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Soprano saxophones are straight, but the most recognizable shape for a saxophone is curved, with the bell facing upwards.
Kat Eschner is a freelance science and culture journalist based in Toronto. Adolphe Sax made this alto saxophone in , long after he had switched to brass. The saxophone family named in the patent included eight saxophones. The saxophones were intended to encompass the range of sopranino to subcontrabass.
Sax was in court for over twenty years dealing with legal proceedings regarding the patents. The first time a saxophone was heard in public was on February 3, , in Paris.
This concert featured a chamber piece, composed by Hector Berlioz, with Adolphe Sax playing his newly invented Bass Saxophone. On the morning of the concert, Sax worked feverishly to complete his instrument and render it playable. The instrument Sax played on the concert was partially held together with string and sealing wax!
The saxophone was well-received at its first performance. Something interesting to note, especially for brass players, is Jean Baptiste Arban a legendary cornetist was also performing in this chamber ensemble, along with Adolphe Sax.
Adolphe Sax began his factory in a very modest dwelling, in Paris, rented with borrowed money. From this location, he developed many instruments, including the saxhorn, saxotromba, and saxophone. This created much jealousy among established Parisian factories. Because of this, Sax dealt with break-ins, theft of plans and tools, and even an assassination attempt. Eventually, the business grew and it is reported that between and , over 20, instruments were produced and sold.
The parabolic bore still prevails today. After the war in , the Paris Conservatoire unfortunately suspended the saxophone class. However, this did not discourage Adolphe Sax, who never stopped improving his saxophones, from taking out a third patent on November 27, One could with the remainder, if it is preferred, employ other combinations.
This same operation can be used for all the high note keys. Thereafter the saxophone suffered from a lack of popular performance, since it was primarily confined to use within military music.
By the end of the First World War, French manufacturers of wind instruments had lost close to two thirds of their specialized workforce. The United States, suffering from a shortage of French instruments during this period, began to develop their own domestic instrument production.
In , thirty six years after its creation , Selmer Paris began manufacturing saxophones. By adopting the principle of the drawn-out tone holes and no longer welding them onto the body of the instruments, Selmer revolutionized the workmanship of the saxophone.
This process was already used in the United States for the flute, and saved a considerable amount of time during manufacture. The reliability, esthetics and lightness of the instrument were also improved. Selmer set about its conquest of the American market, just as the birth of jazz and a new way of living were contributing to the passion for the saxophone.
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