The Baritone Saxophone

The baritone saxophone is pitched in Eb, sounding an octave plus a major sixth lower than
written. It is commonly seen as the bass end of the saxophone section, although there are larger,
lower saxophones. Its pipework is more extensive than other saxophones, and as such is coiled
for easier handling. The altissimo range is also achievable on baritone saxophones.

Orchestral use is very rare, but use in wind bands in common place. The baritone saxophone is
a standard instrument in marching, military and concert bands. A single baritone sax is also
standard as part of the horn section in a big band. It is exceptionally rare for more than one
baritone sax to be used in any context. Use in popular music is lesser that higher saxophones,
but still relatively common. For solo baritone saxophonists, see Gerry Mulligan9 and Leo
Pellegrino10.

The Soprano Saxophone

The saxophone with the least use of the four most common instruments is the soprano
saxophone. Again, it’s written range and fingering are identical to that of other saxophones. The
soprano is pitched in Bb, and sounds a tone lower than notated (analogous to the Bb clarinet).
Unlike the majority of saxophones, the soprano is most commonly seen with a straight bore
(more like the clarinet), although curved bell sopranos are available.

Its usage in classical music is scarce, although a limited solo repertoire exists (see Jess Gillam8
for contemporary examples). The soprano sax is not standard, but common in military and
marching bands. In jazz, the soprano sax is more often seen as a solo instrument. It is frequently
used by reed doublers in big bands. Soprano sax use is rare, but not unheard of, in popular
music.

Other Sizes
Other, primarily larger, saxophones have been produced, summarised in Table 4. The bass
saxophone is the most common of the extension types. For expositions of the bass saxophone,
see Moon Hooch11 and West Side Story12, orchestrated by Leonard Bernstein.

Table 4 - Saxophone size summary, with the most common highlighted in bold

SAXOPHONE KEY SOUNDS

Sopranino Eb Minor third higher
Soprano Bb Tone lower
Alto Eb Major sixth lower
Tenor Bb Octave plus tone lower
Baritone Eb Octave plus major sixth
lower
Bass Bb Two octaves plus tone lower
Contrabass Eb Two octaves plus major
sixth lower

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