Seeing a saxophone, you might assume it’s made of brass and fits in with brass instruments. Actually, it’s classified as a woodwind: blowing across a single reed makes the air inside its tube vibrate. The reed is usually cane, although synthetic reeds can also be used.
The saxophone is a widely used musical instrument in various ensembles. It’s found in concert bands, solo performances, chamber music, military bands, jazz bands, marching bands, and contemporary music. The saxophone often features as a melody or solo instrument, or within the horn section in popular music.
List of Saxophone Types
Since Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone, it has seen many innovations and now comes in several sizes and forms. The four types you will encounter most often are Tenor, Baritone, Soprano, and Alto. The wider family also includes rarer sizes and historical designs. Here is a brief overview, with the electronic wind instrument included as a related alternative rather than an acoustic saxophone:
1) Subcontrabass
If you’re curious about the lowest members of the family, look at the subcontrabass saxophone. Full-size examples are enormous, but height depends on how the tubing is folded. The more compact B♭ tubax described below reaches the same register without needing the same overall shape.
Sound produced by the subcontrabass reaches a very low register. Its size alone does not tell you how loud it will be: bore, mouthpiece, reed, and the player all affect the result. Listen for the low fundamental and the higher harmonics that give the notes their character.
However, you’ll rarely see a subcontrabass saxophone today because it’s scarce. So, beginners usually won’t find one.
2) Contrabass Saxophone
The contrabass saxophone in E♭ sounds an octave below the baritone. A conventional example is a large, upright instrument, generally played with a stand or other support rather than held horizontally. Its folded tubing and broad bell create a striking shape, and it is far less common than the four main saxophones.
This contrabass saxophone has a unique quality. It produces a vast, resonating sound that isn’t suitable for beginners. You need a lot of air to play it correctly.
3) Bass Saxophone
The bass saxophone, while not as large as the contrabass and subcontrabass, still stands at about 4 feet tall. It’s bigger than most smaller wind instruments. This type of saxophone rarely appears, though some jazz players occasionally use it.
The bass saxophone was popular in the early 20th century for offering jazz big bands a rich low-end sound. As a beginner, you likely won’t get to play this sax. However, seasoned musicians with good lung capacity can enjoy its deep notes.
4) Baritone Saxophone
The baritone saxophone, or bari sax, is larger than the tenor saxophone and has a lower pitch. It’s smaller than the bass saxophone but is the lowest-pitched sax among those commonly used.
The bari sax is bulky, so a suitable strap, harness, or stand can make it easier to manage. Many models have a written low A, while others stop at low B♭. Low A is a semitone below low B♭, not above it. Experienced players can also reach the altissimo upper register.
5) Tenor Saxophone
The tenor saxophone, a medium-sized instrument pitched in Bb, is a popular choice over the alto sax. Its sounds are prominent in many jazz and pop recordings. Notable tenor sax players include Michael Brecker, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, and Clarence Clemons.
As a beginner, I believe you can manage this type of saxophone since players of different sizes can use it. It’s common in military and marching bands. It produces a crisp sound, ideal for harmony and rhythm.
6) Alto Saxophone
The alto saxophone, pitched in Eb, is one of the most popular saxophones and a common starting point for beginners. Its smaller size and closer key spacing can be easier to manage than a tenor. It still takes practice to control the sound and tune individual notes; no saxophone plays in tune automatically.
The alto saxophone is popular in concert bands, pop music, marching bands, solo repertoire, chamber music, military bands, swing music, and jazz combos. Its basic fingerings transfer to other saxophones, but a change of size still requires adjustments to breath, embouchure, voicing, and intonation.
The alto saxophone shaped jazz history. Influential musicians like Don Redman, Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Dorsey, and Benny Carter excelled with it.
The alto saxophone is perfect for playing melodies. It produces a mid-range sound that’s clear. You’ll often hear the alto saxophonist as a soloist.
Adolphe Sax patented the saxophone family in Paris in 1846 after developing the design in the early 1840s. His work brought a single-reed mouthpiece together with a conical metal tube. The instrument found a place in bands before jazz and popular music helped make it familiar to listeners around the world.
7) Soprano Saxophone
The soprano saxophone, normally pitched in B♭, sounds an octave above the tenor and occupies a higher register than the alto. Many have a straight body resembling a clarinet, while others have curved bodies or curved necks. Shape is not a reliable way to identify the instrument’s pitch.
The soprano saxophone is challenging to learn and isn’t recommended for beginners. It demands a precise mouth position, known as embouchure. Soloist jazz and classical musicians, like Kenny G, often choose to play the soprano saxophone.
