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Introduction to the saxophone

© Chris Mindel

The saxophone is a relatively new instrument. It was created by Adolphe Sax around 1840, mentioned in a magazine article by Hector Berlioz (a friend of Sax) in 1842, first seen by the world in 1844, and patented in 1846. The saxophone is a woodwind instrument that combines the mouthpiece of a clarinet, the conical bore of an oboe, a brass body like a trumpet, and a fingering system close to the Bohm system adopted by the flute, clarinet, and oboe. I have always hears it said that Sax wanted an instrument that sounded like a clarinet or oboe, and could match the volume of the brass section of a military band. In fact, there was a competition between Sax's military band (with saxophones) and a traditional military band (sans saxes). the Parisians judging the contest declared Sax's band the winner.

Since then, the saxophone has been a valued member of the military band and the wind ensemble. The saxophone also found a home in jazz and big band music. It is from these latter venue, jazz and big band, that most people know the saxophone.

The saxophone is still struggling to get accepted fully into the "classical music" genre. While many composers (Berlioz, Ravel, Puccini, Bizet, etc.) have included saxophone in a symphony orchestra, and even more have written music expressly for the saxophone (Glazunov, Creston, Heiden, etc.), the saxophone is still not as common to see in an orchestra as, say, a violin or clarinet.

And I think there are a few reasons for this lack of assimilation. First of all, the saxophone is a new instrument. New things always take time to be completely accepted. Second, it was first seen in a military band, where a lot of volume is a necessity. I'm sure many composers doubted the saxophone's dynamic range (how loud or soft it can play). With jazz adopting the sax, it was now an instrument of popular culture. And popular culture seems to distance itself, at times, from "classical music," and vice versa. For when saxophones are seen in a symphony orchestra, many times they are added when jazz is incorporated into the composition (i.e. Gershwin). A final reason is the ability of the players. Saxophonists of today have all the tools and techniques in their normal repertoire that early saxophonists were in the process of developing. We also have more advanced instruments and accouterments. This is not saying that the first saxophonists

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