@@Foulfootwear Well, if you only look for modern professional bass sax then you're right. But there are cheaper ones like vintage Conn basses or modern amateur models like the Thomann TBB-150. Of course the latter one especially you have to check the processing quality. But adding bass sax to create a richer sound is not only for professional ensembles and orchestra, I personally think that this video is also addressed to student ensemble. And for that case you don't need a very expensive bass sax. The most important thing is, that this instrument is playable.
As a saxophonist (who plays all from 'nino to bass) and composer/arranger of a number of sax quintet and sextet pieces, I agree with all you said. Bass frees up the baritone from grunting around on its bottom end and able to use its beautiful upper register. And at the same time this puts bass sax up into its midrange where the tone is much more relaxed than the baritones bottom end. And bass has a beautiful singing mid to upper range. I think the success of bass sax in the 1920's, where it was usually placed in the rhythm section, back by the drums, piano, etc, was that its reedier tone helped it to be heard on the Victrola, early radios. The listener actually heard the bass line through the upper harmonics, even with the true fundamental missing. By the mid to late 1940's there were better mics, better speakers on radios and record players, and tuba and string bass were no longer "lost in the mix". This video is an excellent treatise on use of bass sax!
@@danthefugueguy I am only 5-3 and the lowest I can go is the Baritone. I know the fingering of the Bass and the contrabass. Just too big for me. Jazzman Clare Fischer played Bass, Contrabass, and Baritone saxophone
as a former bari player, i can confirm that the higher range of the instrument can be underapreciated, it can sound close to a french horn or a cello if you play it right.
As a multi-decade saxophone player, I can assure you: A well trained saxophonist can play any kind of saxophone. So it's not a problem that you can't find any "bass saxophone player". Get a random saxophonist, borrow a bass saxophone, and your premiere will be perfect.
I always wanted to employ bass saxes for marching band. Let's face it, baris aren't really a bass instrument. Most of the time they play the tuba part but up an octave. Bass not only has the range to compete with tubas but it also has the projection and the punch to be heard. Not to mention Tubas require a lot of air and pressure to make the bottom notes speak where as saxophones' low notes can be sustained and articulated better.
I’ve been adding bass saxophones in my jazz arrangements ever since I tried including one a few months back. It changed the world for me when writing saxophone parts
Just did a full gig with Bass Sax (recreating The Last Waltz Performance). The composer originally chose bari over bass in his arrangements, but after my bari sax was damaged, I did the final performance on Bass Sax. The rest of the horn section thought it sounded like the bari, but louder. Louder is good! :)
Wow, must have been great fun! Those horn arrangements by Toussaint were wonderful, such a joy to hear that concert over and over! Ophelia, Old Crow medicine show and Night they drove ole dixie down are probably of my favourites
Outstanding video that is both accurate and wonderfully sympathetic!. Karl Husa is another notable composer who has used the bass sax in his wind ensemble works. I own five bass saxes, and they are used in my saxophone ensembles, as well as the wind ensembles at my schools. A favorite solo work is Brian Israel's Double Concerto for sopranino and bass saxes and winds. I've also arranged some Grainger works for SATBBs which sound full and robust. Bass sax prices vary, but are declining. One can purchase an excellent, well regulated new Asian bass for around $6500 these days!
@@Saxman_sam Yes, if I didn't score for bass sax, contrabassoon would work. I wanted to use the contra as an alternating colour with contrabass clarinet in the sustained pedal tones instead as I like the change in timbre going from one to the other, at least at this point in the piece. So, bass sax ended up getting the tune for this moment!
@@danthefugueguy A bass sax with a(proper-sized) Low A bell could've pulled off that (in)famous contrabassoon solo in Strauss's opera Salome almost just as well. And a bass sax+contrabassoon unison might actually work rather well!
I've had mine for about two years, still had no occasion to play it in an ensemble. The ones coming out of China are getting better and better, and are really not much more or at all more expensive than a baritone (mine was $3300 factory direct). To bring it back you have to have them in schools, etc., and composers should be encouraged to write for it! Fair play to ya, Dan!
How can I put this nicely. I have heard the bass saxophone before and the people playing were not that good at it. So I have had a negative view point of the instrument. However recently I have had the chance to hear some better players and my mind has changed on it. Heck this video showed how well Bass Saxes can sound. As a Bari player I went from turning my nose up at it to being jealous (lol)
I agree. Makes a huge difference. I played Lincolnshire Posy for the first time in 2009 with a bass in the band. Second time I played it there was no bass and it definitely lost something.
