This isn't as much for "brass players", though. It's about the saxophone.
The sax body is made mostly of brass but the instrument is considered part of the woodwind family rather than the brass instrument family, primarily because of the fingering system.
It's always good to re-read about the inventors of what became our modern instruments. Thanks for sharing.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
Lots of blurred lines, though, Bob. Understandable.
In junior high, I got my first silver-plated trumpet. The other kids joked I shouldn't play when the band director said, "OK, brass only...".
And there's more brass in a sax than in a trumpet.
But "brass" normally means trumpets/cornets/flugelhorns, trombones, baritone/euphonium, and tuba/sousaphone. But usually not French horns, made of brass...
Perfectly clear, right?
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
The definition of a "brass" instrument gets even more fun: A didgeridoo is made of wood, but is technically a brass instrument: it uses a "lip reed" (I.E. you blow raspberries into it all same as a trumpet or 'bone etc.), then there's the good old conch shell - same deal but it's made of Calcium Carbonate, the Serpent - wood again, the Cornett (Cornetti or Zink) - also wood but often with a leather cover...
Any others?
--=-- My credo: If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing - just ask my missus, she'll tell ya --=--
Once got to see a realworld "Brake Drum Banjo" in use by the old guy who had built it in his youth. While he was not exactly a stellar player, his musical endeavors being strictly parttime for the old coal miner, his banjo struck me as being particularly sonorous and loud for its diameter.
The really neat thing about that instrument was in the close examination of its overall construction, everything on it but the tuning machines was uniquely home-brew, including the fretwires.
I've talked before about my paternal grandfather's self-built fiddle, also had a great uncle who had built his own small 8-string "guitar" in which there were doubles of each of 4 strings, like as done with a modern 12-string. Again, the only thing on that little ukelele sized guitar (mandolin? don't know, was too young at the time to know about such and the other men called it, his "guitar" as did he...) but only the tuners appeared to be "store-boughten" on it, that much I recall, as the tuners were metal with some sort of "plastic" buttons on them, yellowed and mellowed over the years with the tiny crazing cracks that most plastics of the era would suffer. The mechanism was nickel plated steel with bronze gears turned by the common steel screw gears.
Wish I had either in my possession today, the city fellers at the Antique Road Show would likely come unglued while assessing the value of the "folk art" instrument, eh?
I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing a Model T Ford brake drum banjo, but I’ve seen a few pics of them and read about them.
It’s cool that the mountain folk took whatever they could find and made instruments out of them.
As far as the 8 string guitar/ mandolin, I can see where those old guys would call it a guitar! It was probably close to what we would call an octave mandolin today.
There are two things that the article failed to mention which any student of musical instruments may be interested to learn.
The Saxophone is one of the earliest and, and possibly the very first example, of a deliberate and completely systematic design of a musical instrument, as opposed to all of the musical instruments which evolved gradually during human history. Consequently, the fingering was intelligently designed to be as easy as possible and allow playing difficult musical passages.
In contrast, the flute evolved over thousands of years -a very ancient bone flute was found in a cave of our early ancestors. One of the most recent improvements of the flute fingering is the Boehm system. The Clarinet has also undergone improvements in modern times to improve the playing of difficult musical passages etc, although it's origin is also believed to have been in the very far past.
Many of the modern musical instruments may have been born independently in various regions of the world, just consider the wide variety of bowed string instruments currently available in Africa, South America, Asia, as well as in various parts of Europe and America. Some may have been dispersed by ancient travelers.
By the time of Adolphe Sax's instrument making, the most sophisticated instrument makers understood much of the practical acoustics necessary for constructing differently scaled versions of their instruments -they were no longer limited to trial and error (where to place the holes in a tube and what size to make them).
The second thing the article fails to point out is that Adolphe Sax was also one of the first instrument makers who revolutionized the manufacture of musical instruments because he designed standardized, interchangeable instruments parts. Thus if your a part broke you could replace it without having the part custom crafted and it would fit. Of course this made mass production possible on a scale previously impossible, very useful if the order came in to supply a nations entire army -not every soldier, only the ones that played : )
Finally, Sax also designed lots of other musical instruments such as the Saxhorns.
The design of the saxophone is really an Organ Pipe, driven by a single reed, that allows the player to change the length of the pipe via the holes placed along the pipe via that system of keys and pads.
Unlike the Brass, where the total sound emanates entirely from the Bell, the Woodwinds sound actually emanates from any point along the length of the tube, depending upon the note being played at the time. This is why I always laff when I see a saxophone on a stage with a Mic pointed into the Sax Bell. But I digress, as usual.
Good point. If you look at my current Facebook profile pic where I'm playing soprano, I have the mic positioned to point at my left hand, about two thirds of the way up from the bell. The soprano sax low notes carry well on their own, and it's a pretty dreadfull sound right at the bell!
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
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FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
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Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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