Saxophone

A saxophone (often called the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument. The saxophone has a piece of wood, called a reed on a mouthpiece. The player blows air into the mouthpiece. This vibrates the reed and makes sound. The pitch can be changed by closing and opening holes in the saxophone. This changes the length of the tube. The holes are closed by leather pads. These leather pad connect to keys that can be pressed by the player. A person who plays the saxophone is called a saxophonist or saxist.

It was invented in the early 1840s by Adolphe Sax. Sax made two types of saxophones. Each type of saxophone had 7 types. One group of saxophones had instruments in the key of C or F. The other type of saxophones were in B and E. The B and E instruments soon became popular. Most saxophones are now in those keys.

Saxophones are used in many types of music. They are used in classical music (including as concert bands, chamber music, solos, and sometimes orchestras), military bands, marching bands, jazz (like as big bands and jazz combos), and contemporary music. The saxophone is also used as a melody instrument in a horn section in some types of rock and roll and popular music.

The Saxophone family mostly has of B and E instruments. The most common types of saxophones are the B soprano, E alto, B tenor, and E baritone. The E sopranino and B bass saxophones are also sometimes used.

In military bands

The saxophone were first popular in military bands. The instrument was first ignored in Germany. French and Belgian military bands wanted to used the saxophone in ensembles. Most French and Belgian military bands had at least 4 saxophones. They had an E baritone, B tenor, E alto and B soprano. These four instruments are the most popular saxophones. The E contrabass and B bass saxophones are usually too big to use. The E sopranino is usually not loud enough.

In classical music

The saxophone is used in concert bands. These usually have 2 E alto saxophones, a B tenor saxophone, and an E baritone saxophone. A B soprano saxophone is sometimes used. It is usually played by the first alto saxophonist. A bass saxophone in B is also sometimes used (especially in the music of Percy Grainger).

Saxophones are used in chamber music. There are many saxophone quartets, for example. A saxophone quartet usually has a B soprano saxophone, E alto saxophone, B tenor saxophone, and E baritone saxophone (SATB). Sometimes the soprano is replaced with a second alto sax (which makes AATB). A few saxophone quartets have different setups. For example, James Fei’s Alto Quartet has 4 alto saxophones.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, the saxophone became more common in symphony orchestras. The instrument has also been used in opera and choral music. Musical theatre music can also have parts of saxophone. These sometimes double another woodwind or brass instrument.

Common music

Fantasie sur un thème original (1860)—Jules Demersseman
Rapsodie pour orchestre et saxophone (1901)—Claude Debussy
Légende, symphonic suite for chromatic harp, alto saxophone and strings (1903)–André Caplet
Choral varié, Op.55 (1903)—Vincent d’Indy
Impressions d’automne, Elegy for alto saxophone, oboe, 2 clarinets, basson, harp, organ and 2 cellos (1905)–André Caplet
Légende, Op.66 (1918)—Florent Schmitt
Saxophone Concerto (1934)—Lars-Erik Larsson
Concerto in E major for alto saxophone and orchestra (1934) —Alexander Glazunov
Concertino da camera (1935)—Jacques Ibert
Aria pour saxophone alto (1936)—Eugène Bozza
Sonata for alto saxophone and piano (1937)—Bernhard Heiden
Scaramouche for alto saxophone and piano (1937)—Darius Milhaud
Ballade for Alto Saxophone (1938)—Henri Tomasi
Sonata for alto saxophone and piano, Op. 19 (1939)—Paul Creston
Sonata for alto saxophone and piano (1943)—Paul Hindemith
Concerto for alto saxophone and orchestra, Op. 26 (1944)—Paul Creston
Concerto for alto saxophone and orchestra (1948)—Ingolf Dahl
Fantasia for saxophone, three horns, and strings (1948)—Heitor Villa-Lobos
Concerto for alto saxophone and orchestra (1949)—Henri Tomasi
Tableaux de Provence (1955)—Paule Maurice
Prélude, cadence et finale (1956)—Alfred Desenclos
Saxophone Concerto (1958)—Erland von Koch
Concerto for alto saxophone and orchestra (1959)—Pierre Max Dubois
Élégie et rondeau pour saxophone alto et orchestre (1961)—Karel Husa
Sonata for alto saxophone (1970)—Edison Denisov
Sonata for alto saxophone and piano, Op. 29 (1970)—Robert Muczynski
Fantasia on Auld Lang Syne for 16 saxophones (1976)—Ernest Tomlinson
Panic for alto saxophone, jazz drum kit, winds and percussion (1995)—Harrison Birtwistle
Concerto for Saxophone Quartet (1995)—Philip Glass
Because It Has a Song (2010) - James Barger
Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra (2013)—John Adams

