172-477: A clef (from French: clef 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff . Placing a clef on a staff assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines or four spaces, which defines the pitches on the remaining lines and spaces. The three clef symbols used in modern music notation are the G-clef , F-clef , and C-clef . Placing these clefs on
344-499: A computer printer ( c. 1980 ) or other printing or modern copying technology . Although many ancient cultures used symbols to represent melodies and rhythms , none of them were particularly comprehensive, which has limited today's understanding of their music. The direct ancestor of the modern Western system of notation emerged in medieval Europe , in the context of the Christian Church 's attempts to standardize
516-428: A grand staff . If the neutral clef is used for a single percussion instrument the staff may only have one line, although other configurations are used. The neutral clef is sometimes used where non-percussion instruments play non-pitched extended techniques, such as hitting the body of a string instrument, or having a vocal choir clap, stamp, or snap. However, it is more common to write the rhythms using × noteheads on
688-539: A mnemonic device for Gregorian chant , using symbols known as neumes ; the earliest surviving musical notation of this type is in the Musica Disciplina of Aurelian of Réôme , from about 850. There are scattered survivals from the Iberian Peninsula before this time, of a type of notation known as Visigothic neumes , but its few surviving fragments have not yet been deciphered. The problem with this notation
860-430: A , g , e , Γ , B , and the round and square b . In later medieval music, the round b was often written in addition to another clef letter to indicate that B ♭ rather than B ♮ was to be used throughout a piece; this is the origin of the key signature . In the polyphonic period up to 1600, unusual clefs were occasionally used for parts with extremely high or low tessituras. For very low bass parts,
1032-449: A 15-year patent for the instrument on 28 June 1846. The patent encompassed 14 versions of the fundamental design, split into two categories of seven instruments each, and ranging from sopranino to contrabass . A limited number of instruments in the series pitched in F and C were produced by Sax, but the series pitched in E ♭ and B ♭ quickly became the standard. All the instruments were given an initial written range from
1204-407: A B ♭ soprano saxophone, E ♭ alto saxophone, B ♭ tenor saxophone, and E ♭ baritone saxophone (SATB). On occasion, the soprano is replaced with a second alto sax (AATB); a few professional saxophone quartets have featured non-standard instrumentation, such as James Fei 's Alto Quartet (four altos). There is a repertoire of classical compositions and arrangements for
1376-491: A C-clef on the third space places the notes identically, but this notation is much less common as it is easily confused with the alto and tenor clefs . Such a modified treble clef is most often found in tenor parts in SATB settings, using a treble clef with the numeral 8 below it. This indicates that the pitches sound an octave lower. As the true tenor clef has fallen into disuse in vocal writings, this "octave-dropped" treble clef
1548-648: A Dutch emigré and saxophonist who had family business associations with Sax. Lefebre settled in New York in early 1872 after he arrived as a clarinetist with a British opera company. Gilmore organized the World Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival taking place in Boston that summer. The Garde Republicaine band performed and Lefebre was a clarinetist with the Great Festival Orchestra for that event. In
1720-555: A G-clef on the third line yields the same note placement as a C-clef on the bottom line. Thus there are nine possible distinct clefs when limiting their placement to the lines. All have been used historically: the G-clef on the two bottom lines, the F-clef on the three top lines, and the C-clef on the four bottom lines. The C-clef on the topmost line has also been used, but is equivalent to the F-clef on
1892-415: A certain melodic model given within the echos . Next to ekphonetic notation , only used in lectionaries to indicate formulas used during scriptural lessons, melodic notation developed not earlier than between the 9th and the 10th century, when a theta ( θ ), oxeia ( / ) or diple ( // ) were written under a certain syllable of the text, whenever a longer melisma was expected. This primitive form
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#17328921389462064-529: A classical instrument waned in the late nineteenth century. Saxophone teaching at the Paris Conservatory was suspended from 1870 to 1900 and classical saxophone repertoire stagnated during that period. But it was during this same period that the saxophone began to be promoted in the United States, largely through the efforts of Patrick Gilmore , leader of the 22nd Regiment band , and Edward A. Lefebre ,
2236-480: A complete list of the clefs, along with a list of instruments and voice parts notated with them. A dagger (†) after the name of a clef indicates that the clef is no longer in common use. The only G-clef still in use is the treble clef, with the G-clef placed on the second line. This is the most common clef in use and is generally the first clef learned by music students. For this reason, the terms "G-clef" and "treble clef" are often seen as synonymous. The treble clef
2408-497: A concave ("excavated") chamber are truer to Adolphe Sax's original design; these provide a softer or less piercing tone favored by the Raschèr school of classical playing. Saxophonists who follow the French school of classical playing, influenced by Marcel Mule , generally use mouthpieces with smaller chambers for a somewhat "brighter" sound with relatively more upper harmonics. The use of
2580-502: A copper-nickel-zinc alloy more commonly used for flutes, for the bodies of some saxophone models. For visual and tonal effect, higher copper variants of brass are sometimes substituted for the more common "yellow brass" and "cartridge brass." Yanagisawa made its 902 and 992 series saxophones with the high copper alloy phosphor bronze to achieve a darker, more "vintage" tone than the brass 901 and 991 models. Other materials are used for some mechanical parts and keywork. Buttons where
2752-403: A detachable neck or a bow but some have a small detachable neck and some are shaped like an alto saxophone with a bow section. There are rare examples of alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones with mostly straight bodies. Baritone, bass, and contrabass saxophones have extra bends to accommodate the length of tubing. The fingering system for the saxophone is similar to the systems used for the oboe ,
2924-443: A half octaves above the low B ♭ , but many instruments now have an extra key for a high F ♯ , and some modern soprano saxophones even have a high G key. Notes above this are part of the altissimo register and require advanced embouchure techniques and fingering combinations. Saxophone music is written in treble clef, appropriately transposed for each different type of instrument, and all saxophones use
3096-408: A line fixes a reference note to that line—an F-clef fixes the F below middle C , a C-clef fixes middle C, and a G-clef fixes the G above middle C. In modern music notation, the G-clef is most frequently seen as treble clef (placing G 4 on the second line of the staff), and the F-clef as bass clef (placing F 3 on the fourth line). The C-clef is mostly encountered as alto clef (placing middle C on
3268-410: A major ninth lower, and are sometimes treated as concert-pitch instruments, using bass clef. The treble clef is also the upper staff of the grand staff used for harp and keyboard instruments . Most high parts for bass-clef instruments (e.g. cello , double bass , bassoon , and trombone ) are written in the tenor clef, but very high pitches may be notated in the treble clef. The viola also may use
3440-483: A melodic sense based on blues tonalities. Illinois Jacquet , Sam Butera , Arnett Cobb , and Jimmy Forrest were major influences on R&B tenor styles and Louis Jordan , Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson , Earl Bostic , and Bull Moose Jackson were major influences on alto. The R&B saxophone players influenced later genres including rock and roll , ska , soul , and funk . Horn section work continued with Johnny Otis and Ray Charles featuring horn sections and
3612-414: A modal signature or key (like " ΠΛ Α " for echos plagios protos or " Β " for echos devteros ). Unlike Western notation, Byzantine neumes used since the 10th century were always related to modal steps (same modal degree, one degree lower, two degrees higher, etc.) in relation to such a clef or modal key ( modal signatures ). Originally this key or the incipit of a common melody was enough to indicate
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#17328921389463784-474: A mood and a gradation of how this part of melody is to be sung (tempo, strength, devotion, meekness, etc.) Every sign has its own name and also features as a spiritual symbol. For example, there is a specific sign, called "little dove" (Russian: голубчик (golubchik) ), which represents two rising sounds, but which is also a symbol of the Holy Ghost . Gradually the system became more and more complicated. This system
