Saxophone Clarinet

Created by Antoine Sax from Belgium in 1934; it was a bass clarinet design

In 1844 Hector Berlioz conducts concert featuring “Chant Sacre” with Saxophone

1844 it makes its orchestral debut in the opera “Last King of Juda”

The sax re-tools military band by replacing oboe, bassoons, and french horns with saxhorns in Bb and Eb, producing a more homogenous sound

In 1846, Sax granted patent for saxophone

Saxophone school set up at "Gymnase Musical"--a military band school in Paris in 1847

1885 - First saxophone built in U.S. from Sax patent by Gus Buescher

More History @ http://www2.potsdam.edu/mcallitp/timeline

Soprano Sax Alto Sax Tenor Sax Baritone Sax Rarer Saxophones

› Bass, Conn-O-Sax, F-Baritone, C Melody› F Mezzo Soprano, C Soprano

Soprano Sax› The soprano is in the key of B flat, sounds

down a M2 and one full octave higher than the tenor.

› not recommended for beginning players› Can have a straight neck or curved neck

Alto Sax› The alto saxophone is an E-flat instrument

and sounds down a M6› medium sized saxophone and is the most

commonly played size› most recommended horn for those just

starting on the saxophone› curved in a backwards "J" shape but can

sometimes come in a straight model with a slightly tipped bell

Tenor Sax› The tenor is in the key of B flat and sounds

down a M9› The tenor saxophone is slightly larger than

the alto with a small bend in the neck› the relatively large mouthpiece allows a

great range of timbers or variations in tone quality

› personified as a jazz saxophone

Baritone Saxophone› The baritone is in the key of e flat and

sounds down a M6 + 8va› baritone saxophone is the largest of the

"regular" saxophone family

Primarily made up of brass but can be coated by gold, silver, nickel, and lacquer. Some are made of Silver or possible plastic which was popular in the 1950s

body is effectively conical, giving it properties more similar to the oboe than to the clarinet

combination of four conical sections YouTube - saxophone

Neck - Also called the "gooseneck", it is a metal tube that is attached to the body of the saxophone. It is removable except for a soprano saxophone

Octave Vent and Key - The octave vent is a single hole and key located on the neck of the saxophone. Next to that is a flat metal key called the octave key

Mouthpiece - Is found on the neck of the saxophone. A cork is needed so that the mouthpiece can slide in. As you may already know, this is where the musician places his lips and blows air into the instrument to produce sound.

Body - It is a conically shaped brass tube that has plates attached to it and holds the rods, keys and other parts of the saxophone. The straight part of the body is called the tube. The u-shaped bottom of the sax is called the bow. The flared part of the sax is called the bell. The keys on the bell are called bell keys. The body usually has a high-gloss brass lacquer or clear-coat lacquer finish. Some saxophones are either nickel, silver or gold plated.

Thumb Rest - It is a hook-shaped piece of plastic or metal where you place your right thumb to support the sax.

Keys - May either be made of brass or nickel and often some or all of the keys are covered with mother-of-pearls. The keys on the middle and lower part of the bow are called spatula keys. The keys on the bottom right side are called side keys

Rods - This is one of the most important part of the saxophone in terms of its' performance. So it is very important that the rods be strong and well maintained.

Pads - It covers the holes of the saxophone enabling it to produce different sounds. The pads must completely cover the tone holes. They also have a resonator to help in sound projection.

Sound is produced by the vibration of the reed

The length of the conical bore or the amount of space between the mouthpiece and the bell determine how low the sound will be

How saxophone is made - Background, History, Raw materials, Design, The manufacturing process of saxophone, Quality control

Saxophone History Timeline Saxophone Sound & Tone

Sax on the Web - The Saxophone Information Site

Types of Saxophone YouTube - How to Play the Saxophone Saxophone Basics Introduction to saxophone acoustics Parts of the Saxophone

Late 1600’s Johann Denner and son Jacob added the speaker key to the chalumeau

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

1700’s: people started to experiment with the instrument’s tone holes› Iwan Mueller invented 13 keyed model

Mid 1800’s Theobald Boehm invented a fingering system that is still widely used today.

Parts› Mouth piece, neck, upper joint, lower joint, bell

Reed› Made of thin wood that is tapered so that the

tip is the thinnest at the top› Makes the vibrations needed for the

instrument to sound a note

Fingerings› More key holes covered, the longer the

instrument, the lower the note› The Register Key (Speaker Key) expands the

register of the instrument in a way that the fingerings can stay (almost) the same Three registers in all- relatively easy for an

experienced instrumentalist (middle school and higher) to play in all registers

Tonguing› Touch the tip of the tongue to the tip of the

reed, interrupting the air flow through the reed

Students with large hands will find it difficult to play clarinet because of the small key holes

There will be lots of squeaking! Students will be short of breath until

they build their abdominal muscles

Good to introduce instrument in a Jazz Unit› Clarinet really became recognizable

instrument when Artie Shaw played in the 1930’s

Moonglow (on CD)

Ranges of Clarinets