The Saxophone

Saxophone
 Commonly  Made usually
with brass
referred as
“sax”
 Played with a
 Conical-bore single-reed
transposing mouthpiece
similar to the
instrument
clarinet
 From the
woodwind
family
Foreign Names
 Italian  Sassofono

 German  Saxophon

 French  Saxophone
 Created by Antoine Sax from Belgium in 1934; it
was a bass clarinet design

-An instrument-maker
-flautist
-clarinetist
Reasons why he made
the Saxophone
 Which would
 He wanted an
overblow at the
instrument that
octave
would be the most
 To fill the vacant
powerful and vocal
in all the woodwinds middle between the
two sections
 Most adaptive of the
brass
 In 1846, Sax granted  Sax’s patent ended
patent for in 1866
saxophone  Various
 He received a 15
modifications were
year patent made, improvement,
 It encompassed of
design and facility
14 versions of the
fundamental design
into 2 groups, which
has 7 instruments
each.
Description
 The saxophone
consists of an
approximately
conical tube of thin
metal
 Most commonly
plated with gold,
silver, and nickel
flared at the tip to
form a bell.
 At intervals along the
tube are between 20
and 23 tone holes of
varying size, including
two very small 'speaker'
holes to assist the playing
of the upper register.
 These holes are covered
by keys (also known as
pad cups), containing
soft leather pads, which
are closed to produce
an airtight seal; at rest
some of the holes stand
open and others are
closed. 
 The keys are
controlled by
buttons pressed by
the fingers, while
the right thumb sits
under a thumb
rest to help keep
the saxophone
balanced.
 The fingering for the
saxophone is a
combination of that
of the oboe with the 
Boehm system, and
is very similar to
the flute or the upper
register of the
clarinet. 
 Neck - Also called the
"gooseneck", it is a metal tube
that is attached to the body
of the saxophone. It is
removable except for a
soprano saxophone
 Octave Vent and Key -
The octave vent is a
single hole and key
located on the neck of
the saxophone. Next to
that is a flat metal key
called the octave key
 Mouthpiece - Is
found on the neck of
the saxophone. A
cork is needed so
that the mouthpiece
can slide in. As you
may already know,
this is where the
musician places his
lips and blows air into
the instrument to
produce sound.
 Body - It is a conically
shaped brass tube that has
plates attached to it and
holds the rods, keys and other
parts of the saxophone. The
straight part of the body is
called the tube. The u-shaped
bottom of the sax is called the
bow. The flared part of the sax
is called the bell. The keys on
the bell are called bell keys.
The body usually has a high-
gloss brass lacquer or clear-
coat lacquer finish. Some
saxophones are either nickel,
silver or gold plated.
 Thumb Rest - It is a hook-
shaped piece of plastic or
metal where you place your
right thumb to support the sax.
 Keys - May either be made
of brass or nickel and often
some or all of the keys are
covered with mother-of-
pearls. The keys on the middle
and lower part of the bow are
called spatula keys. The keys
on the bottom right side are
called side keys
 Rods - This is one of the most
important part of the
saxophone in terms of its'
performance. So it is very
important that the rods be
strong and well maintained.
 Pads - It covers the holes of
the saxophone enabling it to
produce different sounds. The
pads must completely cover
the tone holes. They also have
a resonator to help in sound
projection.
 Sound is produced by the vibration of
the reed
 The length of the conical bore or the
amount of space between the
mouthpiece and the bell determine how
low the sound will be
 Soprano Sax
 Alto Sax
 Tenor Sax
 Baritone Sax
 Rarer Saxophones
› Bass, Conn-O-Sax, F-Baritone, C Melody
› F Mezzo Soprano, C Soprano
 Soprano Sax
› The soprano is in the key of B flat, sounds
down a M2 and one full octave higher than
the tenor.
› not recommended for beginning players
› Can have a straight neck or curved neck
 Alto Sax
› The alto saxophone is an E-flat instrument
and sounds down a M6
› medium sized saxophone and is the most
commonly played size
› most recommended horn for those just
starting on the saxophone
› curved in a backwards "J" shape but can
sometimes come in a straight model with a
slightly tipped bell
 Tenor Sax
› The tenor is in the key of B flat and sounds
down a M9
› The tenor saxophone is slightly larger than
the alto with a small bend in the neck
› the relatively large mouthpiece allows a
great range of timbers or variations in tone
quality
› personified as a jazz saxophone
 Baritone Saxophone
› The baritone is in the key of e flat and sounds
down a M6 + 8va
› baritone saxophone is the largest of the
"regular" saxophone family
 Primarily made up of brass but can be
coated by gold, silver, nickel, and
lacquer. Some are made of Silver or
possible plastic which was popular in the
1950s
 body is effectively conical, giving it
properties more similar to the oboe than
to the clarinet
 combination of four conical sections
Rarer Saxophones
 Bass Saxophone
- second largest member
of the 
saxophone family
- Similar to the baritone
sax with a loop of tubing
near the mouthpiece
- -the first type of
saxophone that was
presented to the public
- -a transposing instrument
pitched in Bflat, an
octave below the tenor
saxophone.
Conn-o-sax

 Very rare
 Very expensive
 A straight conical
bore instrument (one
step above the E-flat
alto) with a slightly
curved neck and
spherical bell
 C Melody
 Pitched in the Key of
C, one whole step
above the tenor sax
 Was part of the series
of saxophones
pitched in C and F,
intended for
orchestral use
 Larger than an alto
but smaller than a
tenor
F Mezzo Soprano

 Sometimes called
the F-Alto
saxophone
 In the key of F,
pitched a whole
step above the alto
saxophone
C Soprano
 Closely related to the
Bflat soprano
saxophone, whose
shape it resembles
 Marketed to those who
wished to perform the
oboe parts in military
band, vaudeville, etc.
 Easily confused with the
Bflat soprano sax
because of their striking
similarity, size and shape
and only 3 cm of length
difference, however, a C
soprano sax would have
usually a stamped mark
of “C” near the serial
numbers.
Sopranissimo
 Or soprillo is the smallest
of the saxophone family
 It is pitched in B♭, one
octave above the
soprano saxophone.
 Because of the
difficulties in building
such a small instrument—
the soprillo is 12 inches
long, 13 inches with the
mouthpiece—. The
keywork only extends to
a written high E♭(rather
than F like most
saxophones) and the
upper octave key has to
be placed in the
mouthpiece.
Contrabass Saxophone
 Lowest-pitched extant of
the saxophone family
 It is extremely large
(twice the length of
tubing of the 
baritone saxophone,
with a bore twice as
wide, standing 1.9
meters tall, or 6 feet four
inches) and heavy
(approximately 20
kilograms, or 45 pounds),
and is pitched in the key
of E♭, one octave below
the baritone.
Subcontrabass Saxophone
 A type of saxophone  Could have been a
that Adolphe Sax transposing
patented and instrument pitched in
planned to build but Bflat, one octave
never constructed below the bass
 Was called saxophone and two
saxophone bourdon octaves below the
(named after the tenor saxophone
lowest stop on the
pipe organ)
Tubax
 A modified saxophone
developed in 1999 by
the German instrument
maker 
Benedikt Eppelsheim. It is
available in both
E♭contrabass and B♭ or
C subcontrabass sizes. Its
name is a portmanteau
 of the words "tuba" and
"sax".
 How saxophone is made - Background, Histo
 Saxophone History Timeline
 Saxophone Sound & Tone
 Sax on the Web - The Saxophone Information
 Types of Saxophone
 YouTube - How to Play the Saxophone
 Saxophone Basics
 Introduction to saxophone acoustics
 Parts of the Saxophone