出典(authority):フリー百科事典『ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』「2014/09/08 19:55:18」(JST)
「サックス」はこの項目へ転送されています。その他の用法については「サックス (曖昧さ回避)」をご覧ください。 |
サクソフォーン | ||||||||||
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別称:サックス、サキソフォン、サキソフォーン | ||||||||||
各言語での名称 | ||||||||||
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アルトサクソフォーン |
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分類 | ||||||||||
木管楽器、シングルリード族 |
サクソフォーン(英語:saxophone、サキソフォン)は、金属製の木管楽器の一種である。縮めて「サックス」(sax)と呼ばれることが多い。
1840年代にベルギーの管楽器製作者アドルフ・サックス(Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax)によって考案された。1846年に特許を取得している。saxophoneの名は彼にちなむ。元々吹奏楽団における木管楽器と金管楽器の橋渡しを目的に開発された。構造上、木管楽器に分類されるが、真鍮を主とした金属で作られており、木管楽器の運動性能の高さ、金管楽器のダイナミックレンジの広さを兼ね備えている。新しい楽器の恩恵として、洗練された運指、発音の容易さは他の吹奏楽器に類がない。
クラシック音楽からポップス、ロック、ジャズに至るまで、様々な分野の音楽で用いられる。吹奏楽やビッグバンドには欠かせない存在である。オーケストラにも曲によっては参加することがある。ソプラノ、アルト、テナー、バリトンの4本のサクソフォーンで演奏されるサクソフォーン四重奏は、クラシカルサクソフォーンの代表的な合奏形態のひとつである。サクソフォーン四重奏のためのオリジナル作品も多数存在する。様々な種類と大きさのものが存在する。
現在、テナー・サックス、アルト・サックス、バリトン・サックス、ソプラノ・サックスの4種類がもっともよく使われる。クラシカルサクソフォーンにおいてはアルトが標準的な楽器として用いられているが、ジャズ、ポピュラーミュージックにおいては、アルト、テナーの存在は同列と考えてよいだろう。
サクソフォーンは大小さまざまな楽器があるが、それぞれの楽器はほとんど相似な形状をしている。サクソフォーンの管は、マウスピースに近い方からベルに近い方に向かって、ほぼ一定の割合で太さが増しており、全体として円錐状になっている。このためサクソフォーンは整数倍の倍音を出すことができ、物理学的には開管楽器に分類される。一方、構造上サクソフォーンにもっとも近い楽器であるクラリネットは、管の太さがほぼ一定の円柱状であるため偶数倍の倍音は出すことができず、物理学的にも閉管楽器に分類される。
この開管楽器である事を奏法に応用する例として、オーバートーンとアルティッシモ(フラジオレット)が挙げられる(弦楽器のフラジオレットとは原理が異なる)。喉の開き、口腔内、アンブシュア、通常とは異なる運指を総合的に変化させ、リードの振動を通常の状態より多くする事で倍音を発生し、通常運指の音域よりも更に高音を出す事を可能にしている奏法である。20世紀後半までは主にジャズ系の奏者がアドリブの中で多用する奏法であったが、21世紀に入ってからはクラシック奏者も演奏の幅を広げる為に利用しており、またそのような現代曲も多数書かれている。
ソプラニーノおよびソプラノは一般にほぼまっすぐの直管(ストレート)である。一方、アルトからコントラバスまでは管の長さが長いため、一般には何回か管が曲げられた曲管(カーブド)の形状をしている。管の折り返し部分はその形状からU字管と呼ばれる。カーブド・ソプラノと呼ばれる曲管のソプラノやストレート・アルト、テナーと呼ばれる直管のアルト、テナーも存在するが、生産本数はそれほど多くない。管が直管であるか曲管であるかは音色にも大きな影響を与える。
一般には真鍮で作られるが、銀や洋白が使われたり、銅の比率をあげたりすることもある。透明及び薄い色のラッカーで塗装されているものが一般的ではあるが、黒色や白色のラッカーの他、銀、金、プラチナ、ニッケル等でメッキされたものも多い。また、鏡面仕上げが一般的だが、艶消し仕上げのもの、アンラッカー仕上げなどバリエーションが存在する。
サクソフォーンの音響的性格から、クラシックのみならずジャズやポップス、映画や劇伴のサウンドトラックで使用されることも多い。
西洋音楽ではその音色と機能性を活かした独奏曲や、管弦楽への使用例が特に近代音楽以降、多く見られるようになった。フランス語圏は比較的早期にこの楽器を好んだようだが、ドイツ語圏は戦後まで遅れた。
詳細は「ジャズ音楽家の一覧#サクソフォーン」を参照
ウィキメディア・コモンズには、サクソフォーンに関連するメディアがあります。 |
ウィクショナリーにサクソフォーンの項目があります。 |
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An alto saxophone in E♭
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Classification |
Wind, woodwind Aerophone |
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Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 422.212-71 (Single-reeded aerophone with keys) |
Inventor(s) | Adolphe Sax |
Developed | 28th June 1846[1] |
Playing range | |
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Related instruments | |
Military band family:
Orchestral family:
Other saxophones:
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Musicians | |
