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Instrument: Saxophone |
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 Invented by a Belgian manufacturer, Adolphe Sax and exhibited to the world for the first time at the 1841 Brussels Exhibition, the saxophone is a relatively young instrument. It is classified along with the clarinet as a single-reed woodwind, but actually it's a hybrid, borrowing elements from both the clarinet and oboe.
Sax was an avid inventor, developing and refining many kinds of wind instruments, but the saxophone is his most enduring innovation. Originally, it was available in fourteen different sizes and keys. Currently, three sizes of saxophone have been standardized - the soprano, the tenor, and the baritone. Sax was also an effective entrepreneur; in 1845, he proposed a 'battle of the bands' between an ensemble using his new instruments and one made up of traditional French infantry band instruments. Sax won the contest, and the French government officially adopted his instruments into their military bands, which caused considerable resentment among other Parisian instrument manufacturers. |
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The versatile saxophone has been used effectively in many musical styles. Bizet included it in his opera L'Arlesienne , and Ravel in his famous orchestral work, Bolero. . In orchestral work, its use is primarily limited to distinctive solos. However, since 1890 the saxophone became familiar to American audiences through the band music of J.P. Sousa.
The full potential of the saxophone was not explored, however, until it was used by jazz musicians. In the hands of such gifted artists as Charlie Parker (1920-1955) and John Coltrane (1926-1967), the saxophone became the most popular woodwind solo instrument among jazz performers and audiences. Parker, on the alto sax, and Coltrane, on the tenor and soprano sax, of course had very different styles. The saxophone's individualized sound is possible because of the variety of mouthpiece materials and designs, the range of hardness in reeds, and the relatively loose mouth position that this instrument requires, which enables the player to vary the timbre and to "bend" pitches.
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