The 4 Main Types of Saxophones

The saxophone is a single-reed instrument and a member of the woodwind instrument family. The saxophone is usually made of brass and played by people all over the world. There are four main different types of saxophones including sopranos, altos, tenors and baritones. All of them are chromatic wind instruments with a single-tone hole and the same fingering.

In this article, we’ll look at the four main types of saxophones: soprano, alto, tenor and baritone. As you will read each type has its own range of notes and octave compass.

The Four main Saxophone Types:

The saxophone family of horns consists of four types of instruments, their range of pitches, and the unique tone quality each offers. In pitch order –

• Soprano – The first type is the soprano, which has the highest pitch and is good to use for quiet playing as it has a horn that measures 16.5 inches.
• Alto – The alto is the second instrument in this family and consists of a horn that measures 20.9 inches. It is a perfect choice for someone who wants to play the instrument with little effort.
• Tenor – A tenor saxophone is the third type of saxophone and is 23.75 inches long, which makes it quite recognizable by its sound due to its more “horn-like” sound quality.
• Baritone – The baritone saxophone is the last type which measures 26 inches in length and is particularly great for those who want to imitate brass sounds.

Each different size has a distinct musical role with the soprano being primarily used as a lead instrument and the baritone being primarily used as a supporting instrument.

The most commonly known type is the alto, which looks like a smaller version of the tenor saxophone. The tenor sax is similar to the alto but larger. There are also baritone and soprano saxophones. The soprano looks like a tiny version of the alto while the baritone sax has a low range, bigger sound and is often used in orchestra music.

Saxophones in Pitch Order

Eight types of saxophones in pitch order from high to low, they are the

• 

  Sopranino
• Soprano
• Alto
• C Melody
• Tenor
• Baritone
• Bass
• Contrabass

Conclusion to Types of Saxophones

I wrote this post to shed some light on the four types of saxophones that you may encounter. You should now have a better understanding of the background of these instruments, as well as their integral role in music today. I hope what you learned was informative, and if you have anything else you’d like to know, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below!

Hopefully, this short guide will help you decide which one is right for you, or at least get you up to speed on their differences.