The Saxophone

The Saxophone is a reed-sounded wind instrument. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in the year of 1840.

The construction of the saxophone combines the single reed and mouthpiece of the clarinet, a metal body, and a widened version of the conical bore of the oboe. The body contains 20 openings, which are covered by keys, and are opened or closed by means of six finger plates. The finger plates are operated by the first three fingers of either hand. The pipes are used to produce notes an octave above or below the normal range. Most saxophones are curved at the end and resemble the bass clarinet. The most common saxophones are the soprano, the alto, the tenor, and the baritone. All four of these have a compass of about two and a half octaves. The quality of the tone ranges from soft, flutelike, and mellow to brassy and metallic.

Saxophones were first introduced into orchestra in 1844. In the late 20th century, saxophones were very popular in the United States due to the rise in the popularity of jazz music.

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