Saxophone

General info:

The saxophone is a woodwind instrument, despite being made out of brass. It is played through a single reed. There are many variants in the saxophone family, most notably the alto, tenor, baritone and soprano saxophones. A saxophone player is refered to as a saxophonist.

History:

Romantic saxophones

The origins of the modern saxophone dates back to the Romantic era. The idea was first conceived by Belgian insrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1841. While working in his father's instrument shop in Brussels, Sax began developing an instrument that posesses both the projection of a brass instrument and the dexterity of a woodwind instrument. Sax had earlier improved the keyworks of both the bass clarinet and the ophicleide (brass instrument). These prior experiences allowed him to develop the skills required to construct the first saxophones. The result was a single reed instrument with the conical brass body of an ophicleide and the acoutic properties of the French horn and clarinet. Sax continued to develop different variants of the saxophones and received a 15-year patent for the instrument in 1846

The patent expired in 1866, and many instrument manufacturers have tried to improve upon the saxophone's design and keywork. Most notably , a French manufacturer extended the bell slightly and added another key to extend the instrument's range downwards to Bb. This keywork improvement is still widely in use today.

Twentieth-century saxophones

The original saxophone keywork is based on Triebert system 3 oboe for the left hand and the Boehm clarinet for the right. However, this was very simplistic and made playingl egato passages and wide intervals very difficult, due to the erratic fingering system. Numerous developers have included additional keys and alternate fingerings to make playing less arduous.

The early saxophones had two separate octave vents to enable playing in the high register like modern ones. However, Sax's original design included two separate keys operated by the left thumb. One significant improvement was the development of a methos whereby the left thumb operates both tone holes and an octave key. This design is now universal in modern saxophones.

In the 1950s, M. Houvenaghel of Paris redeveloped the mechanics to allow a few notes (C#, B, A, G, F, Eb) to be flattened by a semitone simply by lowering the right middle finger. However, this keywork is no longer in use because of it was not a popular choice amongst the saxophonists.

Range:

Due to the wide array of saxophone variants, the range differs for each one. The lowest note that can be reached in a Bb, and is often done so through a subcontrabass saxophone. The highest note is an Eb, achieved by a sopranissimo saxophone.

Role:

Sax had originally designed the saxophone to be used in military bands. French and Belgian military bands were the forerunners in this - they took full advantage of the instrument and included a quartet of E♭ baritone, B♭ tenor, E♭ alto and B♭ soprano

saxophones.

Nowadays, the saxophone's smooth, sentimental and singing tone quality has caused the instrument to be used in jazz bands. It often appears as a solo instrument with a rhythm section, either alone or with other lead instruments (typically, other saxophones, trumpets or trombones).

The saxophone has also been included in symphonic bands. Many musical scores include parts for the saxophone, sometimes doubling another woodwind or brass instrument. In this way, the sax serves as a middle point between other woodwinds and the brass section, helping to blend the two sections.

Foreign names:

Saxophon ---- German

Saxophone ---- French

Sassofono ---- Italian

Famous pieces: