Literally translated as "Voice of Sax."
The playable saxophone family and their
key is as follows:
Sopranino (Eb)
C Melody Sopranino (C)
Soprano (Bb)
Alto (Eb)
Tenor (Bb)
C Melody Tenor (C)
Baritone (Eb)
Bass (Bb)
Contrabass (Eb)
Sub-Contrabass (Bb)
Except for the C
Melody saxophones, they alternate in key from Eb to Bb. The C Melody's were created so that when someone wanted to
play a piano piece or something else, they didn't have to
transpose the whole thing.
To give you an idea of how
big a Sub-Contrabass saxophone is, the
bass saxophone has seven feet of
large tubing. (I think there were two or three Octo-Contrabasses made, as well!)
But on a lighter side...
When he was 2 years old, he fell out of a second story window and
fractured his skull.
When he was 6 years old, he mistakenly drank
boric acid.
When he was 9 years old, he fell over a small
cliff and broke his leg.
When he was 11 years old, he contracted
measles and was in a
coma for nine days.
When he was 14 years old, he broke his arm when he caught it in a
carriage door.
When he was 19 years old, he was struck on the head by a falling
brick.
When he was 23 years old, he almost died from the effects of
tainted wine.
When he was 29 years old,
Adolph Sax invented the saxophone.