The saxophone is not a single instrument but a whole family: from the tiny sopranino to the gigantic contrabass, including the four best known, soprano, alto, tenor and baritone. They all share the same single reed and, above all, the same fingering: whoever plays one can play them all. What changes is the size and, with it, the pitch. Here are the types of saxophone, what they have in common and what sets them apart, with a comparison chart and a link to the guide to saxophone notes and fingering.
What is the saxophone family?
The saxophone is a woodwind, even though it is made of brass: it sounds with a single reed on the mouthpiece, just like the clarinet. Its bore, however, is conical (it widens), and that makes it overblow at the octave with the octave key (not at the twelfth like the clarinet). That regularity is what lets all saxophones share one fingering: only the size of the tube changes.
All of them are transposing instruments and are read in treble clef, alternating two tunings: E♭ and B♭. So when a player changes instrument, they read and finger exactly the same, and only the real pitch that sounds changes.
The saxophones, from highest to lowest
- Sopranino (E♭): small and very high; rare, found in contemporary music and in saxophone ensembles.
- Soprano (B♭): bright and penetrating, often straight; widely used as a solo voice.
- Alto (E♭): the most common; it rules in classical music, the band and teaching.
- Tenor (B♭): warm and expressive, the great voice of jazz.
- Baritone (E♭): large, with a loop above the mouthpiece; the low base of the sax section.
- Bass (B♭): uncommon; reinforces the low register in big bands and saxophone ensembles.
- Contrabass (E♭): enormous and very rare, among the lowest saxophones ever built.
There is even a member smaller than the sopranino, the soprillo (or sopranissimo, in B♭), and another lower than the contrabass, the subcontrabass. They are curiosities that are almost never seen. There was also a saxophone in C (the "C melody"), which does not transpose. It became very popular in the 1920s for playing piano or vocal sheet music directly at home, but fell out of use around the 1930s.
What they have in common
- The same fingering. A saxophonist who can play the alto can already play all four (and the others), which is why doubling instruments is so normal in a big band.
- Single reed and conical bore, which overblows at the octave with the octave key: a regular fingering that is easy to learn.
- All transpose and are read in treble clef, alternating E♭ (sopranino, alto, baritone, contrabass) and B♭ (soprano, tenor, bass).
- Neighboring members are a fourth or a fifth apart: this is the pattern that organizes the whole family.
Comparison chart of the saxophone types
From highest to lowest, with the tuning, how much each one transposes, its register and where it is mainly used:
| Saxophone | Tuning | Transposition | Register | Main use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sopranino | E♭ | Sounds a minor 3rd higher | Very high | Rare; contemporary music |
| Soprano | B♭ | Sounds a major 2nd lower | High | Solo, jazz |
| Alto | E♭ | Sounds a major 6th lower | Middle | The most common: classical, band |
| Tenor | B♭ | Sounds a major 9th lower | Middle-low | The voice of jazz |
| Baritone | E♭ | Sounds a major 13th lower | Low | Base of the section |
| Bass | B♭ | Sounds a major 16th lower | Very low | Rare; big band |
| Contrabass | E♭ | Sounds a major 20th lower | Extremely low | Very rare |
Notice the pattern: the E♭ and B♭ instruments alternate, and each pair in the same key is an octave apart. Reference pitches use scientific pitch notation (C4 is middle C). It is the same transposition logic as in the clarinet family.
The saxophone in the band and in jazz
The saxophone never caught on in the symphony orchestra (it appears only in a few works), but it is a leading voice in two other worlds. In the concert band it forms a section of its own (altos, tenors and baritone) that adds body and color. In jazz it is, together with the trumpet, the king of instruments: the sax section of a typical big band has two altos, two tenors and a baritone, and the tenor and alto saxophones have produced some of the most famous soloists in history.
A little history
The saxophone was invented by the Belgian Adolphe Sax, who patented it in Paris in 1846. His idea was a homogeneous family, with one mechanism and one tone color covering the whole range, that would join the power of brass with the agility of woodwinds. He actually designed two parallel families: one in C and F, meant for the orchestra, and another in B♭ and E♭, meant for military bands. The second one triumphed and is the one still alive today, while the orchestral family fell out of use. In the 20th century, the saxophone found its lasting home in jazz and in the band, far from the concert hall it was partly designed for.
Tune your saxophone
Check your pitch with the online tuner: soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophone.
Summary
- The saxophone family runs from the sopranino to the contrabass; the four common ones are soprano, alto, tenor and baritone.
- All share a single reed, a conical bore (it overblows at the octave) and the same fingering.
- They are transposing instruments in E♭ (sopranino, alto, baritone, contrabass) and B♭ (soprano, tenor, bass), read in treble clef.
- They are the base of jazz and a section of their own in the concert band; they hardly appear in the orchestra.