SAXOPHONE
Updated 04-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about SAXOPHONE!
Jim Schmidt demonstrates his unique saxophone: Jim Schmidt shows Steve his radical new saxophone design
Repairman’s Overview: Vibrato Plastic Saxophone: Saxophone repairman Matt Stohrer of Stohrermusic.com was able to *briefly* take a look at the Vibrato plastic saxophone. For a full writeup including photos …
Buescher True Tone Tenor Sax & V16 Metal Tenor Mouthpiece: Sometimes the stars align and a vintage Buescher True Tone Tenor from 1921 just falls into your lap free of charge. At least, that’s what …
Saxophone: “Saxophone” published on by Oxford University Press.
June 28, 1846: Parisian Inventor Patents Saxophone: 1846: Emerging from his Paris workshop, musician-inventor Adolphe Sax files 14 patents for an instrument destined to revolutionize American music nearly a century later. His new invention: the saxophone. Initially crafted from wood, Sax’s instruments flared at the tip to form a music-amplifying bell. Designed in seven sizes from sopranino to contrabass, the saxophone combined \[…\]
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: the saxophone is a woodwind instrument usually made of brass . sound is produced by an oscillating reed, traditionally made out of woody cane . pitch of note being played is controlled first saxophone invented by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in early 1840s . patented on 28 June 1846, in two groups of seven instruments each . instruments from series pitched in C and F never gained a foothold and constituted only small percentage of instruments made by Sax . High Pitch saxophones tuned sharper than the (concert) A the modern saxophone family consists entirely of instruments in the B – E series . the highest keyed note has traditionally been F two and a half octaves above low B note above G is most common on modern soprano saxophones . altissimo keys can be produced using advanced embouchure techniques . modern players have extended the range to over four oc clef substitution allows players to play from parts written for baritone horn, bassoon, euphonium, string bass, trombone, or tuba . alto and larger saxophone the set of curves near the bell has become a distinctive feature of the saxophone family . the baritone, bass, and contrabass saxes accommodate the length of the bore with extra bow keys consist of cups, levers, and pivots that control the position of the pads over the toneholes . keys are activated by pressure on key touches, either directly on the pad cup or connected to it with levers the fingering for the saxophone is a combination of that of the oboe and the Boehm system . the stack keys are operated by the first, second, and third fingers on each keys operated by the right hand provide alternate fingerings for F, B, and C within the stack range . instruments that play to low A have a left thumb key for that note . on saxo modern left hand tables also articulate the G key with the low C, B, and B keys . that provides significant advantages for playing certain intervals near the lower range of the instrument . some players willingly forego the Yanagisawa introduced saxophones with necks and bells of sterling silver during the 1930s . the company revived the scheme during the 1980s and later introduced entire instruments . since 1920, most saxophones have replaceable key buttons operating the stack keys . on some premium models, the key button material is used to form the convex key touches . rods and screw pins nickel silver is sometimes used for hinges for its advantages of mechanical durability . the most common finish is a thin coating of clear or colored acrylic lacquer . brass keywork is used to protect brass from oxidation and maintain nickel plating has been used on the bodies of early budget model saxophones . chemical surface treatment of the base metal has come into use as an alternative to lacquer and plating finishes in recent years . some saxophonists, retailers, and repair technicians argue that the type of lacquer or plating may be a factor affecting the instrument’s tone quality . reeds are commercially available in a vast array of brands, styles, and strengths . mouthpiece design has a profound impact on tone . early mouthpieces were designed to produce a “warm” and saxophonists use mouthpieces with smaller chambers for a somewhat “brighter” sound . the use of a mouthpiece in dance orchestras and jazz ensembles was emphasised . the effect of mouthpiece materials on tone of the saxophone has been the subject of much debate . according to Larry Teal, the mouthpiece material has little, if any, effect on the sound . the lower rigidity of hard rubber relative to metal restricts some design characteristics . extra bulk required near tip with hard rubber affects mouth position and airflow . Shank weights are used with some Delrin mouthpieces to increase born in Dinant and originally based in Brussels, he moved to Paris in 1842 to establish his musical instrument business . before working on the saxophone he made several improvements to the bass clarinet Sax began developing an instrument with the projection of a brass instrument . he wanted it to overblow at the octave, unlike the clarinet, which rises in pitch by a t patent covers 14 versions of the fundamental design, split into two categories of seven instruments each . instruments were given an initial written range from the B below the treble staff to the E one half-step below the third ledger line