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About
Saxophones
We thought you might like to know a little about the instruments we play.
Saxophones have only been around for just over a hundred years - they were
invented at the end of the nineteenth century by a Belgian gentleman called
Adolphe Saxe; hence the name. There are at least eight different sizes of
saxophone, ranging from the cute little sopranino to the gigantic contra bass
but the four we play in the quartet are the only ones you are likely to see
these days. The picture below shows a few of the many saxophones the
Salamanders can gather together. Note the single, rather lonely clarinet in the
middle.
Soprano
The soprano is the highest
sax in a quartet; you will usually hear the soprano carrying the tune. By far
the most difficult sax to play, it can be a little monkey to keep in tune. It is
probably the least commonly seen sax but makes a really beautiful sound when
played by someone who knows what they are doing. It comes in two shapes - the
rather unusual curved soprano and the straight version.
Alto
The alto is the sax you
will see taking the lead in a big band. Flexible and very versatile, if it was
good enough for Charlie Parker and Paul Desmond, it is good enough for us.
Tenor
The tenor is the sax which
most people think of when the word "saxophone" is mentioned. It has a
distinctively smooth, almost smoky tone . Where would jazz be without all of
those sensuous tenor solos?
Baritone
The grand daddy of the
group. It has a really rich bass sound (Leonard Bernstein of "West Side Story"
fame swore by them) but can also belt out the brassy bits with the best of them.
No more difficult to play than an alto or tenor; the thing weighs a ton and does
odd things to the spine of its long suffering player.
Some facts about
saxophones for anyone who might be vaguely interested...
Saxophones are classed as "woodwind" instruments even though they are made out
of brass. This is because of the way they are played - with a reed made of
bamboo - rather than a cup which you make a disgusting noise into; the preferred
method for "proper" brass instruments like trumpets and trombones.
The four different sizes of saxophones have characteristic shapes which help you
to recognize them if you see one on its own. Look for the tenor's "swan neck"
and the baritone's loop of piping at the top. The animation below shows four
saxes (it starts with a curved soprano and works down to a baritone) scaled to
the same size. P.S.... if nothing moves in either of the 'photos below try
reloading the page (click on the link on the left) and look again BEFORE you
play any of the sound clips.
Saxophones are "transposing" instruments - the note you read on the page isn't
the note which comes out of the bell. This can be very irritating for composers
and arrangers but it is a comfort for players who only have to learn one set of
fingerings for the whole range of instruments. Sopranos and tenors are "in B
flat" - the note you hear is a tone below the note you see (give or take an
octave). Altos and baritones are "in E flat"- the you hear is minor third above
the note you see (again, give or take an octave or two).
All saxophones have the same keys (OK; most baritones have an extra note at the
bottom). This means that (theoretically) if you play one, you can play them all.
They all have their peculiarities, however. A soprano is a devil to keep in
tune, especially on the top notes. An alto player is often expected to read
notes in the stratosphere. A baritone player will spend quite a lot of time
bumbling about in the lower reaches of the instrument - a feat which would turn
the other members of the quartet an interesting shade of grey. Nothing like the
colour a baritone player goes if he is asked to play right at the top of the
instrument, though. Tenor players can do it all (or so they claim).
The range of all the saxes is the same on the page...
...and this is what happens
when you blow...
And one final thought -
have you ever wondered what saxophones eat? I can now reveal the final, unlikely
truth - they are froggivorous..
Only kidding - everyone
that knows saxophones eat the small screws which hold music stands together.
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