Sax Research Paper

The Romantic Era is arguably one of the most profound periods of time in music history. This was a point where musical forms, styles and progressions had been established for some time and are now taking a creative turn. New forms, harmonies and colors are composed during this era and one of the many inventions to come out of this time is the saxophone. The saxophone is one of the most versatile instruments to have ever been created. In the early to mid-1800’s, a Belgian-French instrument maker began constructing a musical instrument that was intended to have the flexibility and tone of a woodwind and the power of a brass. The saxophone has only gained popularity since its development and forged its way into many large ensemble settings
in today’s time. The saxophone begins with a man named Antoine-Joseph Sax aka, Adolphe Sax. Sax was born in Dinaut, Belgium on November 6th of 1814. Much like his own father, he took an interest in creating and improving instruments. During his teen years, he would change the location of keys and the bore of his own instrument, the clarinet. (Boyd, 2013) This type of activity turned into a lifelong career, of which he is most commonly known for as the father of the saxophone. In the early 1840’s, Sax moved to Paris in hopes of creating an instrument to add to the French Army. In his workshop, he developed what he called a “saxhorn,” which is not commonly seen today but was very popular. This family of instruments was made as an addition to the brass family. Saxhorns were produced in the keys of B flat and E flat and very lightweight; they are made with approximately a third of the thickness used for modern brass instruments which made them easy to march with and cost effective. In today’s world, flugelhorns have the same timbre and euphoniums have the closest shape to a saxhorn.
In the late 1830’s, Sax began working on a family of instruments that he called the saxophone.
These are considered a woodwind instrument because of their complex key system and use of a reed, even though they are made out of brass materials. He wanted to fill in the harmony and timbre between woodwinds and brass, this instrument would be the most adaptive and versatile yet! Sax held numerous patents for the saxophone from 1838-1850. Over this period of time, he worked on two different categories of saxophones: orchestral and military band. These two groups contained seven instruments each and varied in transposition and size: sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, and contrabass. The orchestral series may be unheard of to some reading this because saxophone is the one instrument very rarely seem in an orchestral setting. Sax generated these instruments in the keys of C and F (C would be considered a non-transposing instrument and F would be read up either a perfect fourth up from the concert pitch or a fifth down from the concert pitch). Unfortunately, this series never gained much popularity are now rare treasures. The saxophones that we know and love today are from the military band series written in the keys of B flat and E flat (B flat is read down a major second from concert pitch and E flat is read down a minor third from concert pitch).
The saxophone is considered one of the easiest instruments to learn but with that, one of the most difficult play
at the high level.
Today, we see the saxophone in all sorts of large ensemble settings such as concert bands, military bands, jazz big bands and marching bands. On a smaller scale they are involved in chamber ensembles, jazz combos, quintets, quartets and there is a great variety of solo repertoire as well.
A few years later, Sax received a patent for a special creation that he called the saxophone. This new contraption consisted of the body of an ophiclide and the mouthpiece of a clarinet and was based off of the design of a bass clarinet.
Since the original design of the saxophone, many variations have also been developed. Today, the very basic and most commonly used are the following: B flat soprano, E flat alto, B flat tenor, and E flat baritone. Typically, players will be started on an alto saxophone because it is an ideal size for younger children. As kids grow, they are able to easily transition from to any other saxophones because the fingers and notes always go in the same spot no matter the transposition or saxophone. Saxophones also all read in treble clef, though they do not sound in the octave that they are written for (mostly for tenor, baritone and lower). Slide sax, sopranino, bass, contrabass, conno (oboe/English horn sub), keyless alto for overtone fundamental practice, tubax (only last 20 years), c melody Extended techniques by the saxophone include double and triple tonguing, slap tonguing, altissimo range, key clicks and multi-phonics.
Double and triple tonguing are used for a quicker articulation that is not quite, but nearly impossible by single tonguing. These different tonguing require players to feel and think different syllables such as tu-ku, tah-ka-da, doo-goo, etc. These syllables vary from player to player and instrument to instrument (woodwind or brass). Slap tonguing is mostly unique to saxophone where the tongue creates suction on the reed and then when taken away, a very sharp and aggressive attack is heard on the note played. Altissimo is used and studied to extend the upper range of the saxophone from a high F sharp (concert A 880) on up to a basically unlimited height. This can be achieved by using the overtone series and with “fake” fingerings that have typically worked for many other saxophonists. Key clicks are popular with flutes and saxophones because they have keys for almost every single note that they play. Key clicks are heard when no air is being pushed through the instruments however, fingers are still moving to the notes written. Multi-phonics happen when you play a note and sing a different pitch at the same time. The ability to use these techniques in a solo setting are really what set players apart from each other. There is always something else that you can be working on to further your saxophone knowledge and technique
ability.
Adolphe Sax may have passed away in 1894, but his work continues to live on everyday much bigger than he probably ever imagined. The saxophone is one of the few instruments that can imitate voices. Saxophone players are able to play like you would sing, cry, or even yell and evoke all different kinds of emotion.