S-bow
The S-bow is the part of some woodwind instruments that connects the mouthpiece to the body. He is with saxophones , bassoons , dulcians and the deeper representatives of the oboe - and clarinet family ( amore Oboe d' , English horn , Heckelphone , Bass Pommer , basset horn , bass clarinet ) common and usually has a curved shape that gives it its name. With woodwind instruments that do not have folded tubes even in very low registers, playing is sometimes only made possible by an S-bow, especially since the S-bow allows adaptation to the body proportions of the player. Examples of this are, in addition to the low registers of the above-mentioned instruments, low recorders from bass and, obligatory, all even lower recorders and, if required, the large bass crumhorn and large bass cornamuse .
The S-bows of some instruments such as the saxophones make it easier for the player to overblow a note through an additional opening, the overblowing flap.