The story of the saxophone is best understood by taking a look at its inventor Adolphe Sax. The son of Belgium’s appointed chief instrument maker, Adolphe would learn his father’s craft and quickly surpass him in both skill and vision. At age fifteen, he fabricated a clarinet and two flutes out of ivory, a feat previously deemed near impossible. By the age of twenty he had created a new fingering system for the clarinet and reinvented the bass clarinet, transforming it from an awkward derivative of the clarinet into the regal and elegant woodwind instrument it is today. He wasn’t limited to woodwinds, and is actually credited by many as the inventor of the modern trumpet, having been the first to successfully fuse piston valves into what we now call bugles. Adolphe wasn’t just an engineer; he was also a master instrumentalist. Trained at some of Europe’s finest conservatories, he could play, and play well, virtually every wind instrument of the time.

Being the visionary he was, Adolphe had an idea to create a completely new instrument. This instrument would combine the power of a brass instrument with the subtleties of a woodwind instrument and the facility of a stringed instrument. After much experimentation, he had his first working model in 1841, which he called the bass horn. It wasn’t until a review of his new instrument in the French paper Journal des Debats, however, that the name le saxophon or saxophone came about. In 1846, Adolphe Sax won two patents for his designs: One for a set of saxophones intended for the orchestra and the other for a set of saxophones intended for military bands. Each set consisted of a range of sizes from the small sopranino saxophone to the huge subcontrabass saxophone. These two patents represented Adolphe’s two dreams for the saxophone.

The first dream was for the saxophone to become a key part of the orchestra. There were a few problems in the way of this dream. First was the fact that Adolphe over the years had made many enemies in the orchestral establishment. His constant desire to improve the mechanics of the wind instruments in the orchestra made many of the players grow angry with him, and his proud nature offended many conductors. Secondly, the saxophone, despite having a beautiful voice and great facility, lacked precise intonation at the time, and this made it problematic for the orchestra. Although the saxophone has been written for by a few orchestral composers, many of whom were personal friends of Adolphe, the saxophone to this day has not lived up to his dream of being a staple of the orchestra.

Adolphe’s second dream, however, was realized on an even grander scale than he expected. Adolphe, although Belgian, had a special place in his heart for the French military bands. By definition, military bands are supposed to imbue a sense of power and confidence, but France’s military bands in the mid 1800s sounded so weak that they instead invoked laughter. Adolphe believed that his instruments, especially his saxophones, could turn the image of the French military bands completely around. Reluctant at first, the French adopted his instruments. The result was so effective that military bands from around the world were knocking on Adolphe’s door asking for his help, and his instruments.

This was a very important step for the saxophone because, through military bands, the saxophone would become a remarkable new image and sound that could be seen and heard around the globe. It was through these bands that the saxophone made its way to New Orleans and became a key component in the formation of early jazz.

The saxophone may have gained international exposure through the military bands of the world, but it was through jazz that it became the iconic instrument it is today. The saxophone made its way into jazz simply by being a part of the military bands stationed in New Orleans. Early jazz bands drew from the military band instruments to form their various ensembles. This is why we have trumpets and trombones and saxophones in Jazz today rather than orchestral instruments like the oboe and French horn. This alone wouldn’t insure its place in history, however. At first the saxophone was merely a part of the ensemble, blending in, not standing out in any way other than its unique shape. It would take individual players such as Sidney Bechet, Frankie Trumbauer, and Coleman Hawkins to show how captivating the saxophone voice could be. Today many people say that the saxophone is the closet instrument to the human voice, and it is because of these pioneers and others like them that this has become the case. These players and many others would later elevate the saxophone from a member of the ensemble to featured soloist to the lead instrument in a jazz combo. At the time other horns in the jazz band could not compete with the speed saxophone players could play and with the unique sounds and tones they were able to produce. This would lay the foundation for the saxophone to seep into all other genres of music. The soulfulness of the saxophone attracted it to early blues bands, which would in turn lead into Rhythm and Blues, Doo Wop, Motown, and eventually Rock and Pop music. The punchy and powerful side of the saxophone would attract it to early mambo and salsa and pave the way for all forms of Latin music today from Cumbia to Merengue to Latin Jazz, even Reggaeton.

Despite never becoming a permanent member of the orchestra, the saxophone has been successful in the world of chamber music and other small classical ensembles, especially in contemporary classical music. In India, musicians have been drawn to its ability to mimic the traditional singing there. In Japan, they have been in love with the saxophone ever since Cannonball Adderley first recorded there in the 1960s. In Europe today there is an ever-growing scene of free improvised music that relies strongly on the saxophone to add new colors and sounds. In America today, the saxophone is becoming a very popular voice in the soundtracks of films, probably due to its ability to tell a variety of stories.

The saxophone is actually quite easy to learn to play, probably because it was designed fairly recently in the scheme of musical instruments. What actually prevents students from picking up the saxophone at a young age is its awkward physical nature. The saxophone is rather heavy and requires the use of a neck strap in addition to the player’s hands to hold the instrument. It is also quite wide to wrap one’s hands around, and this prevents children with small hands from being able to play it. For these reasons, it is best to start learning the saxophone around ages 10-11.

Once you can physically handle the saxophone, however, it is relatively simple to get started. The fingering system is very easy to understand and tone production is much easier than with most wind instruments. The main challenge of the saxophone lies in controlling its intonation. Because it is a conical bore instrument, it does not have the stability of pitch that a cylindrical instrument may have. Also, each different pitch of the saxophone has its own unique timbre or tone, and this makes it hard to grasp its intonation. With a good teacher and some hard work, though, great intonation is definitely possible.

Of the original 14 variations of the saxophone, four are most commonly used. These are the Bb soprano, Eb alto, Bb tenor, and Eb baritone saxophones. All of these saxophones use the same fingerings, and only slight modifications of the embouchure are necessary to switch from one saxophone to the next. The Bb Soprano is the smallest and highest pitched and has arguably the most unique sound, but also is the hardest to control intonation-wise. Famous players of this instrument include Sidney Bechet, Steve Lacy, Kenny G and Dave Leibman. The Eb Alto is the saxophone almost everyone starts on due to its comfortable size, and is the most popular saxophone across the globe. This is the instrument the great Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, and Johnny Hodges played. From here students can stay on Alto or move up to the Bb Tenor. The tenor is where things start to get large to hold, but this is the saxophone that is the most recorded and performed with. John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Bob Berg, Michael Brecker, even President Bill Clinton all played this variation of the saxophone. Lastly is the Eb Baritone. This horn is huge (about 4 feet tall) and weighs about 15 pounds. The size of this horn gives it a very powerful sound and the extra curves in its neck give it a distinctive growl not found in other saxophones. This instrument is for those who like to play low and deep and provide a band with a strong bottom end. Famous players of the Bari-sax include Gerry Mulligan, Pepper Adams, Ronnie Cuber, and Gary Smulyan.

My favorite thing about learning the saxophone is all of the great repertoire out there to learn; there are books written for saxophone featuring almost every genre. From great classical sonatas and etudes to numerous collections of famous songs from jazz, rock and pop, there is surely plenty of music to keep you excited and busy!