It is also popular in Japanese music, most commonly within the AOR and city pop genre.

For the albums, see Soprano Sax (Steve Lacy album) and Soprano Sax (Zoot Sims album).

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The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass saxophone and tubax.

Soprano saxophones are the smallest and thus highest-pitched saxophone in common use.

Soprano saxophones were originally keyed from low B to high E, but a low B mechanism was patented in 1887 3 and by 1910 nearly all saxophones were keyed to low B including sopranos.

During the 1920s it became standard for sopranos to be keyed to high F.

Starting in the 1950s, high F was offered as an option on some sopranos, and by the 1970s most professional-level instruments had a high F key.

Nearly all sopranos made today are keyed to high F as standard, and some recent professional sopranos (e.g.

Yanagisawa, Selmer, and Yamaha ) may have a high G key next to the F key.

Additionally, skilled players can make use of the altissimo register, which allows them to cover these notes and play even higher, usually regardless of their instruments keyed range.

A fully straight soprano must be held upward and outward while playing, which allows it to project well and can allow for a more energetic appearance in performance.

A curved neck allows the instrument to be held somewhat downward and still maintain a proper mouthpiece angle, which makes for easier use of a music stand and can reduce fatigue in the right arm for some players.

Some also believe that a curved neck gives the soprano a warmer, less nasal tone, although this is the subject of debate among players.

However, some players, technicians, and engineers prefer one-piece sopranos over a detachable neck because the neck receivertenon system is prone to excessive wear and can develop leaks over time which hinder the instruments playability if not corrected, so due to some players preference for curved necks, occasionally one-piece instruments are bent during manufacturing above the octave key (e.g.

Yamaha YSS-62R and YSS-82ZR).

This has led to the common belief that soprano is either inherently out of tune, or far more difficult to play than lower saxophones, but many experienced players and teachers disagree with these sentiments.

It is included in the saxophone quartet and plays a lead role.

Many solo pieces have been written for it by composers such as Heitor Villa-Lobos, Alan Hovhaness, Jennifer Higdon, Takashi Yoshimatsu, Charles Koechlin, John Mackey, Miklos Maros, Marc Mellits, Jennifer Higdon, Belinda Reynolds.

It was used by Richard Strauss in his Sinfonia Domestica, where included in the music are parts for four saxophones, including a soprano saxophone in C.

It is also used in Maurice Ravel s Bolro and has a featured solo directly following the tenor saxophones solo.

Greats of the jazz soprano sax include 1930s virtuoso Sidney Bechet, 1950s innovator Steve Lacy, and, beginning with his landmark 1960 album My Favorite Things, John Coltrane.

Thus, it is often the subject of various instrumental background music played in elevators, hotels, supermarkets, shopping malls and other indoor facilities.

Curved Vs Straight Soprano Saxophone