Author: Jeremy
Date: 2002-01-18 03:29
This same message is posted to a reply in "Why Bb" but I thought I'd stick it out here for everyone to see.
As far as the saxophone goes, the story behind it's pitch is interesting. Adolphe Sax originally envisioned a whole slew of saxophones. Eventually, the contrabass in Eb, the bass sax in Bb, the baritone sax in Eb, the tenor sax in Bb, the C melody sax in C (duh), the Eb alto sax, the F mezzo-soprano, the Bb and Eb sopranos, and the Eb sopranino were made. Once might assume the different pitched saxophones came as a result of Adolphe Sax originally being a clarinet maker. Or, since sax and flute fingerings are almost identical in the mid-range, he might have decided to make the fingerings identical, or in other words, a G fingering on the sax would be the same as a G fingering on the sax. But, since the sax is of different lengths, he would have to adjust for the pitch discrepancy by "pitching" the sax differently. The reason that all the saxes we see today are either in Bb or Eb is because those intruments were employed in military bands right after the invention of the saxophone. The C and F saxes were intended for concert/symphonic settings and due to lack of interest, musician boycotting, and lack of music, the C and F saxes became useless and died out. The Bb and Eb thrived in the military bands and that is why they are still around. The birth of jazz helped the sax's cause, especially the bass, baritone, and soprano). The C melody sax, despite some people's opinions, is a great instrument, it plays well and has a distinct tone, so a revival seems imminent to me. I've never played an F mezzo-soprano so I can't really talk about them. Hope this has been thorough enough!
-Jeremy
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