saxophone

Everyday

A saxophone is a musical instrument made of brass, shaped like a curved J, played by blowing into a mouthpiece with a reed and pressing keys. tree →

In the lessons

In music lessons the saxophone is in the woodwind family, even though it is made of metal, because the sound is made by a wooden reed. It was invented by Adolphe Sax in Belgium in the 1840s. It is famous in jazz, pop and school bands. Kinds: soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophone.

Examples

• My sister plays the saxophone in the school band. tree →
• The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax. tree →
• A jazz player played a cool tune on his sax. tree →
• The saxophone is part of the woodwind family. tree →
• The alto saxophone is a good size for children to learn. tree →
• You need a reed in the mouthpiece to play the saxophone. tree →
• The baritone saxophone makes a deep, low sound. tree →

Note

Countable: saxophones. Short form: sax. A player is a saxophonist. Trap: it is metal but counts as woodwind because of the reed. Spelling: -phone, like telephone (phone = sound).