I am a young composer, and I think I am gonna start writing bass sax into my music! I however think a really underrated timbre is the soprano saxophone. I love how it sounds and writing for it!
One of my favourite bands, the Japanese rock band Barbee Boys, has lots of songs featuring soprano sax solos! I think they're quite unique as the sax player also sings
Love this! Yes, more bass sax! I own a modern bass sax that plays up to written F#. Beautiful tone and easy tuning. It adds so much presence to the saxophone section and other woodwind instruments.
I truly do wish bass saxes (and other bass/contrabass woodwinds) can show up more in orchestral and band works. I understand these instruments are not very common and ridiculously expensive, but they still exist and many ensembles have them, waiting to be used. Bring them back, that way us tubas can have more bass to team up with!
As a saxophonist, this was great. I would have liked to hear more of the examples to illustrate what you said about them. Even a 5-second clip of each of the scores you included in the video would have been really helpful.
Thanks, glad it was useful. Unfortunately I couldn't find any recordings of the Holbrooke works where it's confirmed that the full compliment of saxes were used. Holbrooke is a greatly underrated composer in general sadly.
Fully agree that instruments such as Bass Sax , Alto Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet etc... are really noticed as missing...once you have heard them. Bass Sax as with many of the larger rare instruments are seeing something of a renaissance due to more affordable instruments.
Contrabass trombone is one of my favourite instruments. Only scored for it twice but it's such a great asset. Cimbasso should definitely get more love. Really expressive.
A lot of early They Might Be Giants recordings feature their accordionist/singer on bass sax! You can see it in some early concert footage as well, but it vanished in the late 80s. He uses a LeBlanc Contrabass clarinet now on tour,which is also cool, but not quite as visually powerful
A lot of musicians and fans will tell you that its only advantage is visual, and even then, only in certain situations. It looks disconcerting, because a saxophone isn't supposed to be so big. Even before you hear it, it's already out of place. TMBG surely only used it to add the atmosphere of a New York oddity. Once they became a music business sensation, it was a liability.
One of the only times I have heard a bass saxophone in the flesh was a performance of William Albright's "Valley of Fire" (1988) for saxophone quartet and organ. It was highly effective.
What a profound video on my loved instrument that I've been playing for more than 20 years after decades on other saxes and clarinet. A funny movie, too!
Awesome video!. As a student of the late great Joseph Viola co-founder of Berklee College I can really appreciate the thought & sensitivity that went into this presentation. The whole time I was at Berklee I never saw a bass sax. The only one I ever saw was on an exchange concert in high school, unfortunately when I was there the instrument was in disrepair and I couldn't try it out!. Yes more low saxes. I have a slightly off topic inquiry. I have seen several TH-cam videos with what they're calling a contrabass sax, some really are saxes but others are not. The bore does not taper out enough to call it a saxophone. Being a full octave below the baritone the bell should be twice the diameter of a baritone bell. These rogue instruments are not saxophones so what are they? They seem more practical being smaller and easier to transport and they appear to blend well with saxophones. If anyone knows what those instruments are called please let me know. Thanx...
I played bass sax when I was a member of the California Air National Guard Band. Too bad it is so expensive. That is probably the main reason you don’t see it more often.
Absolutely wonderful! I've got major Bass Sax parts in most of my band works. I wrote up to a high written F in Symphony 2 and the player nailed it with no problem (using an instrument keyed to high Eb).
Thanks Bret! Look forward to hearing your symphonies. I have plans to write a couple when I get the time. Definitely going to use a big band for one of them so I can write for all these wonderful instruments!
Do you think it is sufficiently different in timbre to the baritone to justify? Obviously range wise the bass only gains 4 semitones beyond the bari at the bottom, while being unwieldy, rare and expensive.
@@bryanconlong9457 As a bass sax player, the extra four notes below bari are not the only use for bass sax. Its upper register is an even more unique and labored, albeit thinner tone than bari, and its lower register is much fuller, rounder, darker, warmer than bari, which is often criticized for its harsh bright brassy tone, especially with its low A extension. The added benefit of letting bari play more actual baritone parts and not bass parts alone is enough to justify the use of bass sax for me. Yes, they are expensive and a bit rare, but the unique sound is worth writing for if people can get their hands on one.
