Page:Instruments of the Modern Symphony Orchestra.djvu/40



Italian Sassophone

This instrument was invented in the year 1840 by the eminent Belgian instrument-maker and inventor, Adolph Sax, from whom it derives its name. Its novelty consists in the use of the clarinet single reed applied to a tube of extreme conical bore. The instrument thus combines important features of the clarinet and the oboe families—the single reed of the one with the taper bore of the other.

The saxophone is made of brass, frequently silver-plated, and comprises a family of seven different sizes, of which the most generally used are the soprano in B flat, alto in E flat, tenor in B flat, baritone in E flat, and bass in B flat. Of these five the soprano is the least pleasing and the alto and tenor the most.

In quality of tone the saxophone possesses the characteristic reediness of the clarinet, to which, however, is added a certain brazen tinge, combined with a string quality akin to that of the cello. The volume is greater, but the flexibility inferior to that of the clarinet or the bassoon.

Saxophones are of greater utility in military bands than in the orchestra, though modern composers, particularly the French, are introducing two, three, or four of them into their scores. They have an extreme range of two and one-half octaves, and are all written in the treble clef as transposing instruments in B flat or E flat.

The ranges and actual sound of the saxophones most used are:

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