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The saxophone[2] (also referred to as the sax) is a family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet.[2] The saxophone family was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1840.[2][3] Sax wanted to create a group or series of instruments that would be the most powerful and vocal of the woodwinds, and the most adaptive of the brass—that would fill the vacant middle ground between the two sections. He patented the saxophone on June 28, 1846, in two groups of seven instruments each. Each series consisted of instruments of various sizes in alternating transposition. The series pitched in B♭ and E♭, designed for military bands, has proved extremely popular and most saxophones encountered today are from this series. Instruments from the so-called "orchestral" series, pitched in C and F, never gained a foothold, and the B♭ and E♭ instruments have now replaced the C and F instruments in classical music.
The saxophone is commonly used in classical music (such as concert bands, chamber music, and solo repertoire), military bands, marching bands, and jazz (such as big bands, jazz combos, etc.). Saxophone players are called saxophonists.[2]
The saxophone was developed in 1841, by Adolphe Sax, a Belgian instrument maker, flautist, and clarinetist working in Paris.[2] While still working at his father's instrument shop in Brussels, Sax began developing an instrument with the projection of a brass instrument and the agility of a woodwind. He wanted it to overblow at the octave, unlike the clarinet, which rises in pitch by a twelfth when overblown. An instrument that overblew at the octave, would have identical fingering for both registers.
Prior to his work on the saxophone, Sax had made several improvements to the bass clarinet by improving its keywork and acoustics and extending its lower range. Sax was also a maker of the then-popular ophicleide, a large conical brass instrument in the bass register with keys similar to a woodwind instrument. His experience with these two instruments allowed him to develop the skills and technologies needed to make the first saxophones. Adolphe Sax created an instrument with a single reed mouthpiece like a clarinet, conical brass body like an ophicleide, and the acoustic properties of both the French horn and the clarinet.
Having constructed saxophones in several sizes in the early 1840s, Sax applied for, and received, a 15-year patent for the instrument on June 28, 1846.[4] The patent encompassed 14 versions of the fundamental design, split into two categories of seven instruments each, and ranging from sopranino to contrabass. Although the instruments transposed at either F or C have been considered "orchestral", there is no evidence that Sax intended this. As only 3 percent of Sax's surviving production were pitched in F and C, and as contemporary composers used the E♭ alto and B♭ bass saxophone freely in orchestral music, it is almost certain that Sax experimented to find the most suitable keys for these instruments, settling upon instruments alternating between E♭ and B♭ rather than those pitched in F or C, for reasons of tone and economy (the saxophones were the most expensive wind instruments of their day). The C soprano saxophone was the only instrument to sound at concert pitch. All the instruments were given an initial written range from the B below the treble staff to the F, one space above the three ledger lines above staff, giving each saxophone a range of two and a half octaves.