3956-490: A musical notation. It was first identified and published by archaeologist/epigraphist D. R. Bhandarkar . Written in the Pallava-grantha script of the 7th century, it contains 38 horizontal lines of notations inscribed on a rectangular rock face (dimension of around 13 by 14 feet). Each line of the notation contains 64 characters (characters representing musical notes), written in groups of four notes. The basic characters for
4128-473: A particular genre, Jeong-ak ( 정악, 正樂 ). Jeong-gan-bo specifies the pitch by writing the pitch's name down in a box called 'jeong-gan'. One jeong-gan is one beat each, and it can be split into two, three or more to hold half beats and quarter beats, and more. Also, there are many markings indicating things such as ornaments. Most of these were later created by Ki-su Kim. The Samaveda text (1200 BCE – 1000 BCE) contains notated melodies, and these are probably
4300-453: A particular octave, as in Sundanese gamelan , or lowest, as in the kepatihan notation of Javanese gamelan . Saxophones The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax ) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass . As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to produce
4472-488: A particular string. Notation plays a relatively minor role in the oral traditions of Indonesia . However, in Java and Bali , several systems were devised beginning at the end of the 19th century, initially for archival purposes. Today the most widespread are cipher notations ("not angka" in the broadest sense) in which the pitches are represented with some subset of the numbers 1 to 7, with 1 corresponding to either highest note of
4644-421: A single staff. Another tenor clef variant, formerly used in music for male chorus , has a ladder-like shape. This C-clef places the C on the third space of the staff, and is equivalent to the sub-octave treble clef . See also History . A C-clef on the second line of the staff is called the mezzo-soprano clef, rarely used in modern Western classical music. It was used in 17th century French orchestral music for
4816-413: A single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. Each size of saxophone (alto, tenor, etc.) uses a different size of reed and mouthpiece. Most saxophonists use reeds made from Arundo donax cane, but since the middle of the twentieth century some have been made of fiberglass or other composite materials. Saxophone reeds are proportioned slightly differently from clarinet reeds, being wider for
4988-437: A sound stand out among amplified instruments. Mouthpieces come in a wide variety of materials including vulcanized rubber (sometimes called hard rubber or ebonite ), plastic and metals like bronze or surgical steel . Less common materials that have been used include wood, glass, crystal, porcelain and bone. Recently, Delrin has been added to the stock of mouthpiece materials. The effect of mouthpiece materials on tone of
5160-418: A sound wave inside the instrument's body. The pitch is controlled by opening and closing holes in the body to change the effective length of the tube. The holes are closed by leather pads attached to keys operated by the player. Saxophones are made in various sizes and are almost always treated as transposing instruments . A person who plays the saxophone is called a saxophonist or saxist . The saxophone
5332-480: A temporary change into another echos. The so-called "great signs" were once related to cheironomic signs; according to modern interpretations they are understood as embellishments and microtonal attractions (pitch changes smaller than a semitone ), both essential in Byzantine chant. Since Chrysanthos of Madytos there are seven standard note names used for "solfège" ( parallagē ) pá, vú, g á, d i, ké, zō, nē , while
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5504-422: A treble clef with a diagonal line through the upper half of the clef to indicate octave pitch, but this is not always used. To indicate that notes sound an octave higher than written, a treble clef with an 8 positioned above the clef may be used for penny whistle , soprano and sopranino recorder , and other high woodwind parts. A treble clef with a 15 above (sounding two octaves above the standard treble clef)
5676-502: A vaudeville performer. C.G. Conn introduced two new variants in 1928–1929, the Conn-O-Sax and the mezzo-soprano saxophone , both keyed in F, one step above the E♭ alto. The Conn-O-Sax is built straight, with a slightly curved neck, a spherical liebesfuss -style bell, and extra keys for low A and up to high G. It was produced only in 1929 and 1930, and intended to imitate the form and timbre of
5848-401: A woodwind. He wanted it to overblow at the octave , unlike the clarinet, which rises in pitch by a twelfth when overblown. An instrument that overblows at the octave has identical fingering for both registers . Sax created an instrument with a single-reed mouthpiece and conical brass body. Having constructed saxophones in several sizes in the early 1840s, Sax applied for, and received,
6020-487: Is a singing tradition used in the Russian Orthodox Church which uses a "hook and banner" notation. Znamenny Chant is unison , melismatic liturgical singing that has its own specific notation, called the stolp notation. The symbols used in the stolp notation are called kryuki (Russian: крюки , 'hooks') or znamyona (Russian: знамёна , 'banners'). Often the names of the signs are used to refer to
6192-406: Is an octave key , which raises the pitch of the lower notes by one octave . The lowest note on most modern saxophones is the written B ♭ below middle C. Nearly all baritone saxophones are now constructed with an extra key to allow them to play low A, and a small number of altos with a low A key have been manufactured. The highest keyed note has traditionally been the F two and
6364-437: Is an expensive process because an underplating of silver is required for the gold to adhere to. Nickel plating has been used on the bodies of early budget model saxophones and is commonly used on keywork when a more durable finish is desired, mostly with student model saxophones. Chemical surface treatment of the base metal has come into use as an alternative to the lacquer and plating finishes in recent years. The saxophone uses
6536-441: Is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The process of interpreting musical notation is often referred to as reading music . Distinct methods of notation have been invented throughout history by various cultures. Much information about ancient music notation
6708-403: Is fragmentary. Even in the same time frames, different styles of music and different cultures use different music notation methods. For example, classical performers most often use sheet music using staves , time signatures , key signatures , and noteheads for writing and deciphering pieces . But even so, there are far more systems just that, for instance in professional country music ,
6880-511: Is indicated by the form of the note-head or with the addition of a note-stem plus beams or flags. A stemless hollow oval is a whole note or semibreve, a hollow rectangle or stemless hollow oval with one or two vertical lines on both sides is a double whole note or breve. A stemmed hollow oval is a half note or minim. Solid ovals always use stems, and can indicate quarter notes (crotchets) or, with added beams or flags, smaller subdivisions. Additional symbols such as dots and ties can lengthen
7052-410: Is indicated in a rudimentary way only, with long and short symbols. The Seikilos epitaph has been variously dated between the 2nd century BCE to the 2nd century CE. Three hymns by Mesomedes of Crete exist in manuscript . The Delphic Hymns , dated to the 2nd century BCE also use this notation, but they are not completely preserved. Ancient Greek notation appears to have fallen out of use around
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7224-409: Is named Sa, and the dominant Pa. Sa is fixed in any scale, and Pa is fixed at a fifth above it (a Pythagorean fifth rather than an equal-tempered fifth). These two notes are known as achala swar ('fixed notes'). Each of the other five notes, Re, Ga, Ma, Dha and Ni, can take a 'regular' (shuddha) pitch, which is equivalent to its pitch in a standard major scale (thus, shuddha Re, the second degree of
7396-441: Is often called the tenor clef. The same clef is sometimes used for the octave mandolin . This can also be indicated with two overlapping G-clefs. Tenor banjo is commonly notated in treble clef. However, notation varies between the written pitch sounding an octave lower (as in guitar music and called octave pitch in most tenor banjo methods) and music sounding at the written pitch (called actual pitch). An attempt has been made to use
7568-402: Is often considered the prototype for quartets due to the level of virtuosity demonstrated by its members and its central role in the development of modern quartet repertoire. However, organized quartets existed before Mule's ensemble, the prime example being the quartet headed by Edward A. Lefebre (1834–1911), which was a subset of Patrick Gilmore 's 22nd Regiment band between 1873 and 1893. In
7740-479: Is rare. The only F-clef still in use is the bass clef, with the clef placed on the fourth line. Since it is the only F-clef commonly encountered, the terms "F-clef" and "bass clef" are often regarded as synonymous. Bass clef is used for the cello , double bass and bass guitar , bassoon and contrabassoon , bass recorder , trombone , tuba , and timpani . It is used for baritone horn or euphonium when their parts are written at concert pitch, and sometimes for