One of the fewest jazz musicians to use the bass saxophone as a solo instrument was Adrian Rollini. He learned to play the instrument in only one week! Today that would be impossible because it takes so much lung power to play it. Rollini had been playing other sax types before taking up the bass saxophone. The common abbreviation for it is bsx.
Its ironic that the clip we hear of Adrian is the very LAST recording he made on bass sax (1938). He was developing a night club style group to feature his vibraharp playing because the bass sax had been such a nonstarter in swing music.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the vid. Yes, I feel the ostricising of the sax by Adolphe Sax's rivals in the 19th century has caused so much lasting prejudice against the saxophone, still felt today. It is a shame it's not a regular part of the orchestral wind section. Even now in modern music, I still hear audience members react with surprise when a sax appears on stage.
Esta info vale millones. Un instrumento ya casi olvidado, más olvidado que mi Sax Barítono. Una hermosa sonoridad y timbre. Me gusta la suavidad y oscuros que denota
As a bari player we get blocked off in the lower register, adding this would allow us to use our beautiful upper register (And could allow for a kick ass bass soprano duet)
Great informative video! I have a Bass Sax and play it in my local Concert Band when there’s Holst / Grainger pieces as well as transposing some of the Baritone parts to make the bass line a bit more… punchy! ! It makes a big difference to the ensemble! Also get to play it on saxophone choir play days in and around London. It’s a cumbersome instrument, but man it’s so fun to play!!
That's great you have one and use it in band. Must be satisfying to play something that contributes a huge amount to the band's overall sound. Yes it really adds so much. Just hope more composers realise this!
Probably one of my favourite instruments, I really wish I could buy one. I have the money but it simply isn’t a wise purchase as most of the time I play pieces without a bass sax part.
If you listen to Clare Fischer albums like "Thesaurus", "Duality", or "A Family Affair", you can hear a great use of the bass sax! (along with some other rare woods)
You should look into Galassine or J’elle Stainer. I believe they are both Brazilian companies and they make low saxophones like bass down to subcontrabass
The bass saxophone I use goes up to a high Eb (written) and the highest usable note I can play is a double high Bb. The lower the instrument the easier it is to get your overtones under control!
I have been using a Conn Bass sax for years in our quartet and ask arrangers to add a bass sax part frequently. For certain tunes its voluminous big sound gives a better tone than the bari and even in its mid-range has a nicer color. I use both swapping between them because in some tunes I want the punch that the bari delivers. Certainly for Dixie and oompah music the bass sax is king.
In Italian wind bands the bass and soprano saxes are part of the normal instrumentation..Just go on youtube and see videos of them marching with bass saxes.
I find the bass saxophone a little awkward in that it both is only a fourth lower than the baritone and also lacks the written low A extension the baritone has, so that it can only play a major third lower than the baritone. In pieces where I'm committed to extending the saxophone section on the low end (which I often am), I really want a bass *and* a contrabass. On the other hand, the idea that the bass is no longer that rare changes the equation a bit.
Yes ideally both a bass and contrabass would be used, particularly in a wind band. However, the cost is an issue certainly. Although the bass can only go a third lower than the baritone, the sound quality is sufficiently different to the bari and contrabass to justify its inclusion. It's a tricky situation for composers, granted!
I just saw this and thought it was excellent. The problem I have as a bass saxophonist is playing with a community band. As you probably know, no one writes parts for it. At first I had to transpose the bari parts for 70 of their songs using Scanscore and MuseScore. It was quite tedious and fraught with errors. I have now decided it would be best to learn to transpose by sight. It is not easy. I don't know what bass sax players normally do in this situation. I wish the sheet music vendors would include bass sax in their scores.
Yes this is part of the problem. Lazy arranging. If more bass sax parts were included, even marked optional, at least a player in your situation will have a dedicated part to play. Composers just need to get used to including a part, like how most sets of parts contain both bass and treble clef parts for Baritone/Euphonium.
I was JUST thinking I wanted to write for a diversified sax quintet (SATBBass) but there's just not a lot of that in the repertoire. Most quintets slot in a 2nd alto or tenor, annoyingly. But I get it, the bass is rarer and way more expensive so writing for it limits your access to performers somewhat. Anyway, this video's timing couldn't be better!