Sax's patent expired in 1866;[5] thereafter, numerous saxophonists and instrument manufacturers implemented their own improvements to the design and keywork. The first substantial modification was by a French manufacturer who extended the bell slightly and added an extra key to extend the range downwards by one semitone to B♭. It is suspected that Sax himself may have attempted this modification. This extension is now commonplace in almost all modern designs, along with other minor changes such as added keys for alternate fingerings.
Sax's original keywork, which was based on the Triebert system 3 oboe for the left hand and the Boehm clarinet for the right, was very simplistic and made playing some legato passages and wide intervals extremely difficult to finger, so numerous developers added extra keys and alternate fingerings to make chromatic playing less difficult. While the early saxophone had two separate octave vents to assist in the playing of the upper registers just as modern instruments do, players of Sax's original design had to operate these via two separate octave keys operated by the left thumb. A substantial advancement in saxophone keywork was the development of a method by which the left thumb operates both tone holes with a single octave key, which is now universal on modern saxophones. One of the most radical, however temporary, revisions of saxophone keywork was made in the 1950s by M. Houvenaghel of Paris, who completely redeveloped the mechanics of the system to allow a number of notes (C♯, B, A, G, F and E♭) to be flattened by a semitone simply by lowering the right middle finger. This enables a chromatic scale to be played over two octaves simply by playing the diatonic scale combined with alternately raising and lowering this one digit.[6] However, this keywork never gained much popularity, and is no longer in use.
The saxophone first gained popularity in one of the uses it was designed for: the military band. Although the instrument was studiously ignored in Germany at first, French and Belgian military bands took full advantage of the instrument that Sax had designed. Most French and Belgian military bands incorporate at least a quartet of saxophones comprising at least the E♭ baritone, B♭ tenor, E♭ alto and B♭ soprano. These four instruments have proved the most popular of all of Sax's creations, with the E♭ contrabass and B♭ bass usually considered impractically large and the E♭ sopranino insufficiently powerful. British military bands tend to include at minimum two saxophonists on the alto and tenor. Today, the saxophone is used in military bands all around the world.
The saxophone was subsequently introduced into the concert band, which generally calls for the E♭ alto saxophone, the B♭ tenor saxophone, and the E♭ baritone saxophone. The typical high-level concert band includes two altos, one tenor, and one baritone. The B♭ soprano saxophone is also occasionally used, in which case it is normally played by the first alto saxophonist. The bass saxophone in B♭ is called for in some concert band music (especially music by Percy Grainger).
The saxophone is used in chamber music, such as the saxophone quartet, reed quintet, and other chamber combinations of instruments.
The classical saxophone quartet consists of the soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone. There is a repertoire of classical compositions and arrangements for the SATB instrumentation dating back to the nineteenth century, particularly by French composers who knew Adolphe Sax. Classical saxophone quartets include Quatuor Habanera, the h2 quartet, Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet, the Mana Quartet, the New Century Saxophone Quartet, and others. Historically, the quartets led by Marcel Mule and Daniel Deffayet, saxophone professors at the Conservatoire de Paris, were started in 1928 and 1953, respectively, and were highly regarded. The Mule quartet is often considered the prototype for future quartets, due the level of virtuosity demonstrated by its members and its central role in the development of the quartet repertoire. However, organised quartets did exist before Mule's ensemble, the prime example being the quartet headed by Eduard Lefebre (1834–1911), former soloist with the Sousa band, in the United States c. 1904–1911. Other ensembles most likely existed at this time as part of the saxophone sections of the many touring professional bands that existed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The saxophone is a member of the reed quintet. The reed quintet consists of an oboe, a clarinet, a saxophone, a bass clarinet, and a bassoon.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, the saxophone has found increased popularity in the symphony orchestra. In one or other size, the instrument has also been found as a useful accompaniment to genres as wide-ranging as opera and choral music. Many musical theatre 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.
