-
The Invention of The Sax
The son of Belgium's chief appointed instrument maker, Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone revolutionized many instruments in his lifetime. His visionary nature led him to create an instrument that would have the power of a brass horn with the subtleties of a woodwind and the facility of a stringed instrument. Sax intended for his creation to be used within orchestral and military band settings and subsequently created two separate sets of saxophones for both groups. -
Different Strokes
The saxophone had many variations to its name, and while some have become "extinct" in a sense over the years, listed below are all the variations still in use today: Sopranino saxophone Soprano saxophone Alto saxophone Tenor saxophone Baritone saxophone Bass saxophone Contrabass saxophone Subcontrabass saxophone http://cfelts.tripod.com/saxfam.html -
New Beginnings
By 1866 Adolphe Sax's patent has expired. Companies worldwide pounce on the idea and run with it. A company by the name of Millereau Co. takes leads the charge and takes over with a patent of the saxophone featuring an innovative new forked F# key, and several other small key adjustments along with rods to make the instrument quieter whilst fingering notes making the saxophone more efficient in its finger positions.
http://www.the-saxophone.com/history-of-the-saxophone.html -
Continued Innovation
Adolphe Sax, not to be outdone with his own creation extends his original patent in 1881 with new features such as lengthening the bell to include Bb and A and extending the instrument's range to F# and G using the fourth octave key, providing the sax with yet again another revolution in tone, efficiency and precision of intonation. http://musiced.about.com/od/lessonsandtips/a/saxhistory.htm -
The Bright Future
As previously stated, Sax's orchestral dream for his saxophone was never fully realized. In 1917 though America's greatest musical gift was formed in the heart of New Orleans: Jazz. This exciting revolutionary new hybrid of music perfectly personified everything Sax and his creation stood for, and as such featured the Saxophone as the most important component to any jazz band. Many pioneers paved a style of sax playing that was previously unheard of ever before in the musical community