For a while I've been thinking of writing and arranging for a sax sextet, or saxtet in which there is 1 each of sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, bari & bass. I think it'll make a very unique yet versatile sax ensemble!
in the USA the bass sax is almost always a sax choir instrument, except for jazz (and only trad or avant garde jazz as a rule). i played one in our municipal band years ago, but it didn't make much impression on our director, sad to say. there was a minor trend to write bass sax doubles in Broadway shows in the '50s and '60s. but it was mostly because school bands put them up for sale at low prices around that time.
Really great video. I'm a clarinetist and composer-in-training looking to get into and write for classical saxophone, and that gave me some really good ideas for the future. I actually didn't know bass sax was becoming less rare, I figured it was more obscure than the poor alto clarinet. I'll definitely have to start working on some solo repertoire in the future.
Thank you. Great you're writing for these instruments. 👍 I wouldn't say it's 'common' in the same way as a baritone for example, but there are definitely more bass saxes about these days, and those that own one are always keen to have opportunities to use it.
Sergei Rachmaninov wrote a beautiful sax solo in his "Symphonic Dances" piece. I think it was alto sax. I think he consulted with an American Jazz composer for advice on writing for an instrument he was unfamiliar with.
The only issue with writing for more bass, is the availability, my state has 2 of them, one doesnt get used and the other is only used by my university, so its a little hard to want more people writing and playing when the instruments are expensive, faulty or non existent in your area :/ would love to play some more bass in the future though
Yes that is the main issue. It must be frustrating for those players who want to play bass but can't access one. My view is if the demand is increased - by way of both composers scoring for it more often, plus players wanting to play bass - then that should start a snowball effect where instrument repairers bring old basses back to life and make secondhand ones more available to players, or renting is more prevalent perhaps. There are options out there. We just need to have a positive attitude and continue to use it!
I might try to ask my band director if she has any bass saxes that I can use because I'm on tenor and I think it would be really fun to play on an instrument that low.
I think its important that someone talks about why string bass is in stage band. There is no video on this anywhere. Even if one exists, it probably wont explain why its suddenly a good idea to add an instrument so good at being drowned out by anything into a band that is so good at drowning out everything i.e. many low wind instruments trample all over string bass. The poor instrument can never be heard under so much weight on the low end of the other instruments
Good point. Often I ask the player to double on bass guitar as I know it can thicken the texture a bit more in loud sections, then I reserve the string bass for moderate to quiet passages to take advantage of the pizzicato, which is a sound no other instrument in the band can replicate. Sax slap tongue (esp on bari or bass) is kind of similar, but is not always appropriate in every situation. Not to say I never ask the bass guitar to play quietly though - that's a very useful colour too.
I don't have any orchestra knowledge, but I found this video extremely intresting ! Do you know if a bass saxophone can replace a bass guitar in a band (by taking into account the constraints related to the instrument oc) ?
Thanks, glad you found the video useful. It would certainly be possible to write for a bass sax with its role functioning as a bass guitar. Whether it fits with the overall soundworld of the band however is a matter for the players to decide. It should have a definite purpose. You have a slightly limited bottom end, in that you miss the lowest four semitones of a standard 4-string bass guitar. You could use slap tongue effects occasionally to mimic some bass guitar-type sounds too. That said, using both would be very interesting too.
Planning on doing a vid on the ContraAlto Clarinet. Very underrated instrument which can do a lot. Love the contrabass. I write for it often. Has a growing number of concerti too. OctoContras were a fantastic concept. I understand that the LeBlanc models are languishing in a museum never to be played again. Shame, as it'd be great to hear one in a band setting or film score.
Was a bit confused to see your stuff for Bass Sax written in the Bass clef vs the G clef where all sax parts usually lie-- also I have heard it is challenging to find bass sax mouthpieces, and reeds-- and a large enough case-- and if you live in an apartment a place to store it out of sight-- we are doing Wm Schuman's George Washington Bridge in concert band and there is a part for Bass sax- our Bari has a Bass but cannot do both .
I own a tubax (Eb) and agree 100% with everything you said. Baritone saxophonists should not need to play the part bass & contrabass saxes should be playing. Let the baris play their other octaves!
There are two types of Tubax. There's the E flat, which is an octave lower than the bari, which is in effect a 'compact' contra; and the B flat which functions as a subcontra and is an octave lower than the bass sax .