The saxophone is also commonly used in jazz music, where the saxophone is one of the signature sounds. Beginning in the early 20th century, the saxophone became popular in big bands, which typically includes two altos, two tenors and one baritone. The saxophone also often appears as a solo instrument with a rhythm section, either alone or with other lead instruments (typically, other saxophones, trumpet or trombone). The alto sax was popularized in jazz music in the 1940s and 1950s by the pioneering virtuosity of Charlie Parker, whose bebop style of playing would deeply influence the next two generations of jazz musicians, in particular saxophonists. The alto sax was also popularized in the 1950s by top saxophonists such as Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Criss and Paul Desmond (latter of the Dave Brubeck Quartet). The tenor sax, which some consider to be the more popular form of saxophone as a solo instrument in jazz, was popularized by jazz greats such as Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Zoot Sims. The baritone sax, featured more in big bands (notably by Harry Carney in the Duke Ellington Orchestra) and larger ensembles than as a solo instrument, was popularized in jazz as a solo instrument within small groups by musicians such as Serge Chaloff, Gerry Mulligan, Pepper Adams and Leo Parker. The soprano saxophone was popularized by Sidney Bechet in early jazz, but then largely fell out of favor on the jazz scene until John Coltrane began to feature the instrument.
The jazz saxophone quartet is usually made up of one B♭ soprano, one E♭ alto, one B♭ tenor and one E♭ baritone (SATB). On occasion, the soprano is replaced with a second alto sax (AATB); a few professional saxophone quartets have featured non-standard instrumentation, such as James Fei's Alto Quartet[9] (four altos) and Hamiet Bluiett's Bluiett Baritone Nation (four baritones). Recently, the World Saxophone Quartet has become known as the preeminent jazz saxophone quartet.
The saxophone, as a solo instrument or as part of a horn section, may also be heard in blues, soul music, rhythm and blues, reggae, ska, funk, rock and roll and other forms of popular music. Some players of these genres include King Curtis, Maceo Parker, Bobby Keys, Clarence Clemons, the Memphis Horns, and the Phenix Horns.
The primary (military band) saxophone family alternates instruments in B♭ and E♭. The other (orchestral) family patented by Sax, alternating instruments in C and F, has always been marginal, although some manufacturers tried to popularise the soprano in C (or C soprano saxophone), the alto in F (or mezzo-soprano saxophone), and the tenor in C (or C melody saxophone) early in the twentieth century. The C melody enjoyed some success in the late 1920s and early 1930s as a parlor instrument. One company has recently revived production of the C soprano and C melody.[10] Instruments in F are rare.
# | Saxophone | Key | One octave higher | One octave lower |
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1 | Sopranissimo | B♭ | ## | Soprano |
2 | Sopranino | E♭ | ## | Alto |
3 | Soprano | B♭ | Sopranissimo | Tenor |
4 | Alto | E♭ | Sopranino | Baritone |
5 | Tenor | B♭ | Soprano | Bass |
6 | Baritone | E♭ | Alto | Contrabass |
7 | Bass | B♭ | Tenor | Subcontrabass |
8 | Contrabass | E♭ | Baritone | ## |
9 | Subcontrabass | B♭ | Bass | ## |
The saxophone consists of an approximately conical tube of thin brass, sometimes plated with silver, gold, or 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. Instruments that play to low A have a left thumb key for that note.
