Saxophones

Another single reed instrument is the saxophone. Yeah, it is made of brass but it is a woodwind instrument because the sound is generated by the vibration of a reed, which is placed in a plastic or rubber mouthpiece just like on a clarinet. (And some sax mouthpieces are even made of metal.) The ligature on the mouthpiece of a sax or a clarinet, which holds the reed in place, can be made of metal fabric or string. Fabric and string are generally made of cellulose - plant fibers such as cotton. And the pads on the sax are made of leather or goatskin.
a family of saxophones
Saxophones vary greatly in length
and sound.


The saxophne - like many other instruments comes in an array of sizes. If the instruments in this picture were to scale you could really see an even bigger difference between the different sizes - from the soprano to the baritone. A bass sax is REALLY BIG. More instrument means a lower sound, and the vibration of the reed through its brass body gives a sax a much different sound than that of a brass instument like a trumpet or a horn. Thanks to polymers!