Saxophone Family

As you probably know there is more than one type of a Saxophone, Saxophones come in all shapes and sizes. These Saxophones include;

Alto Saxophone

(this is the Saxophone I play) The Alto Saxophone is a medium sized saxophone is the most commonly played Saxophone. The Alto Saxophone is mostly seen as a curved J shape but it can also, like many other Saxophones, come in a straight model, this is rarely seen. The Alto Saxophone is in the key of E flat and reads treble clef. 

Contrabass Saxophone
The Contrabass Saxophone is the lowest-pitched member of the Saxophone family. The Contrabass Saxophone is a very large Saxophone, which is twice the length of the Baritone Saxophone, standing at 1.9 meters tall and weighs about 20 kilograms. The Contrabass Saxophone is in the key of E flat and is one octave below the Baritone Saxophone.    

Baritone Saxophone

The Baritone Saxophone is the largest of the more commonly known Saxophones, this being; Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone. The Baritone Saxophone is in the key of E flat and is one octave lower than the Alto Saxophone.  The Baritone is used in saxophone quartets, concert bands,  military bands and in jazz big bands. 

Mezzo Soprano Saxophone
The Mezzo Soprano Saxophone can also be known as the F Alto Saxophone. The Mezzo Soprano Saxophone is in the key of F and is one tone above the Alto Saxophone. 

Saxello
The Saxello is in the key of B flat and is a Soprano Saxophone. What makes this Saxophone different to the Soprano Saxophone is that it has a bent bell and a slightly bent neck. It was designed this way so that the bell would face towards the audience and not to the floor.    

Slide Saxophone
The Slide Saxophone does not have any keys but is almost like a trombone, as it uses a slide which glides between notes, allowing it to have a singer sound to it.

Sopranino Saxophone
The Sopranino Saxophone is second smallest member of the Saxophone family. The Sopranino is in the key of E flat and is an octave higher than the Alto Saxophone.  

Soprano Saxophone 

The Soprano Saxophone can come in straight or curved, but most Sopranos are made as straight models. The Soprano Saxophone is in the key of B flat, this being on octave higher than the Tenor Saxophone. The Soprano Saxophone is the third smallest member of the Saxophone family.   

Soprillo Saxophone
 The Soprillo Saxophone, also known as the Sopranissimo Saxophone, is the smallest member of the Saxophone family, it is 12 inches long and 13 inches with the mouthpiece in place. The Soprillo Saxophone is in the key of B flat, this is one octave above the soprano Saxophone and two octaves above the tenor Saxophone.

Tenor Saxophone

The Tenor Saxophone is slightly larger than the alto and unlike the alto Saxophone it has a small bend in the neck. The Tenor Saxophone is also one of the most common Saxophones along with the Alto Saxophone. The Tenor Saxophone is in the key of B flat and reads treble cleft. The Tenor Saxophone is used in many different types of ensembles, including concert bands, big bands, small jazz ensembles and marching bands. 

Tubax
The Tubax is a newly designed Contrabass Saxophone, also known as the Subcontrabass Saxophone. The Tubax has a narrower bore than the Contrabass Saxophone and needs less air to blow. The Tubax sounds like the Baritone Saxophone but is is one octave lower. The Tubax is like the Contrabass Saxophone as the Contrabass Saxophone is twice the size of the baritone, the Tubax is about the same size as the Baritone Saxophone but it has twice the length of tubing.       

Conn-O-Sax
The Connosax was made in 1928 by Conn. The Conn-O-Sax is a cross between a Saxophone and a Heckelphone, or Baritone Oboe. The Conn-O-Sax is in the key of F.   

C Melody Saxophone 
The C Melody Saxophone is in the key of C and is one tone above the Tenor Saxophone . The C Melody Saxophone is larger than the Alto but smaller then the Tenor. The C Melody Saxophone was popular because it was not a transposing instrument. This meant the musician could read regular music (music for the piano, flute, oboe, violin or voice.) without having to transpose it into B flat or E flat, like other Saxophones.   

Bass Saxophone 
The Bass Saxophone is one of the largest members of the Saxophone family and is larger then the well known saxophone- The Baritone Saxophone. The Bass Saxophone is in the key of B flat and is an octave below the Tenor Saxophone.