7912-541: Is the exploration of non-Western ethnic sounds on the saxophone, for example, the African-influenced sounds used by Sanders and the Indian -influenced sounds used by Coltrane. The devices of the avant-garde movement have continued to be influential in music that challenges the boundaries between avant-garde and other categories of jazz, such as that of alto saxophonists Steve Coleman and Greg Osby . Some ensembles such as
8084-433: Is used for the garklein (sopranissimo) recorder . An F-clef can also be notated with an octave marker. While the F-clef notated to sound an octave lower can be used for contrabass instruments such as the double bass and contrabassoon , and the F-clef notated to sound an octave higher can be used for the bass recorder, these uses are extremely rare. In Italian scores up to Gioachino Rossini 's Overture to William Tell ,
8256-434: Is used in a wide range of musical styles including classical music (such as concert bands , chamber music , solo repertoire , and occasionally orchestras ), military bands , marching bands , jazz (such as big bands and jazz combos), and contemporary music. The saxophone is also used as a solo and melody instrument or as a member of a horn section in some styles of rock and roll and popular music . The saxophone
8428-475: The Boehm clarinet for the right, was simplistic and made certain legato passages and wide intervals extremely difficult to finger; that system was later improved with extra keys, linkage mechanisms, and alternate fingerings. Early in the development of the saxophone the upper keyed range was extended to E, then to F above the staff; 1880s era sheet music for saxophone was written for the range of low B to F. In 1887
8600-574: The Boehm-system clarinet , and the flute . From the earliest days of the saxophone the body and key cups have been made from sheet brass stock, which can be worked into complex shapes. The keywork is manufactured from other types of brass stock. King made saxophones with necks and bells of sterling silver from the 1930s into the early 1960s. Yanagisawa revived this idea in the 1980s and later introduced instruments entirely made of sterling silver. Keilwerth and P. Mauriat have used nickel silver ,
8772-478: The Buffet-Crampon company obtained a patent for extending the bell and adding an extra key to extend the range downwards by one semitone to B ♭ . This extension is standard in modern designs, with the notable exception of baritone saxophones which have keys down to low A. The upper range to F remained the standard for nearly a century until a high F ♯ key became common on modern saxophones. In
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#17328921389468944-520: The Count Basie Orchestra in the late 1930s and the popularity of Hawkins' 1939 recording of " Body and Soul " marked the saxophone as an influence on jazz equal to the trumpet, which had been the defining instrument of jazz since its beginnings in New Orleans. But the greatest influence of the saxophone on jazz was to occur a few years later when alto saxophonist Charlie Parker became an icon of
9116-626: The Great Depression . During the 1920s the saxophone came into use as a jazz instrument, fostered by the influences of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and the Duke Ellington Orchestra . Starting in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the modern era of classical saxophone was launched largely through the efforts of Marcel Mule and Sigurd Raschèr , and the classical repertoire for the instrument expanded rapidly. The use of
9288-731: The Memphis Horns , the Phenix Horns , and Tower of Power achieving distinction for their section playing. Horn sections were added to the Chicago and West Coast blues bands of Lowell Fulson , T-Bone Walker , B.B. King , and Guitar Slim . Rock and soul fusion bands such as Chicago , The Electric Flag , and Blood, Sweat, and Tears featured horn sections. Bobby Keys and Clarence Clemons became influential rock and roll saxophone stylists. Junior Walker , King Curtis and Maceo Parker became influential soul and funk saxophone stylists, influencing
9460-523: The Muscovite Chant (Znamenny Chant proper) being the second branch of the same musical continuum. Znamenny Chants are not written with notes (the so-called linear notation), but with special signs, called Znamëna (Russian for "marks", "banners") or Kryuki ("hooks"), as some shapes of these signs resemble hooks. Each sign may include the following components: a large black hook or a black stroke, several smaller black 'points' and 'commas' and lines near
9632-483: The Nashville Number System is the main method, and for string instruments such as guitar , it is quite common for tablature to be used by players. The symbols used include ancient symbols and modern symbols made upon any media such as symbols cut into stone, made in clay tablets , made using a pen on papyrus or parchment or manuscript paper ; printed using a printing press ( c. 1400 ),
9804-435: The SATB instrumentation dating back to the nineteenth century, particularly by French composers who knew Sax. However, the largest body of chamber works for saxophone are from the modern era of classical saxophone initiated by Marcel Mule in 1928. Sigurd Raschèr followed as a soloist in orchestral works, starting in 1931, and also figured prominently in development of modern classical saxophone repertoire. The Mule quartet
9976-481: The World Saxophone Quartet use the soprano-alto-tenor-baritone (SATB) format of the classical saxophone quartet for jazz. In the 1990s, World Saxophone Quartet founder Hamiet Bluiett formed the quartet Baritone Nation (four baritones). The "jump swing" bands of the 1940s gave rise to rhythm and blues , featuring horn sections and exuberant, strong-toned, heavily rhythmic styles of saxophone playing with
10148-405: The alto clef (for viola and alto trombone ) and the tenor clef (used for some cello , bassoon , tenor trombone , and double bass music). Some instruments use mainly one clef, such as violin and flute which use treble clef , and double bass and tuba which use bass clef . Some instruments, such as piano and pipe organ , regularly use both treble and bass clefs. Following the clef,
10320-761: The bebop revolution that influenced generations of jazz musicians. The small-group format of bebop and post-bebop jazz ensembles gained ascendancy in the 1940s as musicians used the harmonic and melodic freedom pioneered by Parker, Dizzy Gillespie , Thelonious Monk , and Bud Powell in extended jazz solos. During the 1950s, prominent alto players included Sonny Stitt , Cannonball Adderley , Jackie McLean , Lou Donaldson , Sonny Criss and Paul Desmond , while prominent tenor players included Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Dexter Gordon , John Coltrane , Sonny Rollins , Stan Getz , Zoot Sims , Lucky Thompson , Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis , and Paul Gonsalves . Serge Chaloff , Gerry Mulligan , Pepper Adams and Leo Parker brought
10492-431: The choirleaders of the cathedral rite. They existed once as part of an oral tradition, developed Kondakarian notation and became, during the 13th century, integrated into Byzantine round notation as a kind of universal notation system. Today the main difference between Western and Eastern neumes is that Eastern notation symbols are "differential" rather than absolute, i.e., they indicate pitch steps (rising, falling or at
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#173289213894610664-472: The cor anglais . With fewer than 100 surviving instruments, the Conn-O-Sax is highly sought after by collectors. The Conn mezzo-soprano experienced a similarly short production run, as the economics of the Great Depression curtailed the market for what were regarded as novelty instruments. Most were subsequently expended by Conn to train its repair technicians. The most successful of the unusual 1920s designs
10836-415: The hardcore punk subgenre mathcore , may use mixed meter ; songs or pieces change from one meter to another, for example alternating between bars of 4 and 8 . Directions to the player regarding matters such as tempo (e.g., Andante ) and dynamics (e.g., forte) appear above or below the staff. Terms indicating the musical expression or "feel" to a song or piece are indicated at
11008-421: The key signature is a group of 0 to 7 sharp ( ♯ ) or flat ( ♭ ) signs placed on the staff to indicate the key of the piece or song by specifying that certain notes are sharp or flat throughout the piece, unless otherwise indicated with accidentals added before certain notes. When a flat ( ♭ ) sign is placed before a note, the pitch of the note is lowered by one semitone. Similarly, a sharp sign ( ♯ ) raises
11180-400: The ophicleide , a large conical brass instrument in the bass register with keys similar to a woodwind instrument. His experience with these two instruments allowed him to develop the skills and technologies needed to make the first saxophones. As an outgrowth of his work improving the bass clarinet, Sax began developing an instrument with the projection of a brass instrument and the agility of
11352-526: The syncopated African-American rhythmic influences of ragtime were an exciting new feature of the American cultural landscape and provided the groundwork for new styles of dancing. Two of the best known ragtime-playing brass bands with saxophones were those led by W. C. Handy and James R. Europe . Europe's 369th Infantry Regiment Band popularized ragtime in France during its 1918 tour. The rise of dance bands into
11524-399: The "sweet" music of Paul Whiteman and Guy Lombardo , jazz, swing, and large stage show bands. The rise of the saxophone as a jazz instrument followed its widespread adoption in dance bands during the early 1920s. The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra , formed in 1923, featured arrangements to back up improvisation, bringing the first elements of jazz to the large dance band format. Following
