- Tubax
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Tubax Classification Aerophone Hornbostel–Sachs classification 422.212-71
(Single-reeded aerophone with keys)Inventor(s) Adolphe Sax Developed 28th June 1846[1] Playing range
Written Range:
Note: With proper use of overtones, the saxophone's range can be extended.Related instruments Military band family:
- Sopranino saxophone
- Soprano saxophone
- Alto saxophone
- Tenor saxophone
- Baritone saxophone
- Bass saxophone
- Contrabass saxophone
- Subcontrabass saxophone
Orchestral family:
Other saxophones:
- Sopranissimo saxophone ('Soprillo')
- Tubax
Musicians More articles The tubax is a modified saxophone developed in 1999 by the German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim. It is available in both E♭ contrabass and B♭ or C subcontrabass sizes. Its name is a portmanteau of the words "tuba" and "sax".
Although the tubax has the same fingering, mouthpiece, and reed as a regular saxophone, there is some controversy over whether it is technically a true saxophone since it has a much narrower (though still conical) bore. Some suggest this narrow-bore design makes the tubax akin to the double-reed sarrusophone; however, the tubax's bore is much larger than the corresponding size of the sarrusophone's and its sound has a richer timbre and noticeably more acoustical presence. The first size of tubax to be developed was the E♭ contrabass. It has the same register as a regular contrabass saxophone but is much more compact and thus more manageable due to its tubing being folded more times. It takes a baritone saxophone mouthpiece. While the timbre of the E♭ tubax is more focused and compact than that of the full-sized contrabass saxophone, it still blends well with other sizes of saxophones and can be played with great agility due to its air-efficient bore design.
More recently, Eppelsheim also began making a subcontrabass tubax in CCC and BBB♭. The B♭ instrument is equivalent in register to the subcontrabass saxophone proposed by Adolphe Sax but never created. The subcontrabass tubax uses a baritone saxophone or bass saxophone mouthpiece. While several B♭ subcontrabasses are already in use, only one C model has been manufactured. It was sold to Thomas Mejer of Switzerland in July 2002; he has recorded on it with Peter A. Schmid as the "Two Tubax Duo."[citation needed]
Contents
Notable tubax performers
- Serge Bertocchi
- Marcus Weiss
- Petr Dvořák[citation needed]
- Jay C. Easton
- Randy Emerick
- Blaise Garza
- Vinny Golia
- Mats Gustafsson
- Masayuki Kuroda
- Jarno Sarkula
External links
- Benedikt Eppelsheim Website
- Fred Bayer's Tubax Page
- Article about CD featuring tubax
- Jay C. Easton's BBb Tubax page
- Photos showing construction of tubax
Listening
- MP3 of a tubax being played by Randy Emerick, with the Jerry Fischer Orchestra, Hollywood Florida (playing "Stardust," arr. Mike Lewis)
- MP3 of two B♭ subcontrabass tubaxes (overdubbed), playing movement 1 of Duet for Basses by Walter S. Hartley, performed by Jay C. Easton
References
- ^ "June 28, 1846: Parisian Inventor Patents Saxophone". Wired.com. http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/06/0628saxophone-patent. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
Types of Saxophones †Soprillo saxophone • Sopranino saxophone • C Soprano saxophone • Soprano saxophone • Mezzo-soprano saxophone • Alto saxophone • C melody saxophone • Tenor saxophone • Baritone saxophone • Bass saxophone • Contrabass saxophone • ‡Subcontrabass saxophone† not designed by Adolphe Sax• ‡ proposed by Adolphe SaxThis article relating to woodwind instruments is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.