Most of the good ones only go up to Eb3. By good ones I of course mean the Conn and Buescher horns made from 1924 until WWII, the golden age of bass sax. Modern bass saxophones don't sound like bass saxophones, they sound like baris.
The problem is finding the instrument not the players. Any bari sax player worth their salt should be able to pick up the bass sax pretty easily. Having only played bari for 3 months into my undergrad, picked up bass with relative ease. Now I've become a fairly regular bass sax player pulling it out a couple times a year. The problem is, bass saxes worth playing like the Selmer Series II are like $30,000 to buy, so broke people like me have to borrow them from our school/a friend of a friend who has one.
Yes, although Eppelsheim does call his B flat Tubax a subcontra. Having said that, I believe he has now made an actual subcontra, which is not a Tubax, just to muddy the waters slightly! All instruments with amazing engineering. His contraforte is a brilliant updated contrabassoon too.
As a Bari primary - I approve of brining the Bass back to give the Bari something different to do.
I agree wholeheartedly as a bari player as well!
Haha I used to play bass sax in marching band. It was kind of difficult because I'd have to rewrite bari or tuba parts or play with the bass clarinets
I dont know who your daddy is, but these instruments are much too expensive to be putting in brine like some common lettuce
@@Foulfootwear Well, if you only look for modern professional bass sax then you're right. But there are cheaper ones like vintage Conn basses or modern amateur models like the Thomann TBB-150. Of course the latter one especially you have to check the processing quality. But adding bass sax to create a richer sound is not only for professional ensembles and orchestra, I personally think that this video is also addressed to student ensemble. And for that case you don't need a very expensive bass sax. The most important thing is, that this instrument is playable.
@@Dueruemtarget "Foulfootwear" was just making a joke about the fact that marvelboy74 mistyped "bringing" as "brining"!
As a saxophonist (who plays all from 'nino to bass) and composer/arranger of a number of sax quintet and sextet pieces, I agree with all you said. Bass frees up the baritone from grunting around on its bottom end and able to use its beautiful upper register. And at the same time this puts bass sax up into its midrange where the tone is much more relaxed than the baritones bottom end. And bass has a beautiful singing mid to upper range. I think the success of bass sax in the 1920's, where it was usually placed in the rhythm section, back by the drums, piano, etc, was that its reedier tone helped it to be heard on the Victrola, early radios. The listener actually heard the bass line through the upper harmonics, even with the true fundamental missing. By the mid to late 1940's there were better mics, better speakers on radios and record players, and tuba and string bass were no longer "lost in the mix". This video is an excellent treatise on use of bass sax!
Bass Sax is so underated I wish it was more common
I wish it was more affordable
@@benjammin498 I wish all instruments were more affordable lmao
@@evanbonannomusic I wish they were lighter and easier to pack around.
@@johnbull6909 yeah the same goes for a lot of bigger lower instruments unfortunately
Absolutely
I played the alto sax for 5 years. Baritone for 5 years and now I am playing the Bass sax for 10 years. Best Sax ever
That’s great. I’ve always been a fan of lower saxes.
@@danthefugueguy The sound is amazing
Bravo
@@danthefugueguy I am only 5-3 and the lowest I can go is the Baritone. I know the fingering of the Bass and the contrabass. Just too big for me. Jazzman Clare Fischer played Bass, Contrabass, and Baritone saxophone
as a former bari player, i can confirm that the higher range of the instrument can be underapreciated, it can sound close to a french horn or a cello if you play it right.
If....
Playing Bass Saxophone in a wind ensemble is one of the rare treasures of being a low Saxophone specialist.
As a multi-decade saxophone player, I can assure you: A well trained saxophonist can play any kind of saxophone. So it's not a problem that you can't find any "bass saxophone player". Get a random saxophonist, borrow a bass saxophone, and your premiere will be perfect.
I always wanted to employ bass saxes for marching band. Let's face it, baris aren't really a bass instrument. Most of the time they play the tuba part but up an octave. Bass not only has the range to compete with tubas but it also has the projection and the punch to be heard. Not to mention Tubas require a lot of air and pressure to make the bottom notes speak where as saxophones' low notes can be sustained and articulated better.
As the musical director of the London Saxophone Choir for ten years, it was a sad day any time we had to do a gig without a bass.