11696-494: The 1840s and 1850s, Sax's invention gained use in small classical ensembles (both all-saxophone and mixed), as a solo instrument, and in French and British military bands. Saxophone method books were published and saxophone instruction was offered at conservatories in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, and Italy. By 1856 the French Garde Republicaine band was the largest ensemble of its time to prominently feature
11868-497: The 1920s followed from the popularity of ragtime. The saxophone was also used in Vaudeville entertainment during the same period. Ragtime, Vaudeville, and dance bands introduced much of the American public to the saxophone. Rudy Wiedoeft became the best known individual saxophone stylist and virtuoso during this period leading into the "saxophone craze" of the 1920s. Following it, the saxophone became featured in music as diverse as
12040-458: The 1980s, a score stored electronically can have parts automatically prepared by the program and quickly and inexpensively printed out using a computer printer. Jeongganbo is a traditional musical notation system created during the time of Sejong the Great that was the first East Asian system to represent rhythm, pitch, and time. Among various kinds of Korean traditional music, Jeong-gan-bo targets
12212-410: The 19th century, the most common arrangement for vocal music used the following clefs: In more modern publications, four-part music on parallel staffs is usually written more simply as: This may be reduced to two staffs, the soprano and alto sharing a staff with a treble clef, and the tenor and bass sharing a staff marked with the bass clef. Clef combinations played a role in the modal system toward
12384-477: The 20th and 21st centuries, the saxophone found increased popularity in symphony orchestras. The instrument has also been used in opera and choral music. Musical theatre scores also can include parts for saxophone, sometimes doubling another woodwind or brass instrument. Coincident with the more widespread availability of saxophones in the US around the turn of the century was the rise of ragtime music. The bands featuring
12556-419: The 20th century. The C-clef was formerly written in a more angular way, sometimes still used, or, more often, as a simplified K -shape when writing the clef by hand: [REDACTED] In modern Gregorian chant notation the C clef is written (on a four-line staff) in the form [REDACTED] and the F clef as [REDACTED] The flourish at the top of the G-clef probably derives from a cursive S for "sol",
12728-621: The 6th century CE and were incorporated into the Indian 'raga' system that developed later. But some of the unusual features seen in this notation have been given several non-conclusive interpretations by scholars. In the notation of Indian rāga , a solfege-like system called sargam is used. As in Western solfege, there are names for the seven basic pitches of a major scale (Shadja, Rishabha, Gandhara, Madhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata and Nishada, usually shortened to Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni). The tonic of any scale
12900-415: The 6th century, Greek theoretical categories ( melos , genos , harmonia , systema ) played a key role to understand and transmit Byzantine music, especially the tradition of Damascus had a strong impact on the pre-Islamic Near East comparable to the impact coming from Persian music . The earliest evidence are papyrus fragments of Greek tropologia. These fragments just present the hymn text following
13072-456: The B below the treble staff to the E ♭ one half-step below the third ledger line above staff, giving each saxophone a range of two and a half octaves. Sax's patent expired in 1866. Thereafter, numerous other instrument manufacturers implemented their own improvements to the design and keywork. Sax's original keywork, which was based on the Triebert system 3 oboe for the left hand and
13244-481: The Cleveland Band Instrument Company started producing saxophones under contract to the H. N. White Company in 1916. The saxophone was promoted for the casual market with introduction of the C soprano (slightly higher than the regular soprano) and C melody (between alto and tenor) saxophones, both pitched in C to enable them to play from piano music. Production of such instruments stopped during
13416-484: The G-clef is used for high parts, the C-clef for middle parts, and the F-clef for low parts. Transposing instruments can be an exception to this—the same clef is generally used for all instruments in a family, regardless of their sounding pitch. For example, even the low saxophones read in treble clef. A symmetry exists surrounding middle C regarding the F-, C- and G-clefs. C-clef defines middle C whereas G-clef and F-clef define
13588-496: The Latin word Do minus , meaning Lord . Christian monks developed the first forms of modern European musical notation in order to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide Church, and an enormous body of religious music has been composed for it through the ages. This led directly to the emergence and development of European classical music, and its many derivatives. The Baroque style, which encompassed music, art, and architecture,
13760-408: The New Orleans or large band formats, fostering the innovations of saxophonists Jimmy Dorsey (alto), Frankie Trumbauer (c-melody), Bud Freeman (tenor) and Stump Evans (baritone). Dorsey and Trumbauer became important influences on tenor saxophonist Lester Young. Lester Young's approach on tenor saxophone differed from Hawkins', emphasizing more melodic "linear" playing that wove in and out of
13932-479: The US. Lefebre worked with the music publisher Carl Fischer to distribute his transcriptions, arrangements, and original works for saxophone, and worked with the Conn Conservatory to further saxophone pedagogy in the US. Lefebre's associations with Conn and Fischer lasted into the first decade of the twentieth century and Fischer continued to publish new arrangements of Lefebre's works after his death. While
14104-407: The absolute pitch of each note may slightly vary each time, depending on the particular Ēkhos used. Byzantine notation is still used in many Orthodox Churches. Sometimes cantors also use transcriptions into Western or Kievan staff notation while adding non-notatable embellishment material from memory and "sliding" into the natural scales from experience, but even concerning modern neume editions since
14276-401: The actual written pitch. (see "Octave clefs" below). When the F-clef is placed on the fifth line, it is called the sub-bass clef. It was used by Johannes Ockeghem and Heinrich Schütz to write low bass parts, by Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe for low notes on the bass viol, and by J. S. Bach in his Musical Offering . It is the same as the treble clef, but two octaves lower. A C-clef on
14448-405: The baritone saxophone to prominence as a solo instrument. Steve Lacy renewed attention to the soprano saxophone in the context of modern jazz and John Coltrane boosted the instrument's popularity during the 1960s. Smooth jazz musician Kenny G also uses the soprano sax as his principal instrument. Saxophonists such as John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman , Sam Rivers , and Pharoah Sanders defined
14620-547: The baritone saxophone to prominence with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. The New Orleans player Sidney Bechet gained recognition for playing the soprano saxophone during the 1920s, but the instrument did not come into wide use until the modern era of jazz. As Chicago style jazz evolved from New Orleans jazz in the 1920s, one of its defining features was the addition of saxophones to the ensemble. The small Chicago ensembles offered more improvisational freedom than did
14792-453: The bass guitar, etc.), with numbers on the lines showing which fret, if any, should be used and symbols for specific techniques. Before the advent of clefs, the reference line of a staff was simply labeled with the name of the note it was intended to bear: F , C , or sometimes G . These were the most common 'clefs', or litterae clavis (key-letters), in Gregorian chant notation. Over time
14964-449: The bassoon, cello, euphonium, double bass, and tenor trombone . Treble clef may also be used for the upper extremes of these bass-clef instruments. Tenor violin parts were also written in this clef (see e.g. Giovanni Battista Vitali 's Op. 11). It was used by the tenor part in vocal music but its use has been largely supplanted either with an octave version of the treble clef or with bass clef when tenor and bass parts are written on
15136-420: The beginning of the piece and at any points where the mood changes (e.g., "Gelassen") For vocal music, lyrics are written near the pitches of the melody. For short pauses (breaths), retakes (retakes are indicated with a ' mark) are added. In music for ensembles , a " score " shows music for all players together, with the staves for the different instruments and/or voices stacked vertically. The conductor uses
15308-521: The casual market as parlor instruments during the early twentieth century, and saxophones in F were introduced during the late 1920s but never gained acceptance. The modern saxophone family consists entirely of B ♭ and E ♭ instruments. The saxophones in widest use are the B ♭ soprano, E ♭ alto, B ♭ tenor, and E ♭ baritone. The E ♭ sopranino and B ♭ bass saxophone are typically used in larger saxophone choir settings, when available. In
