NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Soprano saxophone

The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument. The soprano is the second in size of the saxophone family which consists, as generally accepted, (from smallest to largest) of the sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, and contrabass. (Benedikt Eppelsheim has constructed a new "Soprillo" saxophone, which sounds an octave above the soprano.) Of these categories, only the soprano through baritone are commonly used. The less tubing an instrument has, the higher it sounds. A transposing instrument pitched in the key of Bb, the soprano saxophone plays an octave above the commonly used tenor saxophone. Some saxophones have additional keys, allowing them to play an additional F# and G at the top of the range. These extra keys are commonly found on modern saxophones. There is also a soprano pitched in C, which is less common and has not been made since around 1940. Image File history File links An E-flat sopranino saxophone (right). ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube), in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. ... A woodwind instrument is a wind instrument in which sound is produced by blowing against an edge or by a vibrating reed, and in which the pitch governed by the resonant frequencies of an enclosed air column. ... An aerophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate, without the use of strings or membranes, and without the vibration of the instrument itself adding considerably to the sound. ... The playing range of a musical instrument is the region of pitch in which it can play, i. ... Image File history File links Alto_sax_range. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... The soprillo, a piccolo or sopranissimo saxophone, is the worlds smallest saxophone. ... An E-flat sopranino saxophone (right). ... Mezzo-soprano (left) and alto (right) saxophones. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The C melody saxophone is a saxophone in the key of C, one whole step above the tenor saxophone. ... The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. ... The baritone saxophone, often called bari sax (to avoid confusion with the baritone horn, which is often referred to simply as baritone), is one of the larger and lower pitched members of the saxophone family. ... The bass saxophone (or bass sax for short) is the second largest existing member of the saxophone family (or third largest, if the subcontrabass tubax is counted). ... The contrabass saxophone is one of the lowest-pitched members of the saxophone family. ... A B-flat subcontrabass tubax (right), the closest extant instrument to a subcontrabass saxophone. ... A B-flat subcontrabass tubax (right). ... Explanation of columns: s = Sopranino S = Soprano A = Alto T = Tenor B = Baritone b = Bass c = Contrabass sc = Subcontrabass (i. ... The saxophone (colloquially referred to as sax) is a conical-bored instrument of the woodwind family, usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece like the clarinet. ... The saxophone (colloquially referred to as sax) is a conical-bored instrument of the woodwind family, usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece like the clarinet. ... A woodwind instrument is a wind instrument in which sound is produced by blowing against an edge or by a vibrating reed, and in which the pitch governed by the resonant frequencies of an enclosed air column. ... An E-flat sopranino saxophone (right). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. ... The baritone saxophone, often called bari sax (to avoid confusion with the baritone horn, which is often referred to simply as baritone), is one of the larger and lower pitched members of the saxophone family. ... The bass saxophone (or bass sax for short) is the second largest existing member of the saxophone family (or third largest, if the subcontrabass tubax is counted). ... The contrabass saxophone is one of the lowest-pitched members of the saxophone family. ... Benedikt Eppelsheim is a world-renowned German manufacturer of high- and low-voiced saxophones, the soprillo and tubax, which are available exclusively from him. ... The soprillo, a piccolo or sopranissimo saxophone, is the worlds smallest saxophone. ... A transposing instrument is a musical instrument whose music is written at a pitch different from concert pitch. ...

The soprano sax can be compared to the clarinet; it generally has a louder and more penetrating sound than the clarinet in the extreme high notes. Due to the smaller bore of the soprano, it is less forgiving with respect to intonation, though an experienced player will use alternate fingerings or vary breath support or embouchure to compensate. Due to its similarity in tone to the instrument, the soprano saxophone is sometimes used as a substitute for the oboe. Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™ clarinet (left, with capped mouthpiece) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... Intonation, in music, is a players realization of pitch accuracy. ... The embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of a wind instrument. ... The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. ...

Soprano saxophones are usually straight, but sometimes have slightly or fully curved necks and bells. The fully curved variety looking much like a small alto saxophone with a straighter crook.

In 2001, François Louis created the aulochrome, a new woodwind instrument that is made of two soprano saxophones joined together, which can be played either in unison or in harmony. The aulochrome is a new woodwind instrument invented by Belgian FranÃ§ois Louis in 2001. ...

Musicians especially known for playing the soprano saxophone include jazz musicians John Coltrane (most notably on the landmark album My Favorite Things), Sidney Bechet, Wayne Shorter, Joe Farrell, Steve Lacy, Lucky Thompson, Branford Marsalis, Paul Winter and Dave Liebman; smooth jazz saxophonists Kenny G, Dave Koz and Grover Washington, Jr.; and Nigerian Afrobeat singer, Fela Kuti. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 â€“ July 17, 1967), nicknamed Trane, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. ... My Favorite Things is a 1960 jazz album by John Coltrane. ... Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 â€“ May 14, 1959) was a jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. ... Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz composer and saxophonist. ... Joe Farrell (born, Chicago Heights, Illinois, USA 1937 - died, Los Angeles, California, 1986) was a jazz saxophonist (plus flute and other woodwinds). ... Allen|Henry Red Allen]], George Pops Foster and Zutty Singleton and then with Kansas City jazz players like Buck Clayton, Dicky Wells, and Jimmy Rushing before jumping into the heart of the avant-garde by performing on the debut album of Cecil Taylor, appearing with Taylors groundbreaking quartet at... Eli (Lucky) Thompson (born in 1924) was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist. ... Branford Marsalis. ... Paul Winters Greatest Hits (1998) Paul Winter (born August 31, 1939 in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American saxophonist (alto and soprano saxophone). ... Dave Liebman (born in 1946) is an American tenor saxophonist and flautist. ... Smooth jazz is generally described as a genre of music that utilizes instruments (and, at times, improvisation) traditionally associated with jazz and stylistic influences drawn from, among other sources, funk, pop and R&B. Since the late 1980s, it has become highly successful as a radio format; one can tune... Kenneth Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), better known by his stage name Kenny G, is an American saxophonist whose fourth album, Duotones, brought him breakthrough success[1] in 1986. ... Dave Koz (born David Kozlowski, March 27, 1963) is an American jazz saxophonist and radio host. ... Grover Washington, Jr. ... Afrobeat is a combination of Yoruba music, jazz, and funk rhythms, fused with African percussion and vocal styles, popularized in Africa in the mid to late 1960s. ... Fela Anikulapo Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, October 15, 1938 - August 2, 1997), or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick. ...

Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 420 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (475 Ã— 678 pixel, file size: 94 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Personal photo of my own saxophone, intended for the Soprano Sax wikipedia article I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 420 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (475 Ã— 678 pixel, file size: 94 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Personal photo of my own saxophone, intended for the Soprano Sax wikipedia article I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public... Image File history File links Top to bottom: a curved E-flat sopranino saxophone, a straight E-flat sopranino saxophone, a C soprano saxophone, and a B-flat soprano saxophone. ... Image File history File links Top to bottom: a curved E-flat sopranino saxophone, a straight E-flat sopranino saxophone, a C soprano saxophone, and a B-flat soprano saxophone. ...

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