I’ve been adding bass saxophones in my jazz arrangements ever since I tried including one a few months back. It changed the world for me when writing saxophone parts
Just did a full gig with Bass Sax (recreating The Last Waltz Performance). The composer originally chose bari over bass in his arrangements, but after my bari sax was damaged, I did the final performance on Bass Sax. The rest of the horn section thought it sounded like the bari, but louder. Louder is good! :)
Wow, must have been great fun!
Those horn arrangements by Toussaint were wonderful, such a joy to hear that concert over and over!
Ophelia, Old Crow medicine show and Night they drove ole dixie down are probably of my favourites
Outstanding video that is both accurate and wonderfully sympathetic!. Karl Husa is another notable composer who has used the bass sax in his wind ensemble works. I own five bass saxes, and they are used in my saxophone ensembles, as well as the wind ensembles at my schools. A favorite solo work is Brian Israel's Double Concerto for sopranino and bass saxes and winds. I've also arranged some Grainger works for SATBBs which sound full and robust. Bass sax prices vary, but are declining. One can purchase an excellent, well regulated new Asian bass for around $6500 these days!
Is that the Sakkusu bass (unsure if I've spelt that correctly)? For a bass sax, it's not unreasonably priced in the UK: about £5000ish.
I love how passionate you are about the bass saxophone. With love from a contrabassoonist 🎵👍🏼👍🏼
From one former contrabassoonist to another, thanks for your comment!
Eyo contrabassoon party, just wondering, for the large bass sax solo in your band piece, I feel like contrabassoon could have been good too
@@Saxman_sam Yes, if I didn't score for bass sax, contrabassoon would work. I wanted to use the contra as an alternating colour with contrabass clarinet in the sustained pedal tones instead as I like the change in timbre going from one to the other, at least at this point in the piece. So, bass sax ended up getting the tune for this moment!
@@danthefugueguy A bass sax with a(proper-sized) Low A bell could've pulled off that (in)famous contrabassoon solo in Strauss's opera Salome almost just as well. And a bass sax+contrabassoon unison might actually work rather well!
6:11 This was REALLY pretty, seriously. Bravo
Thank you. Please check out the whole symphony (playlist on YT) - enjoy!
Thank you for being a champion of sax in orchestral work!
I've had mine for about two years, still had no occasion to play it in an ensemble. The ones coming out of China are getting better and better, and are really not much more or at all more expensive than a baritone (mine was $3300 factory direct). To bring it back you have to have them in schools, etc., and composers should be encouraged to write for it! Fair play to ya, Dan!
Me as a Bass Sax player: 🥲 I’m so proud of you. JUSE BASS SAX!!!!
How can I put this nicely. I have heard the bass saxophone before and the people playing were not that good at it. So I have had a negative view point of the instrument. However recently I have had the chance to hear some better players and my mind has changed on it. Heck this video showed how well Bass Saxes can sound. As a Bari player I went from turning my nose up at it to being jealous (lol)
This is great, thanks for including us!
Thanks. Really enjoy your videos 👍
The experience that changed my mind was my first time hearing Rufford Park Poachers with the bass sax included.
I agree. Makes a huge difference. I played Lincolnshire Posy for the first time in 2009 with a bass in the band. Second time I played it there was no bass and it definitely lost something.
Yes, more Bass Saxophone! More Soprano Saxophone, as well!
I really need a bass sax. I play tenor right now and bass both sounds and looks really cool.
I just found this channel, and I have never before found a man whose opinions I agree with more.
I am a young composer, and I think I am gonna start writing bass sax into my music! I however think a really underrated timbre is the soprano saxophone. I love how it sounds and writing for it!
One of my favourite bands, the Japanese rock band Barbee Boys, has lots of songs featuring soprano sax solos! I think they're quite unique as the sax player also sings
Played bass sax in jazz band in college. It was a blast. I think the sound would definitely work well in the wind ensemble setting
It really adds an interesting colour in a jazz band. Doubling it with the bass trombone also makes for a powerful sound.
Love this! Yes, more bass sax! I own a modern bass sax that plays up to written F#. Beautiful tone and easy tuning. It adds so much presence to the saxophone section and other woodwind instruments.
I like to think most people would support the sentiment "more bass sax".
It's definitely the tone that I find very attractive about the instrument.
