Saxophone

The saxophone or sax is a conical instrument of the woodwind family, usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece like the clarinet. It was invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The saxophone is most commonly associated with popular music, big band music, and jazz, but it was originally intended as both an orchestral and military band instrument. Saxophone players are appropriately called saxophonists.

Members of the saxophone family

The saxophone was originally patented as two families, each of seven instruments. The "orchestral" family consisted of instruments in the keys of C and F, and the "military band" family in E-flat and B-flat. Each family consisted of sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass and contrabass, although some of these were never made; Sax also planned--but never made--a subcontrabass.

Related Topics:
Sopranino - Soprano - Alto - Tenor - Baritone - Bass - Contrabass - Subcontrabass

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Common saxophones

In the band family, only the soprano, alto, tenor and baritone are in common use (these form the typical saxophone sections of both military and big bands). The bass saxophone is occasionally used in band music (especially music by Percy Grainger).

Related Topics:
Soprano - Alto - Tenor - Baritone - Percy Grainger

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Nearly all players begin learning on the alto, branching out to tenor or baritone after gaining competency. The alto saxophone is the most popular among classical composers and performers; most classical saxophonists focus primarily on alto. The soprano has regained a degree of popularity over recent decades, beginning first with the work of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane in the 1960s. The soprano is often thought of as more difficult to play, or to keep in tune. A few bass, sopranino, and contrabass saxophones are still manufactured; these are mainly for collectors or novelty use, and are rarely used except in large saxophone ensembles.

Related Topics:
Jazz - John Coltrane

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Rare saxophones and novelty sizes

Of the orchestral family, only the tenor in C, soprano in C, and mezzo-soprano in F (similar to the modern alto) ever gained popularity. The tenor in C, generally known as the C melody saxophone, was very popular among amateurs in the 1920s and 1930s, because players did not need to transpose. Although the instrument was popularized by players such as Rudy Wiedoeft and Frank Trumbauer, it did not secure a permanent place in either jazz or classical music, and none has been made since 1929. The instrument is now a commonly encountered attic or garage sale relic, though since the 1980s a few contemporary saxophonists have begun to utilize the instrument once again.

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Also in the early 20th century, the C soprano (pitched a whole step above the B-flat soprano) was marketed to those who wished to perform oboe parts in military band and vaudeville arrangements. C sopranos are easy to confuse with regular (B-flat) sopranos, since they are only approximately 2 centimeters shorter in size. The mezzo-soprano in F (produced by the American firm Conn during the period 1928-1929) is extremely rare; most remaining example are in the possession of serious instrument collectors. Manufacture of the C tenor, C soprano, and F mezzo-soprano ceased in 1929. A similarly sized instrument, the contralto saxophone, was developed in the late 20th century by California instrument maker Jim Schmidt; this instrument has a larger bore and a new fingering system so it does not resemble the C melody instrument except for its key and register.

Related Topics:
Military band - Vaudeville

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Construction difficulties mean that only recently has a true sopranissimo saxophone been produced. Nicknamed the Soprillo, this piccolo-sized saxophone is an octave above the soprano, and its diminutive size necessitates an octave key on the mouthpiece.

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Related instruments

A number of saxophone-related instruments have appeared since Sax's original work, most enjoying no significant success. These include the saxello, similar to a straight soprano but with a slightly curved neck and tipped bell; the straight alto; and the straight tenor (currently made only by the L.A. Sax Company). Since a straight-bore tenor is approximately five feet long, the cumbersome size of such a design hinders both playing the horn (particularly when seated) and carrying it. King Saxellos, made by the H. N. White Company in the 1920s, now command prices up to US$4,000. A number of companies, including Rampone & Cazzani and Woodwind and Brasswind, are marketing straight-bore, tipped-bell soprano saxophones as saxellos (or "saxello sopranos").

Related Topics:
Rampone & Cazzani - Woodwind and Brasswind

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Two of these variants were championed by jazz musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who called his straight alto a stritch and his modified saxello a manzello; this unique instrument featured a larger-than-usual bell and modified keywork.

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The Tubax, developed in 1999 by the German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim, plays the same range, and with the same fingering, as the E-flat contrabass saxophone; its bore, however, is narrower than that of a contrabass saxophone, making for a more compact instrument with a "reedier" tone (akin to the double-reed contrabass sarrusophone).

Related Topics:
Tubax - Sarrusophone

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Another unusual variant of the saxophone was the Conn-O-Sax, a straight-bore instrument in F (one step above the E-flat alto) with a slightly curved neck and spherical bell. The instrument, which combined a saxophone bore and keys with a bell shaped similar to that of a heckelphone, was intended to imitate the timbre of the English horn and was produced only between 1928 and 1930. The instrument had a key range from low A to high G.

Related Topics:
Heckelphone - English horn

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Although not true saxophones, inexpensive keyless folk versions of the saxophone made of bamboo were developed in the 20th century by instrument makers in Hawaii, Jamaica, Argentina, Thailand, and Indonesia. The Hawaiian instrument, called xaphoon, is also marketed as a "bamboo sax" although its cylindrical bore more closely resembles that of a clarinet. Jamaica's best known exponent of a similar type of homemade bamboo "saxophone" was the mento musician and instrument maker Sugar Belly (William Walker). In the Minahasa region of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, there exist entire bands made up of bamboo "saxophones" and "brass" instruments of various sizes, a clever imitation (using local materials) of European instruments introduced by the Dutch during colonial times.

Related Topics:
Bamboo - Hawaii - Jamaica - Argentina - Thailand - Indonesia - Xaphoon - Mento - Minahasa - Sulawesi - Dutch

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