15480-467: The chordal structure and longer phrases that differed from those suggested by the tune. He used vibrato less, fitting it to the passage he was playing. His tone was smoother and darker than that of his 1930s contemporaries. Young's playing was a major influence on the modern jazz saxophonists Al Cohn , Stan Getz , Zoot Sims , Dexter Gordon , Wardell Gray , Lee Konitz , Warne Marsh , Charlie Parker , and Art Pepper . The influence of Lester Young with
15652-474: The cor anglais was written in bass clef an octave lower than sounding. The unmodified bass clef is so common that performers of instruments whose ranges lie below the staff simply learn to read ledger lines. Main Article: Percussion Notation The neutral or percussion clef is not a true clef like the F, C, and G clefs. Rather, it assigns different unpitched percussion instruments to
15824-495: The duration of a note. A staff of written music generally begins with a clef , which indicates the pitch-range of the staff. The treble clef or G clef was originally a letter G and it identifies the second line up on the five line staff as the note G above middle C. The bass clef or F clef identifies the second line down as the note F below middle C. While the treble and bass clef are the most widely used, other clefs, which identify middle C, are used for some instruments, such as
15996-400: The earliest notated melodies found anywhere in the world. Ancient Greek musical notation was in use from at least the 6th century BCE until approximately the 4th century CE; only one complete composition ( Seikilos epitaph ) and a number of fragments using this notation survive. The notation for sung music consists of letter symbols for the pitches , placed above text syllables. Rhythm
16168-578: The eighth notes are typically put into four groups of three eighth notes. 8 is a compound time type of time signature). Many other time signatures exist, such as 2 or 8 . Many short classical music pieces from the classical era and songs from traditional music and popular music are in one time signature for much or all of the piece. Music from the Romantic music era and later, particularly contemporary classical music and rock music genres such as progressive rock and
16340-445: The end of the 16th century, and it has been suggested certain clef combinations in the polyphonic music of 16th-century vocal polyphony are reserved for authentic (odd-numbered) modes, and others for plagal (even-numbered) modes, but the precise implications have been the subject of much scholarly debate. Reading music as if it were in a different clef from the one indicated can be an aid in transposing music at sight since it will move
16512-553: The end of the 17th century. The founder of what is now considered the standard music staff was Guido d'Arezzo , an Italian Benedictine monk who lived from about 991 until after 1033. He taught the use of solmization syllables based on a hymn to Saint John the Baptist , which begins Ut Queant Laxis and was written by the Lombard historian Paul the Deacon . The first stanza is: Guido used
16684-749: The fall of 1873 Gilmore was reorganizing the 22nd Regiment band under the influence of the Garde Republicaine band and recruited Lefebre, who had established a reputation in New York as a saxophonist over the previous year. Gilmore's band soon featured a soprano-alto-tenor-baritone saxophone section, which also performed as a quartet. The Gilmore-Lefebre association lasted until Gilmore's death in 1892, during which time Lefebre also performed in smaller ensembles of various sizes and instrumentation, and worked with composers to increase light classical and popular repertoire for saxophone. Lefebre's later promotional efforts were very significant in broadening adoption of
16856-431: The fingers contact the keys are usually made from plastic or mother of pearl . Rods, screw pins, and springs are usually made of blued or stainless steel . Mechanical buffers of felt, cork, leather, and various synthetic materials are used to minimize mechanical noise from key movement and to optimize the action of the keywork. Nickel silver is sometimes used for hinges for its advantages of mechanical durability, although
17028-470: The first syllable of each line, Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and Si, to read notated music in terms of hexachords ; they were not note names, and each could, depending on context, be applied to any note. In the 17th century, Ut was changed in most countries except France to the easily singable, open syllable Do, believed to have been taken either from the name of the Italian theorist Giovanni Battista Do ni , or from
17200-407: The forefront of creative exploration with the avant-garde movement of the 1960s. The new realms offered with Modal , harmolodic , and free jazz were explored with every device that saxophonists could conceive of. Sheets of sound, tonal exploration, upper harmonics, and multiphonics were hallmarks of the creative possibilities that saxophones offered. One lasting influence of the avant-garde movement
17372-544: The hook or crossing the hook. Some signs may mean only one note, some 2 to 4 notes, and some a whole melody of more than 10 notes with a complicated rhythmic structure. The stolp notation was developed in Kievan Rus' as an East Slavic refinement of the Byzantine neumatic musical notation. The most notable feature of this notation system is that it records transitions of the melody, rather than notes . The signs also represent
17544-497: The innovations of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Jean Goldkette 's Victor Recording Orchestra featured jazz solos with saxophones and other instruments. The association of dance bands with jazz would reach its peak with the swing music of the 1930s. The large show band format, influenced by the 1930s swing bands, would be used as backing for popular vocalists and stage shows in
17716-687: The instrument was initially ignored in Germany, French and Belgian military bands were quick to include it in their ensembles. Most French and Belgian military bands incorporate at least a quartet of saxophones, comprising an E ♭ baritone, B ♭ tenor, E ♭ alto and B ♭ soprano. These four instruments have proven the most popular of all Sax's creations with the E ♭ contrabass and B ♭ bass usually considered impractically large and E ♭ sopranino insufficiently powerful. British military bands tend to include at minimum two saxophonists on alto and tenor. The saxophone
17888-427: The instrument's normal staff, with a comment to indicate the appropriate rhythmic action. For guitars and other fretted instruments, it is possible to notate tablature in place of ordinary notes. This TAB sign is not a clef — it does not indicate the placement of notes on a staff. The lines shown are not a music staff but rather represent the strings of the instrument (six lines would be used for guitar, four lines for
18060-455: The instrument, using eight saxophones. The saxophone was used experimentally in orchestral scores, but never came into widespread use as an orchestral instrument. In 1853-54 the orchestra of Louis Antoine Jullien featured a soprano saxophone on a concert tour of the United States. After an early period of interest and support from classical music communities in Europe, interest in the saxophone as
18232-569: The introduction of graphical notation by some modern composers and the use, since the 1980s, of computer-based scorewriter programs for notating music. Music notation has been adapted to many kinds of music, including classical music , popular music , and traditional music . The earliest form of musical notation can be found in a cuneiform tablet that was created at Nippur , in Babylonia (today's Iraq ), in about 1400 BCE. The tablet represents fragmentary instructions for performing music, that
18404-512: The key signature or an accidental, is cancelled. Sometimes a courtesy accidental is used in music where it is not technically required, to remind the musician of what pitch is required. Following the key signature is the time signature . The time signature typically consists of two numbers, with one of the most common being 4 . The top "4" indicates that there are four beats per measure (also called bar ). The bottom "4" indicates that each of those beats are quarter notes. Measures divide
18576-404: The left thumb. Ergonomic design of keywork evolved rapidly during the 1920s and 1930s. The front F mechanism supporting alternate fingerings for high E and F, and a stack-linked G ♯ key action, became standard during the 1920s, followed by improvements to the left hand table key mechanisms controlling G ♯ and the bell keys. New bore designs during the 1920s and 1930s resulted from
18748-419: The lines and spaces of the staff. With the exception of some common drum-kit and marching percussion layouts, the assignment of lines and spaces to instruments is not standardised, so a legend is required to show which instrument each line or space represents. Pitched percussion instruments do not use this clef — timpani are notated in bass clef and mallet percussion instruments are noted in treble clef or on
18920-469: The lowest notes of the horn . Baritone and bass voices also use bass clef, and the tenor voice is notated in bass clef if the tenor and bass are written on the same staff. Bass clef is the bottom clef in the grand staff for harp and keyboard instruments . Double bass, bass guitar, and contrabassoon sound an octave lower than the written pitch; some scores show an "8" beneath the clef for these instruments to differentiate from instruments that sound at