The simplest design of saxophone is a straight conical tube, and the sopranino and soprano saxophones are usually of this straight design. However, as the lower-pitched instruments would be unacceptably long if straight, for ergonomic reasons, the larger instruments usually incorporate a U-bend at, or slightly above, the third-lowest tone hole. As this would cause the bell of the instrument to point almost directly upward, the end of the instrument is either beveled or tilted slightly forward. This U-shape has become a distinctive feature of the saxophone family, to the extent that soprano and even sopranino saxes are sometimes made in the curved style, even though not strictly necessary. By contrast, tenors and even baritones have occasionally been made in the straight style.[11][12] Most commonly, however, the alto and tenor saxophones incorporate a curved 'crook' above the highest tone hole but below the top speaker hole, tilting the mouthpiece through 90 degrees. The baritone, bass and contrabass extend the length of the bore by triple-folding this section.
Most saxophones, both past and present, are made from brass. Despite this, they are categorized as woodwind instruments rather than brass, as the sound waves are produced by an oscillating wood reed, not the player's lips against a mouthpiece as in a brass instrument, and because different pitches are produced by breath wind passing opening and closing keys. The screw pins that connect the rods to the posts, as well as the needle and leaf springs that cause the keys to return to their rest position after being released, are generally made of blued or stainless steel. Since 1920, most saxophones have 'key touches' (smooth decorative pieces placed where the fingers touch the instrument) made from either plastic or mother of pearl.
Other materials have been tried with varying degrees of success, such as the 1950s Grafton plastic alto saxophone and its recent successor, the polycarbonate saxophone, VibratoSax. There is also the wooden Sawat saxophone created in Thailand on a small scale. A few companies, such as Yanagisawa[13] and Bauhaus Walstein, have made some saxophone models from phosphor bronze because of its slightly different tonal qualities.[14] For example, although their designs are identical apart from the metal used, the bronze Yanagisawa A992[15] saxophones are said to sound "darker" than the brass versions. Yanagisawa and other manufacturers, starting with the King Super 20 around 1950, have made saxophone necks, bells, or entire instruments from sterling silver.[16] Keilwerth and P. Mauriat have made saxes with a nickel silver body like that of a flute.[17][18] The effect of material on sound is controversial among sax players, and little solid research has been published.
After completing the instrument, the manufacturers usually apply a thin coating of clear or colored acrylic lacquer, or silver plate, over the bare brass. The lacquer or plating serves to protect the brass from oxidation, and maintains its shiny appearance. Several different types and colors of surface finish have been used over the years.[19] It is also possible to plate the instrument with nickel or gold, and a number of gold-plated saxophones have been produced.[19] Plating saxophones with gold is an expensive process because gold does not adhere directly to brass. As a result, the brass is first plated with silver, then gold.
Some argue that the type of lacquer or plating, or absence thereof, may enhance an instrument's tone quality. The possible effects of different finishes on tone is a hotly debated topic, not least because other variables may affect an instrument's tone colors e.g. mouthpiece design and physical characteristics of the player. In any case, what constitutes a pleasing tone is a matter of personal preference.[20][21]
The saxophone uses a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. Most saxophonists use reeds made from Arundo donax cane, but since the 20th century some have also been made of fiberglass and other composite materials. The saxophone mouthpiece is larger than that of the clarinet, has a wider inner chamber, and lacks the cork-covered tenon of a clarinet mouthpiece because the saxophone neck inserts into the mouthpiece whereas the clarinet mouthpiece piece is inserted into the barrel. The most important difference between a saxophone embouchure and a clarinet embouchure is that the saxophone mouthpiece should enter the mouth at a much lower or flatter angle than the clarinet. The embouchure for clarinet must also be more firm than that for saxophone.
The muscles in the lip and jaw develop naturally, the more one plays, and the "long tones" exercise helps a great deal with this aspect of playing.[22] Mouthpieces come in a wide variety of materials, including vulcanized rubber (sometimes called hard rubber or ebonite), plastic, and metals such as bronze or surgical steel. Less common materials that have been used include wood, glass, crystal, porcelain, and even bone. According to Larry Teal, the mouthpiece material has little, if any, effect on the sound, and the physical dimensions give a mouthpiece its tone colour.[23] Mouthpiece design has a profound impact on tone.
