Subcontrabass saxophone

Subcontrabass saxophone

Infobox Instrument
color1=#FFD700
color2=#FFEC8B
name=Subcontrabass Saxophone


classification=
*Wind
*Woodwind
*Aerophone
range= lower

related=Military band family:
*Sopranino saxophone
*Soprano saxophone
*Alto saxophone
*Tenor saxophone
*Baritone saxophone
*Bass saxophone
*Contrabass saxophone
*Subcontrabass saxophone----Orchestral family:
*C melody saxophone
*Mezzo-soprano
*C soprano saxophone ----Other saxophones:
*Soprillo
*Tubax
musicians=*List of saxophonists
articles=*SaxophoneThe subcontrabass saxophone is a type of saxophone that Adolphe Sax patented and planned to build but never constructed. Sax called this imagined instrument "saxophone bourdon" (named after the lowest stop on the pipe organ). It would have been a transposing instrument pitched in B♭, one octave below the bass saxophone and two octaves below the tenor saxophone.

Until 1999, no genuine, playable subcontrabass saxophones were made, though at least two gigantic saxophones seem to have been built solely for show. [cite web
title = Subcontrabass Saxophones (?)
url = http://www.contrabass.com/pages/subsax.html
accessdate = 2007-03-17
] Although the smaller of the two (constructed in the mid-1960s) was able to produce musical tones, with assistants opening and closing its pads due to the instrument's lack of keywork, witnesses have stated that it was incapable of playing even a simple scale.

Tubax

The B♭ subcontrabass Tubax, [cite web
title = Tubax B flat subcontrabass saxophone
url = http://www.eppelsheim.com/tubax_bb.php?lang=en
accessdate = 2007-03-17
] which was developed in 2000 by instrument manufacturer Benedikt Eppelsheim of Munich, Germany, is described by Eppelsheim as a "subcontrabass saxophone". This instrument is available in both C and Bmusic|b, with the Bmusic|b model providing the same pitch range as the "saxophone bourdon" would have. A contrabass-range Tubax in Emusic|b is also available.

The question of whether or not the Tubax is truly a saxophone is debatable: it has the same fingering as a contrabass saxophone, but its bore, though conical, is narrower (relative to its length) than that of a regular saxophone. This makes for a more compact instrument with a "reedier" and "fatter" timbre. While some argue that the Tubax is akin to the double-reed sarrusophone, the Tubax's bore is much larger than that of the corresponding size of sarrusophone, and its sound has a richer timbre and noticeably more acoustical presence.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.jayeaston.com/sound%20files/Bb_Subcontra-Jay_Easton.mp3 MP3 sound recording] of the first movement of "Duet for Basses" by Walter Hartley, played as a B♭ Tubax duet (one instrument, overdubbed), performed by Jay C. Easton


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