The sopranino saxophone is the second-smallest member of the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

family. It is tuned in the key of E, and sounds an

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

higher than the

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B t ...

. An F sopranino (an octave above the F alto (also called mezzo-soprano) saxophone) were described in Adolphe Sax's patent, but no known examples have ever been built. The sopranino saxophone has a sweet sound and although it is one of the least common of the saxophones in regular use today, it is still being produced by several of the major musical manufacturing companies. Due to their small size, sopraninos are not usually curved like other saxophones. Orsi, however, does make curved sopranino saxophones. SopraninoSax2

The original patented saxophone family, as developed by Adolphe Sax, included Eb and Bb saxophones in the voices of sopranino,

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian ( Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruse ...

, tenor,

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, contrabass, and subcontrabass instruments (although he never built the last), as well as the same seven in C and F though only the soprano, alto, and tenor were ever made. Since the late 20th century, however, a B piccolo, or sopranissimo saxophone (called soprillo, and tuned a fifth above the sopranino) and a B subcontrabass instrument (called tubax, also made in C) have been developed by the German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim. The most notable use of the sopranino is in the orchestral work ''

Boléro ''Boléro'' is a 1928 work for large orchestra by French composer Maurice Ravel. At least one observer has called it Ravel's most famous composition. It was also one of his last completed works before illness forced him into retirement. Co ...

'' by

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

(although Ravel called for a "soprano saxophone in F", the part is usually performed on E sopranino). In recent years, rock band Violent Femmes have incorporated sopranino saxophone into the band's live performances as well as their newest albums. Saxophonist Blaise Garza plays a curved sopranino saxophone in the Violent Femmes' 2019 song "I'm Not Gonna Cry". Outside of classical and rock music, notable jazz and improvising musicians using this instrument include Carla Marciano, James Carter, Anthony Braxton, La Monte Young, Roscoe Mitchell, Christophe Monniot, Joseph Jarman, Paul McCandless, Lol Coxhill, Roger Frampton, Hans Koller, Wolfgang Fuchs,

Douglas Ewart Douglas R. Ewart (born 13 September 1946 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican multi-instrumentalist and instrument builder. He plays sopranino and alto saxophones, clarinets, bassoon, flute, bamboo flutes (''shakuhachi'', ''ney'', and panpipes ...

, Larry Ochs, Vinny Golia, Thomas Chapin, Martin Archer,

Jon Irabagon Jon Irabagon is a Filipino-American saxophonist, composer, and founder of Irabbagast Records. Winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition and one of '' Time Outs "25 essential New York City jazz icons", Irabagon is known for the breadth ...

, Massimo Falascone, Gianni Gebbia, and Ian Anderson (credited with having played the instrument on the Jethro Tull albums '' A Passion Play'' and '' War Child''). The sopranino saxophone is also used in the six-member Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra, currently played by Kelley Hart Jenkins.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soprano Saxophone Saxophones E-flat instruments