I truly do wish bass saxes (and other bass/contrabass woodwinds) can show up more in orchestral and band works. I understand these instruments are not very common and ridiculously expensive, but they still exist and many ensembles have them, waiting to be used. Bring them back, that way us tubas can have more bass to team up with!
Still very popular in Philadelphia String Bands.
As a saxophonist, this was great. I would have liked to hear more of the examples to illustrate what you said about them. Even a 5-second clip of each of the scores you included in the video would have been really helpful.
Thanks, glad it was useful. Unfortunately I couldn't find any recordings of the Holbrooke works where it's confirmed that the full compliment of saxes were used. Holbrooke is a greatly underrated composer in general sadly.
Fully agree that instruments such as Bass Sax , Alto Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet etc... are really noticed as missing...once you have heard them.
Bass Sax as with many of the larger rare instruments are seeing something of a renaissance due to more affordable instruments.
Would love to see similar video's on the rare brass instruments.
Descant Horn, Wagner Tuben, Contrabass Trombone, Cimbasso ....Sub Contra tuba.
Contrabass trombone is one of my favourite instruments. Only scored for it twice but it's such a great asset.
Cimbasso should definitely get more love. Really expressive.
Oooh, awesome bass sax solo in your symphony! Another great video highlighting an underused instrument...thank you!
Thanks. Do check out the whole movement!
Thanks. Do check out the whole movement!
very important video ...thanks ...and the funny pics ....are very very cool
A lot of early They Might Be Giants recordings feature their accordionist/singer on bass sax! You can see it in some early concert footage as well, but it vanished in the late 80s. He uses a LeBlanc Contrabass clarinet now on tour,which is also cool, but not quite as visually powerful
A lot of musicians and fans will tell you that its only advantage is visual, and even then, only in certain situations. It looks disconcerting, because a saxophone isn't supposed to be so big. Even before you hear it, it's already out of place.
TMBG surely only used it to add the atmosphere of a New York oddity. Once they became a music business sensation, it was a liability.
@RatPfink66 I mean nobody's ever accused tmbg of being theatrical!
Very nice presentation; and what little I heard of your "Night Journey" is absolutely gorgeous.
Thank you for your comment. You can find Night Journey in its entirety on TH-cam too. Enjoy!
One of the only times I have heard a bass saxophone in the flesh was a performance of William Albright's "Valley of Fire" (1988) for saxophone quartet and organ. It was highly effective.
What a profound video on my loved instrument that I've been playing for more than 20 years after decades on other saxes and clarinet. A funny movie, too!
Thanks very much. Glad you enjoyed the video. That's great you've been playing for so long on bass sax. One of my favourites to write for.
Awesome video!. As a student of the late great Joseph Viola co-founder of Berklee College I can really appreciate the thought & sensitivity that went into this presentation. The whole time I was at Berklee I never saw a bass sax. The only one I ever saw was on an exchange concert in high school, unfortunately when I was there the instrument was in disrepair and I couldn't try it out!. Yes more low saxes. I have a slightly off topic inquiry. I have seen several TH-cam videos with what they're calling a contrabass sax, some really are saxes but others are not. The bore does not taper out enough to call it a saxophone. Being a full octave below the baritone the bell should be twice the diameter of a baritone bell. These rogue instruments are not saxophones so what are they? They seem more practical being smaller and easier to transport and they appear to blend well with saxophones. If anyone knows what those instruments are called please let me know. Thanx...
I am in the Contrabass camp. 😇
I played bass sax when I was a member of the California Air National Guard Band. Too bad it is so expensive. That is probably the main reason you don’t see it more often.
Absolutely wonderful! I've got major Bass Sax parts in most of my band works. I wrote up to a high written F in Symphony 2 and the player nailed it with no problem (using an instrument keyed to high Eb).
Thanks Bret! Look forward to hearing your symphonies. I have plans to write a couple when I get the time. Definitely going to use a big band for one of them so I can write for all these wonderful instruments!
Do you think it is sufficiently different in timbre to the baritone to justify? Obviously range wise the bass only gains 4 semitones beyond the bari at the bottom, while being unwieldy, rare and expensive.
