The baritone saxophone, often called bari sax (to avoid confusion with the baritone horn, which is often referred to simply as baritone), is one of the lower pitched, larger members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece; this helps to keep the instrument at a practical height (the rarer bass saxophone has a similar, but larger loop).
Silver Baritone Saxophones
This is a pic of a beautiful Baritone Saxophone. I have always had an affinity for the silver / platinum saxophones over the gold, but to each his own! I believe these instruments are works of art in their architecture. They could almost be stand alone sculptures. And they are often used as models for artists in paintings or renderings. A piece of art that produces pieces of art. Beautiful.
The exceptional weight of the instrument (13-14 pounds or 6.5 kg), makes it difficult to use in marching bands, as compared to the other three commonly used sizes of saxophone. Baritone saxophone players often use a special harness in marching groups that distributes the weight of the instrument onto the players back instead of around his neck. Around the neck being the conventional way of supporting a saxophone. Its reed size is notably large, twice that of an alto saxophone reed and noticeably larger than that used by the tenor saxophone.
The baritone saxophone is the largest saxophone commonly seen in modern ensembles. The other common saxophones are the alto, tenor and soprano. It is a transposing instrument in the key of E, one octave lower than the alto saxophone. Adolphe Sax had originally also produced a baritone saxophone in F intended for orchestral use. Despite its low register, music for the baritone saxophone is written in treble clef. It is also possible to read parts written in the bass clef for instruments pitched in C as if the part was in the treble clef, while adjusting the key signature from C to A and any accidentals as necessary. (In other words, the player simply pretends the bass clef music were written in treble clef and adds three sharps to the key signature.)
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