#LifeIsMusic: Get to know the Saxophone, an integral part of jazz music

Jazz feels incomplete without Saxophone. The relatively young instrument was developed by Adolphe Sax, a Belgian instrument maker who lived in 19th century. Sax was looking to bridge a gap between sounds made by woodwind instruments like flute and brass instruments like trumpet.

He made several changes to the bass Clarinate to get the results he wanted. He fashioned an instrument which had a single reed mouthpiece like a Clarinate, conical brass body like an Ophicleide and acoustics of French horn and Clarinate.

Upon his move to Paris, then cultural centre of Europe, his instrument got the popularity it deserved.

Adolphe Sax then, in the year 1846, received the patents for 14 designs of Saxophone ranging from Soparnino to Contrabass.

Read the excerpt - 

The Saxophone made its debut in an orchestra in Paris in 1844. “The Saxophone used to be played in military bands, initially,” says Raj Singh Sodha, an accomplished Saxophonist. Sax had kept the military bands of those days in mind, when he developed the Saxophone. In fact, Adolphe Sax himself challenged the French army band to a competition in 1844. He proved that the Sax improves the tonal quality of the band by competing with the 35 member French Army Band with traditional instruments with his 25 member band that included Saxophones. The French Army Band conceded to the superiority of the Saxophone, which was then officially incorporated in the Army band. 

You can read the complete article about innovative instruments here.

To catch the Life Is Music webisodes and interesting updates about all things music, follow www.lifeismusic.in