If you are just listening to a song, you might actually find it difficult to tell which saxophone is being used. The saxophone is a flexible instrument which can produce a wide variety of sounds, and it is not uncommon for one saxophone to sound like a different type of saxophone.
Selmer is a company which manufactures instruments. The reason that Kenny G uses this particular model of saxophone, according to him, is because it is the model he grew up playing. Granted, the Mark VI was one of the most loved models of saxophone ever created.
Many of the early saxophone greats in both the classical and jazz worlds were known for playing on the Mark VI, such as Marcel Mule and Sonny Rollins. Kenny G himself uses exclusively the Mark VI, however, rather than his own brand.
The choice of mouthpiece and reed that a saxophonist uses often has a more noticeable impact on their sound than the actual saxophone. Kenny G actually uses different types of mouthpieces for soprano, alto, and tenor sax. On soprano, he uses a Dukoff D8, which is a metal mouthpiece designed to produce a loud and cutting sound.
For alto sax, he uses a Beechler Diamond S5S, which is a mouthpiece that is made of hard rubber, and produces a completely different sound than a metal mouthpiece. He goes back to a metal mouthpiece when he pulls out the tenor sax, playing on an RIA 8.
For all saxophones, Kenny G uses Hemke reeds, which are known to be reliable, professional-quality reeds. Pretty cool. My style comes from listening to other saxophone players like Grover Washington Jr. A fusion of that came out of me, and people seem to like it. Not many instrumental musicians have achieved your success. How come Mick Jagger is so popular still? I practice every day, three hours a day, and dedicate a lot of my life to being the best musician I can be.
Is it true you still play your saxophone from high school? Is there a reason for that? The Soprano Sax is in the key of Eb. He's pretty much abandoned the larger saxes since he's found widespread commercial success on the soprano. You can still find some of his earlier CDs where he has big glasses, funnier looking hair yes, it was possible in the 80s , and an alto in his hand.
I've never understood why the Bb clarinet is not called "tenor". Because the alto clarinet would be lower than the tenor clarinet.
Usually, the names were assigned before there were 5, members to a given instrument family. And how many of those obscure instruments are around or are actually manufactured? Interesting point. Right now we've got two soprano clarinets, the Bb and the Eb. Way too late in the day to change the names, of course, and I'm not seriously suggesting it, but IMHO, among the common orchestra clarinets today, the Eb should be called the soprano, the Bb soprano clarinet ought to be called the alto, and the alto ought to be the tenor.
Then there would be no gap between the alto and the bass clarinet. Oh well. Too late now. That's true of saxes made today, although obsolete saxes of other pitches, such as the F mezzo-soprano, still turn up occasionally. There's only one higher-pitched modern sax, the Eb sopranino.
Well, while we're speaking of orchestral clarinets, don't leave out the soprano clarinet in A. Josh Rutherford. Well technically the range of the Bb and A soprano clarinet encompasses that of a contra-alto and soprano instrument, and it does in fact play both roles in today's orchestra. Maybe we could call the bass clarinet a tenor and the Eb contra-bass the bass, and the Bb contra-bass the contra-bass? Looking at its counter parts in the saxophone family, what we have now with clarinets and their range generally matches their counterparts of saxophones.
But with the clarinet it is often hard to label it as one voice since it has such a large range, the standard clarinet having nearly four octaves. Same thing with the french horn, it has a similarly large range but what voice would you call it? I might call it an alto at one point but it can also be a contra-alto or a bass too.
For those wondering, generally the clarinet family is made up of: Ab sopranino Eb soprano C soprano Bb soprano A soprano F alto basset horn Eb alto Bb bass A bass Eb contrabass Bb contrabass D soprano also exists but is more or less obsolete.
The C soprano clarinet parts today are often just transposed. Very few composers have written for the basset horn, and in today's orchestra and wind bands the alto clarinet is often left out of the orchestration.
I don't know anyone who really uses an A bass but they are there. I have in fact seen ads for G clarinets on the Internet, I can't remember where, but unfortunately nothing much written in these fun keys.
As for saxophones, I have never heard of an Eb soprano but would not be surprised if it existed, plenty of weird keys out there. Bradley Chazy, New York. It's actually called a sopranino sax, an octave above alto. Tiny bugger. If it were possible, I think the names associated with instruments should be changed. Clarinets and flutes are bigger offenders than saxes. The most common clarinets should be and I'm leaving out the A, D, C, etc.
The A Bass became obsolete when someone put the low Eb key on the Bb bass to cover the one note that the Bb previously couldn't reach. I have never known anyone that has ever actually seen an Ab Sopranino, although I know they exist, and I am only acquainted with one piece that includes a part for one, and it's optional at that and only doubles the Eb part a version of The Marriage of Figaro Overture for clarinet choir published by Southern music Company in San Antonio.
It also includes an optional Bassett Horn part. An anecdote regarding C Tenor Saxophones: I live in Dallas, Texas, and there is apparently a C Tenor that has been making the rounds of pawn shops in the area for the past few years. Some unfortunate student or parent will think that they're getting a great deal on a tenor and buy it, not realizing that it is not a standard instrument.
Of course, the pawn shop personnel have no clue as to what they're selling. So, this was an insight into what kind of instrument does Kenny G plays. This glorious saxophonist has always been the talk of the music world with his mastery in playing the saxophone and creating melodious albums out of it, blessing the ears of music lovers since forever. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
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