Mouthpieces designed for classical playing commonly help to produce a warm and round sound, while mouthpieces designed for jazz playing commonly help to produce a more edgy and bright sound. Mouthpieces with a concave ("excavated") chamber and little to no baffle are more true to Adolphe Sax's original design; these provide a softer or less piercing tone, and are favored by some saxophonists, including students of Sigurd Raschèr, for classical playing. Saxophonists who follow the French school of classical saxophone playing, influenced by Marcel Mule, generally use mouthpieces with smaller chambers than Rascher style mouthpieces, but they still have little to no baffle. Conversely, mouthpieces with a smaller chamber and a lower clearance above the reed, called high baffle, produce a brighter sound with maximum projection and are favored by many jazz and funk players. Most saxophonists who play both jazz and classical music have different equipment for each style.
Like clarinets, saxophones use a single reed. Saxophone reeds are proportioned slightly differently from clarinet reeds, being wider for the same length, although some soprano saxophonists use clarinet reeds on the soprano saxophone. Each size of saxophone (alto, tenor, etc.) uses a different size of reed. Reeds are commercially available in a vast array of brands, styles, and strengths. Players experiment with reeds of different strength (hardnesses) and material to find which strength and cut suits their mouthpiece, embouchure, tendencies, and playing style.
A number of saxes and saxophone-related instruments have appeared since Sax's original work, most with no significant success. These include the saxello, essentially a straight B♭ soprano, but with a slightly curved neck and tipped bell; the straight alto; and the straight B♭ tenor.[24] Since a straight-bore tenor is approximately five feet long, the cumbersome size of such a design makes it almost impossible to either play or transport. "King" Saxellos, made by the H. N. White Company in the 1920s, now command prices up to US$4,000. A number of companies, including Keilwerth, Rampone & Cazzani (altello model), L.A. Sax and Sax Dakota USA, are marketing straight-bore, tipped-bell soprano saxophones as saxellos (or "saxello sopranos").
The "contralto" saxophone, similar in size to the orchestral soprano, was developed in the late 20th century by California instrument maker Jim Schmidt.[25] This instrument has a larger bore and a new fingering system, and does not resemble the C melody instrument except for its key and register. Another new arrival to the sax scene is the soprillo sax, a piccolo-sized straight instrument with the upper speaker hole built into the mouthpiece. The instrument, which extends Sax's original family, as it is pitched a full octave higher than the B♭ soprano sax, is manufactured by Benedikt Eppelsheim, of Munich, Germany. There is a rare prototype slide tenor saxophone, but few were ever made. One company that produced a slide soprano saxophone was Reiffel & Husted, Chicago, ca. 1922 (catalog NMM 5385).[26][27][28]
Two of these variants were championed by jazz musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who called his straight Buescher alto a stritch and his modified saxello a manzello; the latter featured a larger-than-usual bell and modified key work. Among some saxophonists, Kirk's terms have taken on a life of their own in that it is believed that these were "special" or "new" saxophones that might still be available. Though rare, the Buescher straight alto was a production item instrument while the manzello was indeed a saxello with a custom-made bell.
Another unusual variant of the saxophone was the Conn-O-Sax, a straight-conical bore instrument in F (one step above the E♭ alto) with a slightly curved neck and spherical bell. The instrument, which combined a saxophone bore and keys with a bell shaped similar to that of a heckelphone, was intended to imitate the timbre of the English horn and was produced only in 1929 and 1930. The instrument had a key range from low A to high G. Fewer than 100 Conn-O-Saxes are in existence, and they are eagerly sought by collectors.
