space are 1 slide switch and 1 round button, and above them are 4 oval buttons arranged in a two-by-two grid.
The oval buttons provide access to sound effects and patches, via the onboard menus. The top-left oval button is the sound effects button. Pressing and holding it switches the EWI from the playing mode into the sound effects set-up mode. The first menu that comes up is the reverb menu, which sets the reverb level. Clicking the menu-up button once while holding down the sound effects oval button navigates to the chorus menu, and another menu-up click navigates to the delay menu. To alter the reverb, chorus, or delay amount, first release the sound effects oval button after having navigated to one of the effects menus, then use the menu-up and menu-down buttons. The default reverb level is 33%, and the default chorus and delay levels are 0%. Once the desired effect level has been set, click the sound effects oval button once more to switch the EWI back into the playing mode. Pressing and holding the top-right oval button switches the EWI into master volume adjustment mode. The master volume level can be changed using the menu-up and menu-down buttons, while holding down the master volume oval button. Release the master volume oval button to switch the EWI back into the playing mode.
The bottom-left oval button selects one of the two patch banks—the pre-set bank containing 100 built-in patches and the user bank containing 100 empty patch slots. The bottom-right oval button saves the currently selected built-in patch, along with its customised effects, into a designated empty patch slot. The EWI’s patch memory slots are used in the same way as a typical keyboard synthesiser: select a patch, tweak it, then save it into an empty memory slot. Say, the EWI player wishes to use the tenor-1 saxophone patch and the B3 organ patch during a performance. The tenor-1 is the third built-in patch, and the B3 is the fifty first built-in patch. The player cannot switch between these two patches with adequate haste during the performance. But by saving the tenor-1 patch into the first user slot and the B3 patch into the second user slot in advance, he can switch quickly between the two patches during the performance.
Customising built-in patches and saving them is a daunting task for the visually impaired. To select a built-in patch, select the pre-set bank, first. But since the EWI emits no aural feedback when switching banks, the only way to identify the currently active bank is by playing two adjacent patches in each bank, then recognising which pair belongs in which bank. The 100 built-in patches pose a challenge. Once the pre-set bank has been identified aurally and selected, navigate to the desired built-in patch. Here, the visually impaired player encounters another hurdle: the patch selection menu wraps around when the player selects past the end in either up or down direction, so there is no way to start from a known patch then count up or down. Instead, he must play and aurally recognise the selected built-in patch, then navigate to the desired patch by counting the menu-up or menu-down clicks. Next, the player may elect to tweak the sound effects, filters, oscillators, attack, sustain, and many other sound parameters associated with the patch. These parameters are accessible via the onboard menus, as well as in the accompanying sound editor software. The software is undoubtedly the proper tool of choice for this task. When the customised patch is ready to be save, switch to the user bank, aurally recognise the currently selected user patch, navigate to a neighbouring empty slot, and click the patch save oval button.
Below the four oval buttons and on the left side of the body is the slide switch that turns the wireless transmitter on or off. This switch is partially recessed into the body, but its top is cut with friction ridges, so it is easy to find. When it is in the up position, the transmitter is turned on. Keep the transmitter switch in the down (off) position for now, since we are using the earphones. The round button immediately to the right is the power switch. To turn on the EWI, hold the neck with the left hand, hold the bell with the right hand, then press and hold the power button with the right index finger for a couple of seconds, then release. Do not touch the metal bits, in order to avoid interfering with power-on calibration of the touch sensors. To power off the EWI, use the power button in the same way. Again, the EWI provides no aural feedback, when powering on or off. The only way to ensure that the instrument is indeed turned off is by blowing into the mouthpiece and check if the earphones emit a sound.
Directly above the oval button array is the square metal plate guarded by two plastic bumps, one immediately below and one immediately above the plate. The metal plate is the ground plate. The right thumb must be placed on this ground plate, to allow the EWI to sense reliably the right-hand touch keys.
The 45-degree angled sides of the plastic guards house metal touch sensors. The top sensor bends the pitch of the note up, and the bottom sensor bends the note down. So, do not touch these pitch-bend sensors with the right thumb, when holding the instrument. Unlike on the real saxophone, the EWI has no resting hook for the right thumb.
Note that the pitch of the note can be bent up by gently applying pressure on the EWI’s silicone mouthpiece. The mouthpiece houses a bite pressure sensor. The mouthpiece is also connected via a tube to a breath pressure sensor down in the body of the instrument. Modulating pressure on the bite sensor produces a nuanced vibrato, which is more natural than that which is produced by the thumb-operated pitch bend sensors. Moreover, having to operate the pitch bend sensors with the right thumb disturbs the right-hand position. Hence, it is preferable to disable these pitch bend sensors, and use the top sensor as the right thumb rest. This can be done using the configuration software included with the EWI5000.
