Why not visit our recordings page where you will be able to view some footages from Sforzando! Sax, a saxophone ensemble with some of our band members.  

Tenor Saxophone

The tenor sax has a full and powerful sound, adding body to the saxophone section by filling in the inner voices. It also plays many harmonies and counter-melodies in more jazzy and showy tunes. There is usually just one tenor part and it is often doubled or tripled. It is the favourite saxophone for rock ‘n’ roll and pop music. The tenor is twice the size of the soprano sax.

Baritone Saxophone

The baritone sax is usually the largest sax that plays in the band, and has a rich, resonant quality to its sound. It plays the bass line for the sax section and occasionally gets a solo or two in jazz tunes. It adds weight to the bass woodwind section of a concert band. The baritone sax is twice the size of the alto sax.

Bass Saxophone

The bass sax is an unusual saxophone to have in a concert band. Modern band music almost never calls for a bass sax. However, a lot of the classic band repertoire from the first part of the 20th century will often have a part for bass saxophone. Composers that liked to score for bass sax include Holst, Vaughn Williams, Grainger and Gershwin. The bass saxophone is an instrument that is huge and heavy and measures almost 1.5m high (and the tubing usually loops back on itself as well!). With 3.4m of tubing it is twice as long as the tenor sax and four times the length of the soprano sax.

Soprano Saxophone

The soprano saxophone is the highest pitched of the conventional saxophones, with a penetrating tone, often oboe-like. The soprano sax is seldom used in a concert band but does occasionally feature as a solo instrument, or doubling a clarinet part. It is often found playing the melody line in saxophone ensembles. Although the straight form is pictured below, it can also be found in a curved form like a small alto sax.

You can listen to the soprano saxophone being played during our recording of Samuel Hazo's Perthshire Majesty featuring soloist Katie . Click here to view the video. 

Alto Saxophone

The alto is the most popular saxophone, mellower than the soprano, but not as powerful as the tenor. There are usually two alto sax parts in the band, where they frequently carry the melody, especially in a saxophone section feature. They are used extensively when the band is playing jazz, swing and selections from musicals. There are usually two to four players on alto sax.

Bass Clarinet

The bass clarinet has the same range as Bb clarinet but one octave lower. It has a rich velvety tone, especially on the lower notes. Its dark sound usually accompanies the bass section but can also be heard on counter melodies with the tenor saxophone or euphonium.

The band will usually have one or two bass clarinets. It shares a role with the bassoon as the bass section of the woodwind family.
Bass clarinets have an extra low Eb key, and some will have their range extended down further to a low C by way of extra keys and being much longer.

Fact: The modern form of the bass clarinet was developed by Adolphe Sax, better known for inventing the saxophone.

Oboe
The oboe is the smaller of the double reed instruments in the band. A double reed instrument is so called because it is played by blowing down a tube made between 2 pieces of cane. Other instruments in the group include the bassoon, cor anglais (English horn), and bagpipes.


The oboe can sound melancholy and expressive, especially when playing low notes, and is often used to play sad or emotional melodies, but it can also be bright and forceful when playing higher notes. The more piercing notes can cut across the entire band.

Within the band, the oboe often has many beautiful solos. It is usually used to tune the band or orchestra. There are usually both a first and a second oboe player.
Oboes are usually made of wood, with metal keys.

Fact: The oboe was one of the first woodwind instruments to have a regular place in the classical orchestra. When the modern concert band began to develop, bands inherited the oboe as part of their instrumentation. Because its pitch does not vary much with temperature, the oboe sounds the concert-Bb note (concert A in an orchestra), to which all other instruments adjust their tuning.

Bassoon

The bassoon is the largest double reed instrument found in the band.
Falling in between the upper-woodwinds and the bass brass section, the bassoon often has intricate harmony parts and the odd exposed section where the unique timbre of the bassoon sound can be easily heard. There are great differences in sound across the registers on the bassoon, from full and sonorous in the lower notes, to melodious and elegant in the middle and haunting at the top of its range.

It is well suited to playing quick staccato (short) notes, and is frequently used for comedy effects.
Most band music has both a first and a second bassoon part. It always seems to be a constant struggle to find bassoonists to play in the band - there simply aren't many of them around.

Bassoons consist of several sections of wood, which join together to make an instrument that is 1.35m long but if unwound would be over 2.5m in length.

Fact: The Italians call the bassoon a "fagotto", meaning "bundle of sticks".