Soprano saxophone

A soprano saxophone is a saxophone high position in B.

It has a nasal to penetrating, very flexible sound that is well suited for solo work or conduct of a sentence, but the operation considerably more difficult for the beginner. The range is at the tuned in B instrument as0 - es3 (e3). The tone e3 can only be played on instruments that have a high F # key without the use of special techniques. It sounds 2 semitones lower than written.

Designs

The soprano saxophone comes in two designs before:

• The one shown here form with a straight body, in two variants: one-piece ( as seen in the picture ), the cork sits for securing the mouthpiece directly on the body, or with a separate header ( "S- bend " ), as with all deeper sounding (larger) saxophones usual. This bocal is available in straight and slightly curved shape. Both S- arcs included - as well as in the deeper sounding saxophones - respectively the octave key;

• The bent structure, in which the soprano saxophone is similarly shaped like an alto, but with a less curved crook. The latter construction is preferred by some players because the tone due to the orientation of the horn supposedly audible and thus be better controlled. Other advantages of the curved shape, the shorter overall length, which allows a smaller bag, as well as the favorable placement of a microphone.

Dissemination

The soprano saxophone was chosen by only a few soloists as the main instrument, whereas many tenor saxophonist happy occasion half their instrument against the soprano instrument bartered ( Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon).

Famous soprano saxophonist Branford Marsalis, Sidney Bechet, John Coltrane, Steve Lacy, Wayne Shorter and Kenny G.

A soprano saxophone is often used in big bands, but there are also in harmony symphony orchestras or ensembles with a soprano saxophone, but there is no permanent position as a soprano saxophone in an orchestra. Despite the good tone, the soprano saxophone is rarely played and is therefore often used as a solo instrument, so there are hardly soprano voices in arrangements.

Miking

Because a portion of the sound also exits through the open tone holes in a woodwind instrument through the hopper and another, is formed in straight woodwinds the problem that a single microphone the sound perceived by the listener does not reflect entirely accurate.

Therefore, the straight soprano saxophones are usually equipped with a microphone diagonally in front of the horn and another microphone above one of the doors in the lower half of the instrument.

The curved design is enough - as with the alto and tenor saxophone - a placed over the horn microphone, since it can also record each emerging from the tone holes sound.

Sound Sample

Here is a short sound example of the sound of a soprano saxophone trio in Ogg Vorbis format (~ 234 kB).