The top plastic guard of the ground plate—the thumb rest, as it were—has a slightly protruding metal screw atop it. Touching and holding this screw switches the EWI from the playing mode into the patch-selection mode. The menu-up and menu-down buttons can be used to select a patch, while a finger is touching the patch-selection screw. Releasing the screw switches the instrument back into the playing mode.
In the mid-section of the instrument’s back side, just above the thumb rest, there is a metal loop for the neck strap. The neck strap supplied with the EWI5000 is of a poor quality, and it has an open hook. So, use a soprano saxophone neck strap, a proper one with a locking hook.
There are 8 metal rollers on the back side of the body, directly opposite the G, A, and B keys on the front side. These rollers are guarded by two triangle-shaped protrusions. The whole roller assembly is about a hand’s width. Each pair of rollers function as a touch sensor. Placing the left thumb in between an adjacent pair of rollers selects a particular octave. Octave switching is accomplished by gliding the left thumb up and down. To aid smooth gliding, the octave sensors are built as rollers, instead of switches.
The third and the fourth octave rollers are knurled. These 2 knurled rollers are located about where the octave key is on the real saxophone. The 8 octave rollers and the 13 touch keys endow the EWI with a tonal range greater than seven octaves, the same range as a piano.
There are two thin, long metal strips surrounding the rollers, one on the left and one on the right. The left-side strip is the ground strip, which must be touched by the left thumb. The ground strip allows the EWI to sense reliably the left-hand touch keys. The right-side metal strip is the portamento switch. When the left thumb tip touches this right-side strip, the instrument produces portamento note transitions.
Between the octave rollers and the mouthpiece is the neck of the EWI. On the back side of the neck, there is a depression about the width of two fingers. A two-digit LED display and two oval buttons are located there. The two oval buttons below allow access to the onboard menus. But because the onboard menus must be navigated in reference to the LED display, however, these buttons are as useless to the unsighted as the display. But there are a couple of useful menus that can be accessed by touch and be navigated by counting key clicks. We shall discuss these menus later, when we configure the EWI to emulate the saxophone.
Above the LED display, there is a group of 8 knobs hidden behind a snap-on, plastic cap. These knobs control reverb, delay, and other audio effects for the currently selected patch. They should be left in the centre of the travel range, for the time being.
To ensure that we start the set-up procedure from a sensible baseline, we shall perform a factory-reset. Note, though, that restoring the EWI to its factory set-up will discard all prior adjustments made thereto, so proceed with care. Perform a factory-reset, as follows:
To approximate the saxophone behaviour on the EWI, we must set up the instrument to use the saxophone fingering mode, tune it to B♭ or E♭, and select a saxophone patch from the 8 available ones. These tasks can be performed using the EWI5000 Sound Editor programme included with the instrument, or through the onboard menus. Since this document is a quick set-up guide, I shall describe the methods that use the onboard menus.
After a factory-reset, the EWI returns to its default, EWI fingering mode, which is a decent approximation of saxophone fingering. But the instrument also supports a saxophone-specific fingering mode, which provides alternate fingerings for some notes for speed and convenience during performance. To select the saxophone fingering mode, do the following:
After a factory-rest, the EWI returns to the concert tuning. To tune the EWI to B♭ or E♭, do the following:
The EWI5000’s built-in synthesiser supports 100 different patches. The first 8 patches are dedicated to the saxophone. The first pair of patches are alto-1 and alto-2, the second pair are tenor-1 and tenor-2, the third pair are bari-1 and bari-2, and the fourth pair are soprano-1 and soprano-2. After a factory-reset, the EWI returns to the alto-1 patch. To select a different patch, do the following:
The metallic touch sensors on the front side of the body approximate the saxophone keys. There are 6 round keys, 3 in the lower stack for the right hand (D, E, and F keys) and 3 in the upper stack for the left hand (G, A, and B keys), much like the saxophone. The bis key, too, is sandwiched between the A key and the B key, like on the saxophone, but it is crescent shaped. There is no front F key above the B key, and there are no palm keys on the left side.