Sax’s original keywork was simplistic and made certain legato passages difficult to finger . early in the development of the saxophone the upper keyed range was extended to E, then F above the staff saxophone instruction offered at conservatories in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, and Italy . by 1856 the french Garde Republicaine band featured the instrument most prominently . the acoustic saxophone promoted in the u.s. through efforts of Patrick Gilmore and Edward A. Lefebre . he settled in new york in early 1872 after he arrived as a clarine Gilmore’s band soon featured a soprano-alto-tenor-baritone saxophone section . Lefebre also performed in smaller ensembles of various sizes and instrumentation lefebre’s associations with the music publisher Carl Fischer lasted into the first decade of the twentieth century . his early use in Vaudeville and ragtime bands around the turn of the century laid the groundwork for production of such instruments stopped during the Great Depression . saxophone came into use as a jazz instrument during the 1920s . classical repertoire for the instrument expanded rapidly . new bore designs during the 1920s and 1930s resulted from the quest for improved intonation, dynamic response, and tonal qualities . design experiments such as the Buescher straight altos and tenors the mechanics of the left hand table were revolutionized by Selmer with their Balanced Action instruments in 1936 . in 1948 Selmer introduced their Super Action saxophones with offset left and right hand stack keys . the saxophone was introduced into the concert band . a concert band may include two altos, one tenor, and one baritone . the instrument was initially ignored in germany . a bass saxophone in B is used in some concert band music . the soprano is replaced with a second alto (AATB); a few professional quartets have featured non-standard the largest body of chamber works for saxophone are from the modern era . Marcel Mule quartet is often considered the prototype for quartets . organized quartets existed before Mule’s ensemble . many musical theatre scores include parts for saxophone, sometimes doubling another woodwind or brass instrument . bands featuring syncopated latin- and African-American rhythmic influences of ragtime provided groundwork for new the saxophone was also used in Vaudeville entertainment during the same period . the rise of dance bands followed from the popularity of ragtime . the association of dance bands with jazz reached its peak with swing music of the 1930s . the large show band format provided a foundation for big band jazz . show bands with saxophone sections became a staple of Coleman Hawkins established the tenor saxophone as a jazz solo instrument during his stint with Fletcher Henderson . his arpeggiated, rich-toned, vibrato-laden style was sidney bechet gained recognition for playing the soprano saxophone during the 1920s . the instrument did not come into wide use until the modern era of jazz . tenor s lester young’s playing was a major influence on modern jazz saxophonists . he was an icon of the bebop revolution that influenced generations of jazz musicians . the baritone saxophonists defined the forefront of creative exploration with the avant-garde movement of the 1960s . sheets of sound, tonal exploration, upper harmonics, and multiphonics were hallmarks some ensembles use the soprano-alto-tenor-baritone (SATB) format of the classical saxophone quartet for jazz . the “jump swing” bands of the 1940s horn section work continued with Johnny Otis and Ray Charles achieving distinction for their section playing . horn sections were added to the Chicago and west coast blues bands of Lowell Fulson, T-Bone Walker, B Junior Walker, King Curtis and Maceo Parker became influential soul and funk saxophone stylists . influenced jazz-fusion sounds of Michael Brecker and Bob Mintzer and pop-jazz players the conn mezzo-soprano experienced a similarly short production run as the economics of the Great Depression curtailed the market for novelty instruments . the most successful of the unusual 1920s designs was the King Sa saxophones now command prices up to $4,000 USD . interest revived by jazz musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk . jazz musicians Anthony Braxton, James Carter, Vinny Golia, and Joe straight altos and tenors have been revived by Keilwerth, L.A. Sax and Sax Dakota USA . a mezzo-soprano in the key of G has been the soprillo sax is a piccolo-sized straight instrument with the upper speaker hole built into the mouthpiece . the tubax, developed in 1999 by Eppelsheim, plays the same range and Eppelsheim has produced subcontrabass tubaxes in C and B . Among the 2000s developments is the aulochrome, a double soprano saxophone . the best known of these efforts is the 1950s Grafton acrylic alto saxophone used briefly by Charlie Parker and Ornette Coleman . it had a production run of over 10 years as a budget model leblanc saxophones have key mechanics designed to remedy acoustic problems . keys below first open tonehole affect response of, and slightly muffle, some notes . there is also a lack the chromatic, or linear fingering, saxophone is a project of instrument designer and builder Jim Schmidt . the Hawaiian instrument, called a xaphoon, was invented during the 1970s mento musician and instrument maker ‘sugar belly’ (William Walker) is the best known exponent of a similar type of homemade bamboo “saxophone” in the minahasa The San Bernardino Sun. June 16, 1927.