19092-602: The more technical jazz-fusion sounds of Michael Brecker and Bob Mintzer and pop-jazz players such as Candy Dulfer . A number of experimental saxophones and saxophone-related instruments have appeared since Sax's original work, most with no lasting impact. During the early 1920s Reiffel & Husted of Chicago produced a slide soprano saxophone . During the 1920s some straight alto and tenor saxophones were produced by Buescher , which proved cumbersome to handle and more difficult to transport. Buescher custom produced one straight baritone saxophone as novelty instrument for
19264-449: The most common material for such applications has remained brass. Manufacturers usually apply a finish to the surface of the instrument's body and keywork. The most common finish is a thin coating of clear or colored acrylic lacquer to protect the brass from oxidation and maintain a shiny appearance. Silver or gold plating are offered as options on some models. Some silver plated saxophones are also lacquered. Plating saxophones with gold
19436-433: The music was composed in harmonies of thirds , and that it was written using a diatonic scale . A tablet from about 1250 BCE shows a more developed form of notation. Although the interpretation of the notation system is still controversial, it is clear that the notation indicates the names of strings on a lyre , the tuning of which is described in other tablets. Although they are fragmentary, these tablets represent
19608-502: The name for "G" in solfege . C clefs (along with G, F, Γ, D, and A clefs) were formerly used to notate vocal music. Nominally, the soprano voice parts were written in first- or second-line C clef ( soprano clef or mezzo-soprano clef ) or second-line G clef ( treble clef ), the alto or tenor voices in third-line C clef ( alto clef ), the tenor voice in fourth-line C clef ( tenor clef ) and the bass voice in third-, fourth- or fifth-line F clef ( baritone , bass , or sub-bass clef ). Until
19780-404: The note at the interval of a fifth above middle C and below middle C, respectively. Common mnemonics for the notes on treble clef: For bass clef: Theoretically, any clef may be placed on any line. With five lines on the staff and three clefs, there are fifteen possibilities for clef placement. Six of these are redundant because they result in an identical assignment of the notes—for example,
19952-408: The notes in the same staff positions as the bass clef, but two octaves higher. When the F-clef is placed on the third line, it is called the baritone clef. Baritone clef was used for the left hand of keyboard music (particularly in France; see Bauyn manuscript ) and for baritone parts in vocal music. A C-clef on the fifth line creates a staff with identical notes to the baritone clef, but this variant
20124-511: The older practice still used the four enechemata or intonation formulas of the four echoi given by the modal signatures, the authentic or kyrioi in ascending direction, and the plagal or plagioi in descending direction ( Papadic Octoechos ). With exception of vú and zō they do roughly correspond to Western solmization syllables as re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, do . Byzantine music uses the eight natural, non-tempered scales whose elements were identified by Ēkhoi , "sounds", exclusively, and therefore
20296-513: The performance of plainsong melodies so that chants could be standardized across different areas. Notation developed further during the Renaissance and Baroque music eras. In the classical period (1750–1820) and the Romantic music era (1820–1900), notation continued to develop as the technology for musical instruments developed. In the contemporary classical music of the 20th and 21st centuries, music notation has continued to develop, with
20468-571: The piece into groups of beats , and the time signatures specify those groupings. 4 is used so often that it is also called " common time ", and it may be indicated with [REDACTED] rather than numbers. Other frequently used time signatures are 4 (three beats per bar, with each beat being a quarter note); 4 (two beats per bar, with each beat being a quarter note); 8 (six beats per bar, with each beat being an eighth note) and 8 (twelve beats per bar, with each beat being an eighth note; in practice,
20640-441: The pitch by one semitone. For example, a sharp on the note D would raise it to D♯ while a flat would lower it to D♭ . Double sharps and double flats are less common, but they are used. A double sharp is placed before a note to make it two semitones higher, a double flat - two semitones lower. A natural sign placed before a note renders that note in its "natural" form, which means that any sharp or flat applied to that note from
20812-588: The pitches roughly in parallel to the written part. Key signatures and accidentals need to be accounted for when this is done. For use with computer systems, the Unicode Consortium has created code points for twelve different clef symbols as part of a repertoire called the "Musical Symbols" block . Although much of the list was established by 1999, general provision of these symbols in common computer fonts remains rather limited. The clef symbols provided are these: Musical notation Musical notation
20984-407: The pitches that their inscriptions refer to. Although no notated musical compositions were found, the inscriptions indicate that the system was sufficiently advanced to allow for musical notation. Two systems of pitch nomenclature existed, one for relative pitch and one for absolute pitch. For relative pitch, a solmization system was used. Gongche notation used Chinese characters for the names of
21156-482: The post World War II era, and provided a foundation for big band jazz. Show bands with saxophone sections became a staple of television talk shows (such as the Tonight Show that featured bands led by Doc Severinsen and Branford Marsalis ) and Las Vegas stage shows. The swing era fostered the later saxophone styles that permeated bebop and rhythm and blues in the early postwar era. Coleman Hawkins established
21328-584: The quest for improved intonation , dynamic response and tonal qualities. The 1920s were also an era of design experiments like the Buescher straight altos and tenors, the King Saxello soprano, the C. G. Conn mezzo-soprano saxophone keyed in F, and the Conn-O-Sax saxophone–English horn hybrid. French saxophonist and educator Jean-Marie Londeix greatly expanded the saxophone repertoire and available techniques in
21500-401: The reform of Chrysanthos a lot of details are only known from an oral tradition related to traditional masters and their experience. In 1252, Safi al-Din al-Urmawi developed a form of musical notation, where rhythms were represented by geometric representation. Many subsequent scholars of rhythm have sought to develop graphical geometrical notations. For example, a similar geometric system
21672-525: The right hand of keyboard music (particularly in France – see Bauyn manuscript ), in vocal music for sopranos, and sometimes for high viola da gamba parts along with the alto clef. It was used for the second violin part ('haute-contre') in 17th century French music. Starting in the 18th century, music for some instruments (such as guitar ) and for the tenor voice have used treble clef, although they sound an octave lower. To avoid ambiguity, modified clefs are sometimes used, especially in choral writing. Using
21844-513: The right-side bell key layout. In 1948 Selmer introduced their Super Action saxophones with offset left and right hand stack keys. Thirty to forty years later this 1948 Selmer layout was nearly universal. The high F ♯ key was also first introduced as an option on the Balanced Action model, although it took several decades for it to gain acceptance because of perceived deleterious effects on intonation. Marcel Mule established study of
22016-604: The same clef persisted until very recent times. The F-clef was, until as late as the 1980s in some cases (such as hymnals), or in British and French publications, written like this: [REDACTED] In printed music from the 16th and 17th centuries, the C clef often assumed a ladder-like form, in which the two horizontal rungs surround the staff line indicated as C: [REDACTED] ; this form survived in some printed editions ( see this example , written in four-part men's harmony and positioned to make it equivalent to an octave G clef) into
22188-399: The same key arrangement and fingerings. Therefore any written note corresponds to the same fingering on any saxophone, making it easier for players to switch instruments. Alto and larger saxophones have a detachable curved neck at the top, and a U-shaped bend (the bow ) that turns the tubing upward as it approaches the bell. Soprano and sopranino saxophones are usually constructed without
22360-463: The same length. Commercial reeds vary in hardness and design, and single-reed players try different reeds to find those that suit their mouthpiece, embouchure, and playing style. Mouthpiece design has a profound impact on tone. Different mouthpiece design characteristics and features tend to be favored for different styles. Early mouthpieces were designed to produce a "warm" and "round" sound for classical playing. Among classical mouthpieces, those with
22532-653: The same step), and the musicians know to deduce correctly, from the score and the note they are singing presently, which correct interval is meant. These step symbols themselves, or better "phonic neumes", resemble brush strokes and are colloquially called gántzoi ('hooks') in modern Greek . Notes as pitch classes or modal keys (usually memorised by modal signatures) are represented in written form only between these neumes (in manuscripts usually written in red ink). In modern notation they simply serve as an optional reminder and modal and tempo directions have been added, if necessary. In Papadic notation medial signatures usually meant