Whereas the saxophone requires the right-hand little finger to operate only two keys, the EWI has 3 straight, metal tabs for the right-hand little finger. These right-pinkie tabs protrude slight from the right side of the body, just below the D key. These tabs are about where the low C key and the low E♭ key are located on the saxophone. Of the three pinkie tabs, the bottom one is the EWI’s low C tab, the middle is the low D♭ tab, and the top is the low E♭ tab. Some fingerings require the right pinkie to touch both the low C tab and the low D♭ tab. Further up, just above the F key, is the B♭ tab, which is operated by the side of the right index finger. This tab is located about where the right-side high F key is on the saxophone.
The EWI has 2 straight tabs for the left-hand little finger. These tabs protrude slightly from the left side of the body, just below the G key. The longer, lower one is the B tab, and the shorter, upper one is the G# tab.
Acoustics and mechanics demand the saxophone to use 4 left pinkie keys and 2 right pinkie keys to produce a set of notes. The EWI, however, employs the 2 left pinkie tabs and the 3 right pinkie tabs to produce those same notes.
To place the right hand in the playing position, find the strap loop with the right thumb, glide the thumb down onto the ground plate, then wrap the right fingers round the body to place them on the D, E, and F keys on the front side of the body. To place the left hand in the playing position, find the strap loop with the left thumb, glide the thumb up into the gap between the two knurled octave rollers, then wrap the left fingers round the body to place them on the G, A, and B keys on the front side of the body. After a few minutes of playing, the hands will naturally go to their respective positions by muscle memory.
Note that the EWI is held in the same way as the soprano saxophone—approximately 45-degree downward angle, supported by the lips, the thumbs, and the neck strap.
The EWI5000 wind controller supports approximations of flute, saxophone, oboe, and trumpet fingering modes. But because the instrument is designed to resemble a soprano saxophone, it operates most naturally in the saxophone fingering mode.
The EWI’s octave rollers allow the player to use the same fingerings in all seven octaves. To play the home octave, place the left thumb in between the two knurled octave rollers. But first, we shall name the 13 keys, from the bottom to the top:
Right hand (bottom) stack comprises the following keys:
Left hand (top) stack comprises the following keys:
The following are all the primary and the alternate fingerings supported by the EWI’s saxophone fingering mode. Each fingering is presented the right hand first, then the left hand.
Low C tab + Low D♭ tab — D key — E key — F key
Low B tab — G key — A key — B key
This low B♭ fingering produces the same note as the high B♭ fingering with a shifted-down left thumb.
Low C tab — D key — E key — F key
Low B tab — G key — A key — B key
This low B fingering produces the same note as the high B fingering with a shifted-down left thumb.
Low C tab + Low D♭ tab — D key — E key — F key
G key — A key — B key
This low B alternate fingering produces the same note as the high B fingering with a shifted-down left thumb.
Low C tab — D key — E key — F key
G key — A key — B key
This low C fingering produces the same note as the high C fingering with a shifted-down left thumb.
Low D♭ tab — D key — E key — F key
Low B tab — G key — A key — B key
This low C alternate fingering produces the same note as the high C fingering with a shifted-down left thumb.
Low C tab — D key — E key — F key
G# tab — G key — A key — B key
Low D♭ tab — D key — E key — F key
G key — A key — B key
D key — E key — F key
G key — A key — B key
Low E♭ tab — D key — E key — F key
G key — A key — B key
E key — F key
G key — A key — B key
F key
G key — A key — B key
E key
G key — A key — B key
Right hand off
G key — A key — B key
Right hand off
G# tab — G key — A key — B key
Right hand off
A key — B key
B♭ tab
A key — B key
F key
B key
off
Bis crescent — B key
Right hand off
B key
Right hand off
A key
Right hand off
Left hand off
This high D♭ fingering produces the same note as the low D♭ fingering with a shifted-up left thumb.
B♭ tab
Left hand off
This high D fingering produces the same note as the low D fingering with a shifted-up left thumb.
The mouthpiece is constructed from silicone rubber. It houses the bite sensor, and is connected via a silicone tube to a breath sensor inside the body. Together, these two sensors adequately approximate the various saxophone expressions like tonguing, dynamics, vibrato, and so on.
Whereas the saxophone mouthpiece is sharp and hard, the EWI mouthpiece is rounded and soft. But tonguing is accomplished the same way as on the saxophone, and likewise the dynamics. To produce vibrato, apply pressure on the mouthpiece, either with the lips or the teeth. Note, though, that the EWI’s mouthpiece does not respond to saxophone embouchure techniques. So, only upward pitch-bend is possible, using the bite sensor.
The different mouthpiece design and its unique response may present some challenges to an experienced saxophonist, but none is insurmountable. And remember that the EWI was never designed to reproduce the feel of a real-life wind instrument, and that it is a unique musical instrument in its own right with its own set of quirks.