alto saxhorn

alto horn in American English noun. a valved brass musical instrument, varying in shape, that is the alto member of the cornet family; althorn.

Instrument Overview An alto saxophone is larger than the soprano sax but smaller than the tenor sax. Because it is made of metal and has many keys, this instrument is a bit heavy and so a neck strap is used to help support the instrument when playing. Sound is produced by a vibrating reed.

The saxhorns are furnished with three valves, by means of which 2 s 4 s 6 7 8 the compass is rendered chromatic, and which act as in other valve instruments, lowering the pitch of the instrument when depressed, respectively 1 tone, a semitone and i 2 tones; and further, when used in combination, 2 tones, 21 tones and 3 ...

Developed during the mid-to-late 1830s, the saxhorn family was patented in Paris in 1845 by Adolphe Sax. During the 19th century, the debate as to whether the saxhorn family was truly new, or rather a development of previously existing instruments, was the subject of prolonged lawsuits.

Nowadays, the word “alto” is a general term used to describe a lower female voice rather than a specific vocal category. Chorus music usually calls for an “alto” part for voices with a strong middle and lower register, but there's no real separate alto voice type in Western music.

Although it looks more like Brass instruments, the Alto Sax lives in the woodwind family with clarinets and flutes because of its design. Much like the Clarinet, the Saxophone has a single-reed mouthpiece that vibrates to create its signature sound.

saxophone, any of a family of single-reed wind instruments ranging from soprano to bass and characterized by a conical metal tube and finger keys. The first saxophone was patented by Antoine-Joseph Sax in Paris in 1846.

Saxhorns, from sopranino to contrabass, have a wide buglelike bore, in contrast to Sax's parallel but short-lived saxo-tromba family, and they are frequently called by the names of other valved brass instruments of similar pitch.

Due to the shape of the mouthpiece, the reed vibrates when air is passed over it. The vibrations of the reed caused by the saxophonists breath produce the sound. So, the saxophone player ( known as a “saxophonist” ) can control how hard or soft they exhale and blow into their saxophone.

Despite a list of names that includes the alto horn, tenor horn, and baritone, there are actually only two types of instruments in the saxhorn family. Some countries, however, use three or more categories for these two types of instruments.

The saxhorns are a family of seven brass instruments based on the inventions of Adolphe Sax in the 1840s.

The alto clef, also called the C clef, is placed on a musical staff whose middle line represents the middle C note. The middle C note, or middle C, as it is commonly called, is the C note that separates upper range notes from lower range notes. On a piano, middle C is located exactly in the middle of the keyboard.