Saxophone

The saxophone or sax is a musical instrument of the woodwind family, usually made of brass and with a distinctive loop bringing the bell upwards. It was invented by Adolphe Sax in the mid-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.

History

The saxophone was created in the mid-1840s by Adolphe Sax, a Belgian-born instrument-maker and clarinetist working in Paris, and was first officially revealed to the public in the patent of 1846 (which was granted to him on May 17).He made 14 different types of saxophones. Sax's amazing ability to offend rival instrument manufacturers, and unfortunate prejudice towards the man and his instruments led to it not being used in orchestral groups, and for a long time it was relegated to military bands--this despite his great friendship with the influential Parisian composer Berlioz.

The inspiration for the instrument is unknown, but there is good evidence that fitting a clarinet mouthpiece to an ophicleide is the most likely origin (doing so results in a definitely saxophone-like sound). Sax worked in his father's workshop for many years, and both clarinets and ophicleides were manufactured there. It is likely, however, that Sax's intent was in fact to invent an entirely new instrument which suited his desires both tonally and technically and possessed a new level of flexibility. This would explain why he chose to name the instrument the "voice of Sax."

The development is defined almost entirely in terms of Sax's patent. For the duration of the patent (1846–1866) no one except the Sax factory Paris could legally manufacture or modify the instruments. After 1866 many modifications were introduced by a number of manufacturers.

Construction

The saxophone is sometimes considered to be of both the woodwind and brass families. In fact it is undeniably a woodwind instrument, as the material from which it is made has less bearing on the resulting sound quality than the method by which the sound is produced; some examples are the 1950s plastic saxophones made by the Grafton company (see Materials section), and the rare wooden saxophones which have also been made.

The saxophone uses a single reed mouthpiece similar to that of a clarinet, but with a round evacuated inner chamber. The saxophone's body is effectively conical, giving it properties more similar to the oboe than to the clarinet. However, unlike the oboe, whose tube is a single cone, The loop at the bell, is now synonymous with the saxophone, has little effect on the sound, and the higher saxophones (soprano and sopranino, where the over-all length of the body is not so long as to make a straight instrument cumbersome) rarely have one at all.

With a simple fingering system, the modern saxophone is commonly considered an easy instrument to learn, especially when transferring from other woodwind instruments, though a great amount of development is required to produce a beautiful tone color.

Although not a genuine saxophone being invented by Mr. Sax, the Hungarian/Roumanian tarogato can be regarded as a soprano saxophone.

Materials

The majority of saxophones produced today are made from brass. However, several manufacturers offer additional coatings that can be applied over the brass, such as silver, gold, nickel and lacquer. These are typically designed to enhance sound quality and/or give the saxophone an interesting visual appearance. There are also a small number of saxophones being commercially produced from materials other than brass. Silver, copper and bronze are notable examples. Other materials have been tried with varying degrees of success.

Mouthpieces

Mouthpieces come in a wide variety of materials, both metal and non-metal. Non-metal mouthpieces are typically either plastic or hard rubber, sometimes wood, and rarely glass. Metal mouthpieces are believed by some to have a distinctive sound, often described as 'brighter' than non-metal. Some players believe that plastic mouthpieces do not produce a good tone. Other saxophonists maintain that the material has little, if any, effect on the sound, and that the physical dimensions give a mouthpiece its tone color. (Teal 17) Mouthpieces with a conical chamber are more true to to Adolphe Sax's original design and work very well for classical playing.

Reeds

Like clarinets, saxophones use a single reed. Saxophone reeds, though, are generally broader and shorter than clarinet reeds. They are also softer. Hardness is usually (but not always) measured using a numeric scale that ranges from 1 to 6 (though one rarely sees a reed at either end of this spectrum). Unfortunately, this scale is far from standardized, and a Rico 3 is decidedly softer than a Vandoren 3, for example. Of course, you can also make your own reeds, or shave down manufactured reeds to suit your tastes. Reeds, depending on the brand, are somewhat inconsistent, and most saxophonists deem only about half of the reeds in a given box of ten suitable for performance. A reed can last anywhere from one note to months, though they tend to last about two or three weeks(if properly maintained). The more they have been played, the easier they are to play, but, as time goes on they will become too soft and will begin to create a less than desirable tone. New out-of-the-box reeds are often stuffy sounding and have more potential to squeak. This is because a break in time of up to a week or more is needed for a reed to reach its full potential. Advanced students and professional saxophonists spend years perfecting their methods of reed selection, storage, and adjustment.

