Alto and larger saxophones have a detachable curved neck at the top, and a U-shaped bend (the bow) that turns the tubing upward as it approaches the bell.

Yanagisawa made its 902 and 992 series saxophones with the high copper alloy phosphor bronze to achieve a darker, more "vintage" tone than the brass 901 and 991 models.

The most common finish is a thin coating of clear or colored acrylic lacquer to protect the brass from oxidation and maintain a shiny appearance.

Saxophonists who follow the French school of classical playing, influenced by Marcel Mule, generally use mouthpieces with smaller chambers for a somewhat "brighter" sound with relatively more upper harmonics.

The use of the saxophone in dance orchestras and jazz ensembles from the 1920s onward placed emphasis on dynamic range and projection, leading to innovation in mouthpiece designs.

In the 1840s and 1850s, Sax's invention gained use in small classical ensembles (both all-saxophone and mixed), as a solo instrument, and in French and British military bands.

[12] But it was during this same period that the saxophone began to be promoted in the United States, largely through the efforts of Patrick Gilmore, leader of the 22nd Regiment band, and Edward A. Lefebre, a Dutch emigré and saxophonist who had family business associations with Sax.

The Gilmore-Lefebre association lasted until Gilmore's death in 1892, during which time Lefebre also performed in smaller ensembles of various sizes and instrumentation, and worked with composers to increase light classical and popular repertoire for saxophone.

Conn to develop and start production of improved saxophones to replace the costly, scarce, and mechanically unreliable European instruments that were in the American market.

[19] While the saxophone remained marginal, used mainly as a novelty instrument in the classical world, many new musical niches were established for it during the early decades of the twentieth century.

The 1920s were also an era of design experiments like the Buescher straight altos and tenors, the King Saxello soprano, the C. G. Conn mezzo-soprano saxophone keyed in F, and the Conn-O-Sax saxophone–English horn hybrid.

The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, formed in 1923, featured arrangements to back up improvisation, bringing the first elements of jazz to the large dance band format.

Among the tenor players directly influenced by him were Chu Berry, Charlie Barnet, Tex Beneke, Ben Webster, Vido Musso, Herschel Evans, Buddy Tate, and Don Byas.

The New Orleans player Sidney Bechet gained recognition for playing the soprano saxophone during the 1920s, but the instrument did not come into wide use until the modern era of jazz.

The small Chicago ensembles offered more improvisational freedom than did the New Orleans or large band formats, fostering the innovations of saxophonists Jimmy Dorsey (alto), Frankie Trumbauer (c-melody), Bud Freeman (tenor) and Stump Evans (baritone).

Young's playing was a major influence on the modern jazz saxophonists Al Cohn, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Charlie Parker, and Art Pepper.

Serge Chaloff, Gerry Mulligan, Pepper Adams and Leo Parker brought the baritone saxophone to prominence as a solo instrument.

[31] Saxophonists such as John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Sam Rivers, and Pharoah Sanders defined the forefront of creative exploration with the avant-garde movement of the 1960s.

Junior Walker, King Curtis and Maceo Parker became influential soul and funk saxophone stylists, influencing the more technical jazz-fusion sounds of Michael Brecker and Bob Mintzer and pop-jazz players such as Candy Dulfer.

The Conn-O-Sax is built straight, with a slightly curved neck, a spherical liebesfuss-style bell, and extra keys for low A and up to high G. It was produced only in 1929 and 1930, and intended to imitate the form and timbre of the cor anglais.

The Conn mezzo-soprano experienced a similarly short production run, as the economics of the Great Depression curtailed the market for what were regarded as novelty instruments.

The most successful of the unusual 1920s designs was the King Saxello, essentially a straight B♭ soprano, but with a slightly curved neck and tipped bell, made by the H. N. White Company.

Interest in two 1920s variants was revived by jazz musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who called his straight Buescher alto a "stritch" and his Saxello a "manzello".

[37] More recently, the mezzo-soprano, or a modern variant of it, came into use by jazz musicians Anthony Braxton, James Carter, Vinny Golia, and Joe Lovano.

The contralto saxophone, similar in size to the orchestral C-melody, was developed in the late 20th century by California instrument maker Jim Schmidt.

The fingering scheme of the saxophone, which has had only minor changes since the instrument's original invention, has presented inherent acoustic problems related to closed keys below the first open tonehole that affect response of, and slightly muffle, some notes.

Inexpensive keyless folk versions of the saxophone made of bamboo (recalling a chalumeau) were developed in the 20th century by instrument makers in Hawaii, Jamaica, Thailand, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Argentina.

The Hawaiian instrument, called a xaphoon, was invented during the 1970s and is also marketed as a "bamboo sax", although its cylindrical bore more closely resembles that of a clarinet, and its lack of any keywork makes it more akin to a recorder.

Jamaica's best known exponent of a similar type of homemade bamboo "saxophone" was the mento musician and instrument maker 'Sugar Belly' (William Walker).

[49] In the Minahasa region of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, there exist entire bands made up of bamboo "saxophones"[50] and "brass" instruments of various sizes.