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Introduction	Orchestration	Orchestration	Resources	Historical	Andrew Hugill
	by section woodwinds brass percussion others strings combinations tuttis	by instrument flutes oboes clarinets bassoons saxophones horns trumpets trombones tubas percussion keyboards harps fretted strings voices electronics violins violas cellos basses conductors	select... score layouts seating plans ranges/transpositions harmonic series language/phonetics notation charts	select... 20th/21st Century 19th Century Classical Baroque pre-Baroque	Philharmonia

SAXOPHONE

Section: Woodwind
Transposing? Yes

Construction
Range
Articulations
Effects
Extended
Player's Tips and Tricks

Links

 

 

David Roach (Saxophones, Philharmonia Orchestra)

The saxophone is a wind instrument that is made of brass, and as so forms a bridge between those sections of the orchestra. It has a single reed and a conical bore. At one time, there were two distinct schools of saxophone playing: the classical, and the jazz or popular. These distinctions have largely broken down today and most good sax players will be capable of playing in a variety of styles.

Use the links on the left to navigate through the saxophone pages.
The icon will launch a movie of David Roach explaining a relevant point of sax technique.
The icon will give an audio clip, which will either play automatically or open a new window.
The icon will play an illustrative music example from the Philharmonia's recorded archive.

Be sure to visit the 'player's tips and tricks' section for some very useful advice about aspects of saxophone writing.