Synthetic reeds exist, but few players use them. Many saxophonists consider them to give poor control, consider their sound uncharacteristic of the instrument, or say they would consider them for use only in a context such as a marching band.

Writing for the saxophone

Music for the saxophone is written on the treble clef, where the playable range extends 4 octaves. Higher notes — those in the altissimo range (ranging from palm F# or above) — can also be played, though there is no standardized fingering for these notes. Sax himself demonstrated the instrument with over three octaves.

The saxophone is a transposing instrument. This makes it easy for a player to switch between instruments of different sizes without having to relearn the fingering for each note on the staff. When a saxophonist plays a C on the staff on an Eb alto saxophone, the note sounds as Eb a sixth below the written note; on a Bb tenor saxophone, the note sounds as Bb a ninth below. The baritone is an octave below the alto, and the soprano an octave above the tenor. The following discussion refers entirely to the notes as written, and therefore applies equally to all members of the saxophone family.

Late-model baritone saxophones have a low A-natural, but other members of the family do not (except for a limited number of Selmer Mark VI altos 1), and composers who write this note for baritone should be aware that it may not actually be played if the saxophonist uses an older instrument.

Members of the 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 "band" family in Eb and Bb. 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 subcontra).

Of these the orchestral family are now rarely found, and of 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 C-melody saxophone, a transposing instrument that is set in the key of C rather than Eb or Bb like the others, was popular in the 1920s and could read sheet music for guitar and piano in the correct key. The soprano has regained a degree of popularity over recent decades, beginning first with the work of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, and the bass, sopranino and even contrabass are still manufactured. Sopranino, bass and contrabass are rarely used except in large saxophone ensembles and saxophone orchestras.

At the other end of the spectrum, 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.

Technique

Playing technique for the saxophone is subjective based upon the intended style (classical, jazz, rock, funk, etc.) and the player's idealized sound. The design of the saxophone allows for incredibly varied tone-production, and the "ideal" saxophone sound and keys to its production are are subjects of heated debate. However, there is a basic underlying structure to most technique.

The first figure below shows a set of basic fingerings for the saxophone.

Growling is a technique used whereby the saxophonist sings or hums while playing. This causes a modulation of the sound, and results in a gruffness or coarseness of the sound.

A glissando or sliding technique can also be used. Here the saxophonist bends the note using the embochure and at the same time slides up or down to another fingered note. This technique is also used on the clarinet and is sometimes heard in big band music (ie. Benny Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing") and orchestral scores (the most famous example being the opening solo clarinet line in George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue"). A glissando can also be made controlling the air stream, sliding between the harmonics. Especially in the higher register a pure glissando from second octave A upwards is easier than lower notes.

Another technique used for producing a different sound is known as "overtones" and involves fingering one note but sounding another note which is an overtone of the fingered note. For example if low Bb is fingered, a Bb one octave above may be sounded by manipulating the throat cavity. The Bb one octave higher is the first overtone of the low Bb. The next three overtones of the low Bb are F, Bb, and D. Harmonics are also used to gain access to the altissimo register.

Embouchure

In the typical embouchure, the mouthpiece is generally not taken more than half-way into the player's mouth. The bottom lip is generally curled in slightly (though some players choose to turn the lip outward) and the mouthpiece is rested upon it, held firm with light pressure from the upper teeth resting on the mouthpiece (sometimes padded with a thin strip of rubber known as a "bite-pad"). The upper lip closes to create an air-tight seal, and the corners of the mouth are kept firm and pulled up towards the nose as the head is tilted down to straighten the neck and thus the air-current.

Imperative to a full and quick-speaking sound is the position of the throat. The throat should feel open, almost stretching wide, like when you take a good yawn or when blowing hot air on your hands. This openness should remain constant throughout the register of the saxophone, especially the low register (D down to Bb [A if available]). The exeception to the rule comes at 3rd octave E and up into altisimo, where the throat should change to an "eeee" position to maximize the fullness of sound.

See also

• saxophonist
• Tubax
• aulochrome

References

• Teal, Larry (1963). The Art of Saxophone Playing. Miami:Summy-Birchard. ISBN 0–87487–057–7

External links

• The International Saxophone Home Page
• Sax on the Web Lessons, tips, articles, and discussion forum.
• Introduction to Saxophone acoustics
• A Website by Alastair Ingram
• Saxophone fingering chart
• Printer-friendly basic fingering chart
• SaxTalk Saxophone news, articles, auctions, forums, and chat.