Popular saxophone quartets

Premier Quatuor [Quartet No. 1], Op. 53 (1857) — Jean-Baptiste Singelée
Quartette [Quartet] (1879) — Caryl Florio
Saxophone Quartet in B, Op.109 (1932) — Alexander Glazunov
Introduction et variations sur une ronde populaire (1934) — Gabriel Pierné
Andante et Scherzo for saxophone quartet (1938) — Eugène Bozza
Variations Saxophoniques (1939) – Fernande Decruck
Quatuor pour Saxophones [Quartet for Saxophones], Op. 102 (1939) — Florent Schmitt
Quatuor pour Saxophones [Quartet for Saxophones] (1956) — Pierre Max Dubois
Quatuor [Quartet] (1962) — Alfred Desenclos
Suite for Saxophone Quartet (1979) — Paul Creston
Just for Show (1985) — Lennie Niehaus
Pollywog’s Lake Talk (1986) — Barry Ulman
XAS (1987) — Iannis Xenakis
Back Burner (1989) — Frank Ticheli
Recitation Book (2006) — David Maslanka
Strange Humors (2008) — John Mackey (composer)
Black (2012) — Marc Mellits
Polar Vortex (2014) — Chris Evan Hass
In Memoriam (2015) — Joel Love
Volcanic Ash (2017) — Chris Evan Hass
Altera (2017) — Max Gray
Impressions (2020) — Randy Stagich

Chamber music with saxophone

Nonet (1923) – Heitor Villa-Lobos
Chôros No. 7 (1924) – Heitor Villa-Lobos
Chôros No. 3 (1925) – Heitor Villa-Lobos
Quartet for clarinet, tenor saxophone, violin, and piano, Op. 22 (1930) – Anton Webern
The Flowering Peach, Op. 125, for clarinet, saxophone, percussion (timpani, tam-tam, vibraphone, glockenspiel), harp and celesta (1954) – Alan Hovhaness
Prometheus for flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon (1967) – Brian Ferneyhough
Erwachen, Nr. 92 (2007) – Karlheinz Stockhausen

