The Probert Encyclopaedia of Music

SAXOPHONE

The saxophone is a metal musical instrument of the woodwind family, invented by Adolphe Sax and containing a reed, and partaking of the qualities both of a brass instrument and of a clarinet. It consists of a conical brass tube, curved forwards and upwards at the bottom, and having a short section bent backwards at the top, upon which a mouthpiece and reed resembling those of the clarinet are fitted. The instrument contains twenty lateral holes, which are covered by keys and studs, and manipulated by the first three fingers of each hand of the player.
Saxophones, like saxhorns, are made in a variety of keys and sizes, but all are fingered in a similar manner.
Research Saxophone