A saxophone is a musical instrument that is made of brass andoften just called a “sax.”

Even though it is made of brass, it is actually a member of theWoodwind Family of instruments because it has a single reed.

It was developed from the clarinet and shares many similarities.The player blows into a reed fitted into the mouthpiece.

Someone who plays the saxophone is called a saxophonist.

The saxophone family is known as a transpositional family ofinstruments due to the fact that all the instruments in the familyuse the same fingerings.

There are many different kinds of saxophones. The mostcommonly used are the soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone.

It was invented in 1842 by Adolphe Sax, a Belgian-borninstrument maker working in Paris, France.

The saxophone’s popularity grew first as a military bandinstrument, then as a concert band, chamber music, orchestral,and jazz instrument.

Hector Berlioz was the first classical musician and composer togive praise to the saxophone. He also created the firstsaxophone composition.

The first American jazz musician to become famous with thetenor saxophone was Coleman Hawkins, in the 1920s.

The Muppets have a famous sax-playing character named Zoot.16

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ACROSS1. American jazz musician Coleman ______2. Someone who plays a saxophone is called this3. City in France where the saxophone was invented4. Classical music composer ______ Berlioz5. Famous sax-playing Muppet character

DOWN6. The saxophone was invented by ______ Sax7. The four types of sax used today include soprano, alto, tenor, and this8. The sax is a single ______ instrument9. A member of the ______ Family

10. Because all saxes use the same fingerings, it is this type of family

A Saxophone

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