Saxophone

History

Assembly

Cleaning

Adolphe Sax

1814-1894)

Inventor of the Saxophone

Saxophone History The saxophone was invented by Antoine-Joseph (Adolphe) Sax. h (Adolph) He was born in Dinant, Belgium on November 6, 1814. His father was a manufacturer who built a factory for woodwind and brass instruments.

The saxophone is known as a reed musical instrument that is a staple in jazz bands. Considered to be newer than other musical instruments in terms of it’s' music history.

Adolph's studies of flute and clarinet at the Brussels Conservatory led him to design refinements to the bass clarinet before creating a new instrument which was a cross between the woodwinds and brass he called the saxophone. He applied for a patent in 1841, then in 1842, he moved to Paris and began his own instrument making business. The saxophone was given its official 15-year patent in 1846.

Bass Clarinet

Adolph Sax’s original saxophone

With a few exceptions

such as Donizetti and

Bizet, Adolf Sax did not

tempt many classical

composers to include his

saxophone in their

scores. In 1845 he found

a way to enlarge his

audience by convincing

the French Ministry of

War to make a

competition among it's

military bands to test the

attributes of the

saxophone, and

overwhelmed the public

with a dramatic display.

Parts of the Saxophone

Assembling the Saxophone

1. Take a saxophone reed out

of its case and soak the thin

half of the reed in your

mouth; soaking the reed will

allow

you to produce a better tone

when you begin to play, and

will also allow you to

produce sound more easily.

While soaking the reed

follow the steps below.

Take the saxophone body out of the saxophone case.

Put the neck strap around your neck.

Take the main body of the sax from its case holding it firmly by the bell. A saxophone should always be held by the bell. The reason is simple. If you do not touch the keys, you will not bend the keys. The reason for the need of most sax repairs is bent keys.

Hook the neck strap on to the ring positioned about half way down the back of the body.

Remove the plastic

end plug. The end

plug is critical. It serves

to protect the octave

pin that usually sticks

out past the top of the

sax. This octave pin

can be easily damaged

even in the case. If the

sax bounces around in

the case or if the

weight of the sax is on

the octave pin then it

may get bend and will

not open or close the

neck octave key. This

will result in your sax

not playing properly or

not at all.

Loosen the neck screws

slightly.

Attach the neck to the

body and tighten the

neck screws to keep the

neck from moving around

too easily. The center of

the neck, which is also

the center of the

reinforcement bracket,

should always be lined

up with the strap eyelet.

After you line it up

correctly, just tighten the

neck screw so that the

neck does not move

around.

Apply cork grease. Attach

the mouthpiece to the

neck; push the

mouthpiece about

halfway down the cork.

Take the reed out of your mouth and place the flat part of it over the bottom of the mouthpiece.

Hold the reed in place with the mouthpiece.

Take the ligature out of the saxophone case and carefully slide it over the mouthpiece and the reed.

Align the left and right sides of the reed with the left and right sides of the mouthpiece.

Align the top of the reed with the end curve of the mouthpiece. Make sure that the two are well aligned; when looking at the mouthpiece from the top, the reed should not be hanging over the mouthpiece curve.

Tighten the screws on the ligature (do not tighten the screws too tight because you will have to remove the ligature from the mouthpiece before putting away your saxophone.)

Care and Cleaning 1. Swab the neck. Use the

brush attachment (looks like a flexible metal hose with a rag ball on one end, and a small brush on the other) and pass it through the larger, base opening on the neck, coming out on the narrow side to which the cork is attached. Brush out the inside to remove any foreign particles or bacterial growth, and use the swab last. You can run water through the neck as well, just be sure that no water comes in contact with the cork, or it will swell and deform. Be wary of the pad on the octave valve as well.

Swab the body. With a standard

cleaning kit, there is an

attachment that looks like a brush

and cloth on a long string

weighted on the opposite end.

Put the weighted end into the bell

of the saxophone, and turn the

sax upside down, bringing the

weighted end completely through

the body and coming at the

narrow end to which the neck is

attached. Gently pull the swab

through the body, repeating this

process several times. If possible,

hold the keys down as you do

this. It is not unusual to see a

slight green color on the pad after

a few passes. This is corrosion

on the inside of the saxophone,

as brass rusts green due to the

copper.

Clean your mouthpiece.

Remove the reed and

ligature, and use the

mouthpiece brush to remove

any foreign material inside

the mouthpiece. Run cold

water through the

mouthpiece at the sink.

Finally, using a clean, lint-

free cloth, pull it through the

mouthpiece to dry and

remove any particles missed

by the brush. This may take

a few passes.

Important! Clean the outside of your saxophone after playing it. Do not leave a swab inside the body.

Do not keep the case closed when the instrument is wet. The humidity will damage the instrument.

Never lay the instrument on the "spatula key cluster" (left hand little finger) This will easily bend these keys.

Never pick up a saxophone by the neck.

While putting the mouthpiece on the neck always hold the neck tight to avoid warping.

Before picking up your case, please make sure that it is correctly closed.

Do not store your band book or music folder in your case with the saxophone you could bend the keys.