22704-626: The saxophone as a classical instrument at the Conservatoire de Paris from the 1940s. Larry Teal did the same in the United States at the University of Michigan a decade later. A number of other American institutions have since become recognized homes for the study of classical saxophone. They include Northwestern University , Indiana University , and the Eastman School of Music . The saxophone first gained popularity in military bands . Although
22876-401: The saxophone for more dynamic and more technically demanding styles of playing added incentive for improvements in keywork and acoustic design. Early saxophones had two separate octave keys operated by the left thumb to control the two octave vents required on alto or larger saxophones. Around the turn of the century, mechanisms were developed to operate both octave vents with a single key using
23048-420: The saxophone has been the subject of much debate. According to Larry Teal , the mouthpiece material has little, if any, effect on the sound, and the physical dimensions give a mouthpiece its tone color. There are examples of "dark" sounding metal pieces and "bright" sounding hard rubber pieces. The extra bulk required near the tip with hard rubber affects mouth position and airflow characteristics. The saxophone
23220-420: The saxophone in dance orchestras and jazz ensembles from the 1920s onward placed emphasis on dynamic range and projection, leading to innovation in mouthpiece designs. At the opposite extreme from the classical mouthpieces are those with a small chamber and a low clearance above the reed between the tip and the chamber, called high baffle . These produce a bright sound with maximum projection, suitable for having
23392-582: The saxophone remained marginal, used mainly as a novelty instrument in the classical world, many new musical niches were established for it during the early decades of the twentieth century. Its early use in vaudeville and ragtime bands around the turn of the century laid the groundwork for its use in dance orchestras and eventually jazz. As the market for saxophones grew in the US, the manufacturing industry grew. The Martin Band Instrument Company started producing saxophones between 1905 and 1912, and
23564-463: The saxophone. Starting near the end of the 1880s he consulted with the brass instrument manufacturer C.G. Conn to develop and start production of improved saxophones to replace the costly, scarce, and mechanically unreliable European instruments that were in the American market. The early 1890s saw regular production of saxophones commence at Conn and its offshoot Buescher Manufacturing Company , which dramatically increased availability of saxophones in
23736-467: The scale, is a whole-step higher than Sa), or an altered pitch, either a half-step above or half-step below the shuddha pitch. Re, Ga, Dha and Ni all have altered partners that are a half-step lower (Komal-"flat") (thus, komal Re is a half-step higher than Sa). Ma has an altered partner that is a half-step higher ( teevra -"sharp") (thus, tivra Ma is an augmented fourth above Sa). Re, Ga, Ma, Dha and Ni are called vikrut swar ('movable notes'). In
23908-408: The scale. Japanese music is highly diversified, and therefore requires various systems of notation. In Japanese shakuhachi music, for example, glissandos and timbres are often more significant than distinct pitches, whereas taiko notation focuses on discrete strokes. Ryukyuan sanshin music uses kunkunshi , a notation system of kanji with each character corresponding to a finger position on
24080-431: The score while leading an orchestra , concert band , choir or other large ensemble. Individual performers in an ensemble play from "parts" which contain only the music played by an individual musician. A score can be constructed from a complete set of parts and vice versa. The process was laborious and time consuming when parts were hand-copied from the score, but since the development of scorewriter computer software in
24252-487: The second half of the 20th century, commissioning a great deal of new saxophone works with extended techniques, including those by Denisov , Lauba , Rossé, and Rolin. The modern layout of the saxophone emerged during the 1930s and 1940s, first with right-side bell keys introduced by C. G. Conn on baritones, then by King on altos and tenors. The mechanics of the left hand table were revolutionized by Selmer with their Balanced Action instruments in 1936, capitalizing on
24424-407: The second viola or first tenor part ('taille') by such composers as Lully, and for mezzo-soprano voices in operatic roles, notably by Claudio Monteverdi . Mezzo-soprano clef was also used for certain flute parts during renaissance, especially when doubling vocal lines. In Azerbaijani music , the tar uses this clef. A C-clef on the first line of the staff is called the soprano clef. It was used for
24596-537: The series pitched in C and F never gained a foothold and constituted only a small fraction of instruments made by Sax. High-pitch (also marked "H" or "HP") saxophones tuned sharper than the (concert) A = 440 Hz standard were produced into the early twentieth century for sonic qualities suited for outdoor use, but are not playable to modern tuning and are considered obsolete. Low-pitch (also marked "L" or "LP") saxophones are equivalent in tuning to modern instruments. C soprano and C melody saxophones were produced for
24768-439: The seven notes, 'sa ri ga ma pa dha ni', are seen to be suffixed with the vowels a, i, u, e. For example, in the place of 'sa', any one of 'sa', 'si', 'su' or 'se' is used. Similarly, in place of ri, any one of 'ra', 'ri', 'ru' or 're' is used. Horizontal lines divide the notation into 7 sections. Each section contains 4 to 7 lines of notation, with a title indicating its musical 'mode'. These modes may have been popular at least from
24940-532: The shapes of these letters became stylised, leading to their current versions. Many other clefs were used, particularly in the early period of chant notation, keyed to many different notes, from the low Γ ( gamma , the G on the bottom line of the bass clef) to the G above middle C (written with a small letter g ). These included two different lowercase b symbols for the note just below middle C: round for B ♭ , and square for B ♮ . In order of frequency of use, these clefs were: F , c , f , C , D ,
25112-818: The soloist or monophonaris) of the Constantinopolitan cathedral rite. The earliest books which have survived, are "kondakars" in Slavonic translation which already show a notation system known as Kondakarian notation . Like the Greek alphabet notational signs are ordered left to right (though the direction could be adapted like in certain Syriac manuscripts). The question of rhythm was entirely based on cheironomia (the interpretation of so-called great signs which derived from different chant books). These great signs ( μεγάλα σῃμάδια ) indicated well-known melodic phrases given by gestures of
25284-412: The staff lines, between the lines (ie in the spaces) or above and below the staff using small additional lines called ledger lines . Notation is read from left to right, which makes setting music for right-to-left scripts difficult. The pitch of a note is indicated by the vertical position of the note-head within the staff, and can be modified by accidentals . The duration (note length or note value )
25456-484: The stolp notation. Znamenny melodies are part of a system, consisting of Eight Modes (intonation structures; called glasy); the melodies are characterized by fluency and well-balancedness. There exist several types of Znamenny Chant: the so-called Stolpovoy , Malyj (Little) and Bolshoy (Great) Znamenny Chant. Ruthenian Chant ( Prostopinije ) is sometimes considered a sub-division of the Znamenny Chant tradition, with
25628-413: The table below, consecutive members of each family are pitched an octave apart. The pitch of a saxophone is controlled by opening or closing the tone holes along the body of the instrument to change the length of the vibrating air column. The tone holes are closed by leather pads connected to keys—most are operated by the player's fingers, but some are operated using the palm or the side of a finger. There
25800-669: The tenor saxophone as a jazz solo instrument during his stint with Fletcher Henderson from 1923 to 1934. Hawkins' arpeggiated , rich-toned, vibrato-laden style was the main influence on swing era tenor players before Lester Young , and his influence continued with other big-toned tenor players into the era of modern jazz. Among the tenor players directly influenced by him were Chu Berry , Charlie Barnet , Tex Beneke , Ben Webster , Vido Musso , Herschel Evans , Buddy Tate , and Don Byas . Hawkins' bandmate Benny Carter and Duke Ellington's alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges became influential on swing era alto styles, while Harry Carney brought
25972-602: The third line of the staff is called the alto or viola clef. It is currently used for viola , viola d'amore , alto trombone , viola da gamba , and mandola . It is also associated with the countertenor voice and sometimes called the countertenor clef. A vestige of this survives in Sergei Prokofiev 's use of the clef for the cor anglais in his symphonies. It occasionally appears in keyboard music (for example, in Brahms 's Organ Chorales and John Cage 's Dream for piano ). It
