Saxophones

The saxophone is undoubtedly one of the most distinct and common woodwind instruments. They became popular through jazz and rock music in the nineteenth century and stayed relevant even to this day.

It was a French man named Adolphe Sax who invented the saxophone In 1846. The name “Saxophone”, therefore comes from his name. Adolphe tried to create an instrument similar to the clarinet but with a body like a cone. Originally, he made fourteen different saxophones that played different octaves. However, only six out of them are used by musicians today. Around the beginning of the 20th century, Rudy Weidoeft, who was a famous sax player, made the instrument mainstream in the United States. Read this article to find out more about them. Having a better understanding of them will help you make the right choices while shopping for them.

Common types of saxophones

Technically, almost all saxophones in the world are made of brass. Yet they are considered to be in the woodwind family. This can be confusing at first if you consider the fact that every other woodwind instrument is made of wood. However, in the case of saxophones, they are considered to be woodwind because they use a reed and not a brass mouthpiece. Traditionally, saxophone bodies would be brass, bronze, copper or nickel. But modern saxophone makers have been experimenting with other new materials, such as various kinds of plastics or even carbon fibre. Here is a list of the four most common types of saxophones.

Bass

A typical bass saxophone will be around four feet tall. This is the instrument in the saxophone family that produces the lowest notes. Even though there is contrabass and sub contrabass, they are extremely rare. Because of its large size, bass saxophones require a lot of lung capacity to be played correctly. So, this might not be easy for beginner students to play. These days, bass saxophones are waning in popularity though. You will see them only in big jazz performances. While the largest saxophones in existence are subcontrabass, bass saxophones take up the third place after contrabasses.

Baritone

This is the most widely used saxophone in today’s music. When it comes to size, baritones are a foot shorter than basses. Depending on the model and the material, a baritone will weigh anywhere between twelve pounds and thirty-five pounds. Even though it is smaller and lighter than basses, beginner players will find it difficult to hold while playing. Baritones are popular in various different music genres, including rock, jazz and country. Baritones provide a nice balance between the bass and clarity of the notes. However, this is not something beginners might want to play with as they need to develop their embouchure and breathe control before taking it up.

Tenor

Tenors are shorter and lighter than baritones, and also it provides a middle way between the high notes of altos and the more developed skills required by baritones. This is why most students of saxophone start with tenors. The convenient size of tenors makes it convenient to hold while both sitting down and standing up. Tenors have a crisper sound than baritones but still, keep a little bit of bass. You will see tenors in most jazz performances, rock concerts, and military parades. People like Clarence Clemons, John Coltrane, and Coleman Hawkins were well known for their amazing tenor performances.

Alto

Basically, altos are saxophones that produce higher octaves than tenors. There are others like sopranos and sopranino that can produce higher octaves than altos; both of those are not as common as altos. One of the reasons for this is that it is incredibly hard to master the soprano or the soprano. The learning curve of altos is a bit steeper than tenors but still manageable if you are dedicated. The tonal characteristics of altos are most suited for playing melodies. You will be easily able to tell apart the sound of altos from other instruments because of their clear and crisp sound.