The tubax, developed in 1999 by the German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim,[29] plays the same range, and with the same fingering, as the E♭ contrabass saxophone; its bore, however, is narrower than that of a contrabass saxophone, making for a more compact instrument with a "reedier" tone (akin to the double-reed contrabass sarrusophone). It can be played with the smaller (and more commonly available) baritone saxophone mouthpiece and reeds. Eppelsheim has also produced subcontrabass tubaxes in C and B♭, the latter being the lowest saxophone ever made. Among the most recent developments is the aulochrome, a double soprano saxophone invented by Belgian instrument maker François Louis in 2001.
Although not true saxophones, inexpensive keyless folk versions of the saxophone made of bamboo (recalls a Chalumeau) were developed in the 20th century by instrument makers in Hawaii, Jamaica, Thailand, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Argentina. The Hawaiian instrument, called a xaphoon, was invented during the 1970s and is also marketed as a "bamboo sax," although its cylindrical bore more closely resembles that of a clarinet, and its lack of any keywork makes it more akin to a recorder. Jamaica's best known exponent of a similar type of homemade bamboo "saxophone" was the mento musician and instrument maker 'Sugar Belly' (William Walker).[30] In the Minahasa region of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, there exist entire bands made up of bamboo "saxophones"[31] and "brass" instruments of various sizes. These instruments are imitations of European instruments, made using local materials. Very similar instruments are produced in Thailand.[32][33] In Argentina, Ángel Sampedro del Río and Mariana García have produced bamboo saxophones of various sizes since 1985, the larger of which have bamboo keys to allow for the playing of lower notes.[34]audio
Music for most saxophones is usually notated using treble clef. The standard written range extends from a B♭ below the staff to an F or F♯ three ledger lines above the staff. Most, if not all, intermediate and professional saxophones made today are built with F♯ keys, with F♯ included on even student instruments.
There are many models of soprano saxophone that have a key for high G, and most modern models of baritone saxophone have an extended bore and key to produce low A; it is also possible to play a low A on any saxophone by blocking the end of the bell, usually with the foot or inside of the left thigh. Low A keys however were not limited to just the baritone saxophone. For a short time Selmer Paris produced mark VI alto saxophones with the low A key. Notes above F are considered part of the altissimo register of any sax, and can be produced using advanced embouchure techniques and fingering combinations. Sax himself had mastered these techniques; he demonstrated the instrument as having a range of just beyond three octaves up to a (written) high B4. Modern saxophone players have extended this range to over 4 octaves on tenor and alto.
Because all saxophones use the same key arrangement and fingering to produce a given notated pitch, it is not difficult for a competent player to switch among the various sizes when the music has been suitably transposed, and many do so. Since the baritone and alto are pitched in E♭, players can read concert pitch music notated in the bass clef by reading it as if it were treble clef and adding three sharps to the key signature. This process, referred to as clef substitution, makes it possible for the baritone to play from parts written for bassoon, tuba, trombone, or string bass. This can be useful if a band or orchestra lacks one of those instruments.
From left to right, an E♭ alto saxophone, a curved B♭ soprano saxophone, and a B♭ tenor saxophone
A straight-necked Conn C melody saxophone (Conn New Wonder Series 1) with a serial number that dates manufacture to 1922
Vintage silver-plated 'Pennsylvania Special' alto saxophone, manufactured by Kohlert & Sons for Selmer[35] in Czechoslovakia, circa 1930
Conn 6M "Lady Face"[36] brass alto saxophone (dated 1935) in its original case
1950s Grafton alto made of plastic
Yamaha YAS-25 alto saxophone. Circa 1990s
Yanagisawa A9932J alto saxophone: has a solid silver bell and neck with solid phosphor bronze body. The bell, neck and key-cups are extensively engraved. Manufactured in 2008
Bauhaus Walstein[37][38][39] tenor saxophone manufactured in 2008 from phosphor bronze
The lower portion of a P. Mauriat alto saxophone, showing the mother of pearl key touches and engraved brass pad cups
A Yamaha baritone saxophone
Two mouthpieces for tenor saxophone: the one on the left is ebonite; the one on the right is metal.
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