26144-419: The third line) or tenor clef (middle C on the fourth line). A clef may be placed on a space instead of a line, but this is rare. The use of different clefs makes it possible to write music for all instruments and voices, regardless of differences in range . Using different clefs for different instruments and voices allows each part to be written comfortably on a staff with a minimum of ledger lines. To this end,
26316-428: The third line, giving a total of ten historically attested clefs placed on the lines. In addition, the C-clef has been used on the third space , i.e. not on a line at all. The ten clefs placed on lines (two are equivalent) have different names based on the tessitura for which they are best suited. In modern music, only four clefs are used regularly: treble clef , bass clef , alto clef , and tenor clef . Of these,
26488-568: The time of the Decline of the Western Roman Empire . Byzantine music once included music for court ceremonies, but has only survived as vocal church music within various Orthodox traditions of monodic ( monophonic ) chant written down in Byzantine round notation (see Macarie's anastasimatarion with the Greek text translated into Romanian and transliterated into Cyrillic script ). Since
26660-455: The treble and bass clefs are by far the most common. The tenor clef is used for the upper register of several instruments that usually use bass clef (including cello , bassoon , and trombone ), while the alto is most prominently used by the viola . Music for instruments and voices that transpose at the octave is generally written at the transposed pitch, but is sometimes seen written at concert pitch using an octave clef . This section shows
26832-452: The treble clef for very high notes. The treble clef is used for the soprano , mezzo-soprano , alto , contralto and tenor voices. Tenor voice parts sound an octave lower and are often written using an octave clef (see below) or a double-treble clef. A G-clef placed on the first line is called the French clef, or French violin clef. It was used in France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for violin music and flute music. It places
27004-618: The world's oldest surviving ones. The musical notation is written usually immediately above, sometimes within, the line of Samaveda text, either in syllabic or a numerical form depending on the Samavedic Sakha (school). The Indian scholar and musical theorist Pingala (c. 200 BCE), in his Chanda Sutra , used marks indicating long and short syllables to indicate meters in Sanskrit poetry. A rock inscription from circa 7th–8th century CE at Kudumiyanmalai , Tamil Nadu contains an early example of
27176-471: The written system of Indian notation devised by Ravi Shankar, the pitches are represented by Western letters. Capital letters are used for the achala swar, and for the higher variety of all the vikrut swar. Lowercase letters are used for the lower variety of the vikrut swar. Other systems exist for non-twelve-tone equal temperament and non-Western music, such as the Indian Swaralipi . Znamenny Chant
27348-589: The Γ clef is found on the middle, fourth, or fifth lines of the staff (e.g., in Pierre de La Rue ’s Requiem and in a mid-16th-century dance book published by the Hessen brothers); for very high parts, the high-D clef ( d ), and the even higher ff clef (e.g., in the Mulliner Book ) were used to represent the notes written on the fourth and top lines of the treble clef, respectively. The practice of using different shapes for
27520-432: Was a flaw seen by German music theorist Franco of Cologne and summarised as part of his treatise Ars Cantus Mensurabilis (the art of measured chant, or mensural notation ). He suggested that individual notes could have their own rhythms represented by the shape of the note. Not until the 14th century did something like the present system of fixed note lengths arise. The use of regular measures (bars) became commonplace by
27692-625: Was also ambiguous, so that almost no one, except the most trained and educated singers, could sing an unknown melody at sight. The signs only helped to reproduce the melody, not coding it in an unambiguous way. (See Byzantine Empire ) The earliest known examples of text referring to music in China are inscriptions on musical instruments found in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (d. 433 B.C.). Sets of 41 chimestones and 65 bells bore lengthy inscriptions concerning pitches, scales, and transposition. The bells still sound
27864-437: Was called "theta" or "diple notation". Today, one can study the evolution of this notation in Greek monastic chant books like those of the sticherarion and the heirmologion (Chartres notation was rather used on Mount Athos and Constantinople, Coislin notation within the patriarchates of Jerusalem and Alexandria), while there was another gestic notation originally used for the asmatikon (choir book) and kontakarion (book of
28036-504: Was designed around 1840 by Adolphe Sax , a Belgian instrument maker, flautist , and clarinetist . Born in Dinant and originally based in Brussels , he moved to Paris in 1842 to establish his musical instrument business. Before working on the saxophone, he made several improvements to the bass clarinet by improving its keywork and acoustics and extending its lower range. Sax was also a maker of
28208-414: Was historically used to mark a treble, or pre-pubescent, voice part. Instruments that use the treble clef include violin , flute , oboe , cor anglais , all clarinets , all saxophones , horn , trumpet , cornet , vibraphone , xylophone , mandolin , recorder , bagpipe and guitar . Euphonium and baritone horn are sometimes treated as transposing instruments, using the treble clef and sounding
28380-605: Was introduced into the concert band , which usually calls for an E ♭ alto saxophone, a B ♭ tenor saxophone, and an E ♭ baritone saxophone. A concert band may include two altos, one tenor, and one baritone. A B ♭ soprano saxophone is also sometimes used, and is played by the first alto saxophonist. A bass saxophone in B ♭ is used in some concert band music (especially music by Percy Grainger ). Saxophones are used in chamber music, such as saxophone quartets and other chamber combinations of instruments. The classical saxophone quartet consists of
28552-477: Was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in the early 1840s and was patented on 28 June 1846. Sax invented two groups of seven instruments each—one group contained instruments in C and F, and the other group contained instruments in B ♭ and E ♭ . The B ♭ and E ♭ instruments soon became dominant, and most saxophones encountered today are from this series. Instruments from
28724-496: Was originally used for alto parts in choral music to reduce the number of ledger lines needed, since much of the alto range is between treble and bass clef. Alto parts are now commonly written in treble clef instead. A C-clef on the fourth line of the staff is called tenor clef. It is used for the viola da gamba (rarely, and mostly in German scores; otherwise the alto clef is used) and for upper ranges of bass-clef instruments such as
28896-529: Was particularly encouraged by the post-Reformation Catholic Church as such forms offered a means of religious expression that was stirring and emotional, intended to stimulate religious fervor. Modern music notation is used by musicians of many different genres throughout the world. The staff (or stave, in British English) consists of 5 parallel horizontal lines which acts as a framework upon which pitches are indicated by placing oval note-heads on (ie crossing)
29068-428: Was published in 1987 by Kjell Gustafson, whose method represents a rhythm as a two-dimensional graph. The scholar and music theorist Isidore of Seville , while writing in the early 7th century, considered that "unless sounds are held by the memory of man, they perish, because they cannot be written down." By the middle of the 9th century, however, a form of neumatic notation began to develop in monasteries in Europe as
29240-462: Was revived by jazz musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk , who called his straight Buescher alto a "stritch" and his Saxello a "manzello" . The Buescher straight alto was a production instrument while the manzello was in fact a Saxello with a custom-made large bell and modified keywork. More recently, the mezzo-soprano, or a modern variant of it, came into use by jazz musicians Anthony Braxton , James Carter , Vinny Golia , and Joe Lovano . Some of
29412-532: Was that it only showed melodic contours and consequently the music could not be read by someone who did not know the music already. Notation had developed far enough to notate melody, but there was still no system for notating rhythm. A mid-13th-century treatise, De Mensurabili Musica , explains a set of six rhythmic modes that were in use at the time, although it is not clear how they were formed. These rhythmic modes were all in triple time and rather limited rhythm in chant to six different repeating patterns. This
29584-541: Was the King Saxello , essentially a straight B ♭ soprano, but with a slightly curved neck and tipped bell, made by the H. N. White Company . Such instruments now command prices up to US$ 4,000. Its lasting influence is shown in the number of companies, including Keilwerth, Rampone & Cazzani ( altello model), L.A. Sax and Sax Dakota USA, marketing straight-bore, tipped-bell soprano saxophones as saxellos (or "saxello sopranos"). Interest in two 1920s variants
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