Orchestral music with saxophones

L’Arlésienne (1872) – Georges Bizet
Sylvia (1876) – Léo Delibes
Symphonia Domestica (1904) – Richard Strauss
The Wooden Prince (1917) – Béla Bartók
Pictures at an Exhibition (1922 Ravel version) – Modest Mussorgsky/Maurice Ravel
Boléro (1928) – Maurice Ravel
La création du monde (1923) – Darius Milhaud
Symphony No. 4 (1924) – Charles Ives
Rhapsody in Blue (1924) – George Gershwin
Chôros No. 8 (1925) – Heitor Villa-Lobos
Háry János (1926) – Zoltán Kodály
Chôros No. 10 (1926) – Heitor Villa-Lobos
Piano Concerto (1926) – Aaron Copland
An American in Paris (1928) – George Gershwin
Symphony No. 1 (1928) – Aaron Copland
Der Wein (1929) – Alban Berg
The Golden Age (1930) – Dmitri Shostakovich
Belshazzar’s Feast (1931) – William Walton
Job: A Masque for Dancing (1931) – Ralph Vaughan Williams
Suite No. 1 (1931) – Dmitri Shostakovich
Uirapuru (1934) – Heitor Villa-Lobos
Lieutenant Kijé (1934) – Sergei Prokofiev
Violin Concerto (1935) – Alban Berg
Suite No. 2 (1938) – Dmitri Shostakovich
Romeo and Juliet (1938) – Sergei Prokofiev
Alexander Nevsky (1938) – Sergei Prokofiev
Symphonic Dances (1940) – Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sinfonia da Requiem (1940) – Benjamin Britten
Chôros No. 11 (1928–41) – Heitor Villa-Lobos
Chôros No. 6 (1925–42) – Heitor Villa-Lobos
Chôros No. 12 (1925–45) – Heitor Villa-Lobos
Symphony No. 6 (1947) – Ralph Vaughan Williams
On the Waterfront (1954) – Leonard Bernstein
Symphony No. 9 (1957) – Ralph Vaughan Williams
Suite for Variety Orchestra (post-1956) – Dmitri Shostakovich
The Prince of the Pagodas (1957) – Benjamin Britten
Gruppen (1955–57) – Karlheinz Stockhausen
Carré (1959–60) – Karlheinz Stockhausen
Déclarations d’orage for reciter, soprano, baritone, three improvising instruments (alto saxophone, tuba, synthesizer), large orchestra and tape (1988–89) – Henri Pousseur
City Noir (2009) – John Adams

Operas and musicals with saxophones

Le Roi de Lahore (1877) Jules Massenet
Hérodiade (1881) – Jules Massenet
Werther (1892) – Jules Massenet
Turandot (1926) – Giacomo Puccini
Jonny spielt auf (1927) – Ernst Krenek
Neues vom Tage (1929) – Paul Hindemith
Lulu (1937) – Alban Berg
Billy Budd (1951) – Benjamin Britten
West Side Story (1957) – Leonard Bernstein
We Come to the River (1976) – Hans Werner Henze
Samstag aus Licht (1984) – Karlheinz Stockhausen
Nixon in China (1987) – John Adams

In jazz and popular music

In the beginning of the 20th century, ragtime music became popular in the United States. At the same time, saxophones also became more common. Many bands were made with ragtime influences. These bands often had saxophones. These bands had syncopated African-American rhythms. W. C. Handy and James R. Europe both led ragtime groups with saxophones.Ragtime bands also became popular in military bands. Europe’s 369th Infantry Regiment Band played ragtime music in France in 1918. Many dance bands were made in the 1920s. These bands were influenced by ragtime. The saxophone was also used in Vaudeville in the same period. Ragtime, Vaudeville, and dance bands made saxophones very popular.

Rudy Wiedoeft became the most popular saxophonist. This lead to the “saxophone craze” of the 1920s. Saxophones started to be used in many different types of music.

Saxophones became very common in jazz. The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra was started in 1923. It had music with improvisation. It brought jazz to dance bands. The Duke Ellington Orchestra and Jean Goldkette’s Victor Recording Orchestra would start to have jazz solos with different types of instruments. Dance bands in jazz would become most popular with the swing music of the 1930s. These dance bands would later influence big band jazz. Big bands with saxophones also became common in talk shows. The Tonight Show had big bands led by Doc Severinsen and Branford Marsalis. The swing era influenced saxophone styles that were seen in bebop and rhythm and blues. Coleman Hawkins played in the Fletcher Henderson orchestra from 1923 to 1934. His saxophone solos became very popular. Hawkins’ solos were arpeggiated, had rich tone, and had lots of vibrato. This style was a large influence on early tenor saxophone swing band players. Chu Berry, Charlie Barnet, Tex Beneke, Ben Webster, Vido Musso, Herschel Evans, Buddy Tate, and Don Byas took inspiration from Hawkins. Hawkins’ bandmate Benny Carter and Johnny Hodges (Duke Ellington’s alto saxophonist) became popular alto saxophone styles. Harry Carney made the baritone saxophone popular Duke Ellington Orchestra. The New Orleans player Sidney Bechet was popular for playing the soprano saxophone in the 1920s.