8) Sopranino Saxophone
The sopranino saxophone looks like the soprano saxophone, but it’s smaller. It also produces higher notes than the soprano saxophone.
The sopranino saxophone is a specialty member of the family, usually pitched in E♭, an octave above the alto. It adds a high voice to saxophone ensembles and appears in some jazz and contemporary concert music. Its smaller mouthpiece and high register call for careful pitch control.
If you’re a beginner, the sopranino saxophone may be challenging to handle. Experts don’t recommend it for those just starting out.
9) Saxello
The B♭ soprano Saxello is a distinctive design associated with King in the 1920s. Its curved neck and upturned bell give it a different shape from a straight soprano. It remains a soprano saxophone in pitch, rather than a separate register between the other saxophone sizes.
Surviving Saxellos are historical instruments with different finishes and decorative details. For a player, the condition of the pads, keywork, and body matters more than the finish alone. A specialist inspection is useful before treating a vintage example as a ready-to-play alternative to a modern soprano.
10) Tubax
The Tubax, created by German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim, is a compact, narrow-bore saxophone design. The maker lists E♭ contrabass and B♭ subcontrabass versions. The E♭ version sounds an octave below the baritone, while the B♭ version sounds an octave below the bass saxophone.
The E♭ contrabass was the first tubax by Eppelsheim. It’s more compact than the contrabass saxophone, with the same register as the regular contrabass. Its tubing is folded more than the standard contrabass sax, making it easier to play with better agility. It blends well with other saxophones.
A rare C subcontrabass tubax has also been used by Swiss musician Thomas Mejer. Such individual instruments should be distinguished from the E♭ and B♭ versions in the maker’s catalogue. The key identifies its transposition, while the folding of the tube determines how much space it occupies.
Experts debated whether the Tubax is really a saxophone because its bore isn’t as wide, and its tubing is thinner compared to standard saxophones. Some experts say the Tubax is in a class of its own, but others still believe it belongs to the saxophone family.
The Tubax and sarrusophone can look related because both fold a long tube into a compact body. The Tubax uses a single-reed saxophone mouthpiece; the sarrusophone normally uses a double reed. The E♭ tubax takes a baritone saxophone mouthpiece, and the B♭ model can use a baritone or bass saxophone mouthpiece.
11) Mezzo-soprano Saxophone
Another member of the saxophone family is the mezzo-soprano saxophone, also known as the F alto saxophone. It is pitched in F, one whole tone above the E♭ alto saxophone. Its size is close to an alto, but its different transposition means the player needs a suitable part or must transpose when joining other instruments.
The mezzo-soprano saxophone was introduced by Conn in 1928. It never became a standard ensemble instrument: limited dedicated repertoire and the shrinking market for unusual saxophones worked against it. Surviving examples are now of interest to collectors and players exploring less familiar saxophone voices.
The C.G. Conn Company also made the Conn-O-Sax, another instrument in F with a distinctive straight body and bulb-shaped bell. The mezzo-soprano was therefore not the only saxophone design in F. Neither should be confused with the usual E♭ alto or E♭ baritone in a modern saxophone section.
12) C-Melody Saxophone
Another type of saxophone is the C-Melody Saxophone, pitched in C. It sounds an octave below its written treble-clef notes, so it avoids the B♭ or E♭ transposition used by the common saxophones. It was popular for home music-making in the early twentieth century before demand declined.
For someone interested in playing a C-Melody, the practical questions are mouthpiece fit, intonation, repair condition, and the music they want to play. Vintage examples can still make music, but they are a specialist choice. Alto and tenor offer a more straightforward route into most modern school bands and saxophone sections.
13) Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI)
If you want to create saxophone sounds without a saxophone, use the Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI). This wind controller, invented by Nyle Steiner in the 1970s, acts as an electronic musical instrument.
Nyle Steiner’s electronic wind-instrument work helped establish this approach to playing synthesizers with breath and fingering. Akai later developed the EWI range, including the EWI4000S and EWI5000. These have onboard sound generation, so they can produce electronic voices as well as instrument-like sounds.
These instruments sound like a clarinet or soprano saxophone. Contemporary EWIs offer various modes, including oboe, flute, and saxophone fingering. They feature a silicone mouthpiece and air pressure sensors.
Modern EWIs let you adjust breath sensitivity and other sensor settings. Saxophone experience helps with a saxophone fingering mode, but the touch-sensitive keys, octave rollers, and electronic response still take practice. Breath control remains part of expressive playing. Prominent wind-controller players include Bob Mintzer and Michael Brecker.