Chicago jazz evolved from New Orleans jazz in the 1920s. Chicago jazz was different from New Orleans jazz because it added saxophones to the ensemble. Smaller Chicago ensembles allowed for more improvisation. This allowed for saxophone innovation from saxophonists Jimmy Dorsey (alto), Frankie Trumbauer (c-melody), Bud Freeman (tenor) and Stump Evans (baritone). Dorsey and Trumbauer became an influences on tenor saxophonist Lester Young.

Lester Young had a different soloing style than Hawkins’. He liked to make melodic playing. His playing followed chords and made longer phrases. He used less vibrato. His tone was also darker than other saxophonists. His playing was influential on the jazz saxophonists Al Cohn, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Charlie Parker, and Art Pepper.

Lester Young worked with the Count Basie Orchestra in the late 1930s. Around the same time Hawkins’ 1939 recording of “Body and Soul” became very popular. These musicians made the saxophone very influential in jazz.

The greatest influence of the saxophone on jazz happened in the 1940s when Charlie Parker became popular in jazz. He played the alto saxophone. He was one of the first saxophonists to play bebop. Bebop groups in jazz were much smaller than other big bands. These groups allowed for lots of freedom with the music’s harmony and melodies. This style of playing was made popular because of musicians like Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Bud Powell.

During the 1950s, there were many new popular musicians. Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, Jackie McLean, Lou Donaldson, Sonny Criss and Paul Desmond were popular alto players. Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Lucky Thompson, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, and Paul Gonsalves were popular tenor saxophonists. Serge Chaloff, Gerry Mulligan, Pepper Adams and Leo Parker were popular baritone saxophonists. These musicians made the baritone a popular solo instrument. Steve Lacy was a popular soprano saxophonist. John Coltrane also made the soprano saxophone more popular in the 1960s. Kenny G also usually uses the soprano sax in smooth jazz

John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Sam Rivers, and Pharoah Sanders made avant-garde music in the 1960s through the sax. They explored modal, harmolodic, and free jazz.

Some groups (like the World Saxophone Quartet) use the soprano-alto-tenor-baritone (SATB) group for jazz. In the 1990s, World Saxophone Quartet founder Hamiet Bluiett formed the quartet Baritone Nation (4 baritones).

Image gallery

File:CurvedSopranoAltoTenorSaxophone.jpg|From left to right, an E alto saxophone, a curved B soprano saxophone, and a B tenor saxophone File:ConnCMelodySax.JPG|A straight-necked Conn C melody saxophone (Conn New Wonder Series 1) File:KeilwerthAltoSax.JPG|Silver-plated ‘Pennsylvania Special’ alto saxophone. It was made by Kohlert & Sons for Selmer in Czechoslovakia, circa 1930 File:Conn6M1.JPG|Conn 6M “Lady Face” brass alto saxophone. It was made in 1935 File:Grafton Plastic Alto Saxophone (c. 1950s).jpg|1950s Grafton alto made of plastic File:Yamaha YAS-25 Alto Saxophone 20080502.jpg|Yamaha YAS-25 alto saxophone. Made in the 1990s File:YanagisawaA9932J.JPG|Yanagisawa A9932J alto saxophone. It has a silver bell. Its body is made of phosphor bronze. File:BauhausWalsteinTenorSax1.JPG|Bauhaus Walstein tenor saxophone. It was made in in 2008 with phosphor bronze File:PMSA-300.jpg|A part of a P. Mauriat alto saxophone File:Barisax.jpg|A Yamaha baritone saxophone File:Mouthpiece tenor saxophone.jpg|Two mouthpieces for tenor saxophone. The one on the left is ebonite. The one on the right is metal. File:Ochres N5.jpg|Ochres Music “No.5”. File:Vito_Model_35_alto_sax1.jpg|Vito ‘Model 35’ alto saxophone. It was made in the 1960s.