@@bryanconlong9457 As a bass sax player, the extra four notes below bari are not the only use for bass sax. Its upper register is an even more unique and labored, albeit thinner tone than bari, and its lower register is much fuller, rounder, darker, warmer than bari, which is often criticized for its harsh bright brassy tone, especially with its low A extension. The added benefit of letting bari play more actual baritone parts and not bass parts alone is enough to justify the use of bass sax for me. Yes, they are expensive and a bit rare, but the unique sound is worth writing for if people can get their hands on one.
One of the fewest jazz musicians to use the bass saxophone as a solo instrument was Adrian Rollini. He learned to play the instrument in only one week! Today that would be impossible because it takes so much lung power to play it. Rollini had been playing other sax types before taking up the bass saxophone. The common abbreviation for it is bsx.
That's brilliant that he learnt the instrument in just a week. There's a vid (audio) on here of him playing both bass sax and vibes; very impressive.
Its ironic that the clip we hear of Adrian is the very LAST recording he made on bass sax (1938). He was developing a night club style group to feature his vibraharp playing because the bass sax had been such a nonstarter in swing music.
@@RatPfink66 It was mostly for the Dixieland era.
This was a very good video. It's interesting that the sax in general never became more than a curiosity in symphonic music.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the vid.
Yes, I feel the ostricising of the sax by Adolphe Sax's rivals in the 19th century has caused so much lasting prejudice against the saxophone, still felt today. It is a shame it's not a regular part of the orchestral wind section. Even now in modern music, I still hear audience members react with surprise when a sax appears on stage.
Sehr gut! Danke!
Esta info vale millones. Un instrumento ya casi olvidado, más olvidado que mi Sax Barítono. Una hermosa sonoridad y timbre. Me gusta la suavidad y oscuros que denota
This is so cool!!
Here from Argentina, love your channel!
As a bari player we get blocked off in the lower register, adding this would allow us to use our beautiful upper register (And could allow for a kick ass bass soprano duet)
Totally agree. High bari is one of my favourite sax sounds. It cam then actually function as a baritone voice.
I'd say Micheal Wilbur from Moon Hooch is one of the most influential modern bass sax players
Great informative video! I have a Bass Sax and play it in my local Concert Band when there’s Holst / Grainger pieces as well as transposing some of the Baritone parts to make the bass line a bit more… punchy! ! It makes a big difference to the ensemble! Also get to play it on saxophone choir play days in and around London. It’s a cumbersome instrument, but man it’s so fun to play!!
That's great you have one and use it in band. Must be satisfying to play something that contributes a huge amount to the band's overall sound.
Yes it really adds so much. Just hope more composers realise this!
I'm a Bari player, and I love the sound of Bari and bass but I've never seen bass in person
Rahsaan needed that! 😂
I currently play the tenor but I’d like to switch to bass eventually. Nice video! 😀
great video
Probably one of my favourite instruments, I really wish I could buy one. I have the money but it simply isn’t a wise purchase as most of the time I play pieces without a bass sax part.
If you listen to Clare Fischer albums like "Thesaurus", "Duality", or "A Family Affair", you can hear a great use of the bass sax! (along with some other rare woods)
Thanks - I'll look that up!
@@danthefugueguy awesome! A good track to start on is "upper manhattan medical group" since it starts with a bass sax intro
Very interesting.
I am a saxophonist that would love to play bass saxophone, even the tubax!! But here in Brazil those are extremely rare instruments
You should look into Galassine or J’elle Stainer. I believe they are both Brazilian companies and they make low saxophones like bass down to subcontrabass
@@SenorCluck Thank you so much! I think Stainer is german but I`ll look them! thanks again for the shared knowledge!
Great video!
I would love to play bass sax, but my school doesn’t own one. We own 4 baritone saxophones though.
The bass saxophone I use goes up to a high Eb (written) and the highest usable note I can play is a double high Bb. The lower the instrument the easier it is to get your overtones under control!
717th sub, good content
This is very good. Thank you!
Thanks for your comment and glad you enjoyed the vid.
I have been using a Conn Bass sax for years in our quartet and ask arrangers to add a bass sax part frequently. For certain tunes its voluminous big sound gives a better tone than the bari and even in its mid-range has a nicer color. I use both swapping between them because in some tunes I want the punch that the bari delivers. Certainly for Dixie and oompah music the bass sax is king.
Yes I agree that the bass works really well in a quartet.
I am sitting next to a bass sax in my wind band and it really sounds like the claxon of an enormous cargo plane ;D
At the very least, time for a new mouthpiece for the bass!
In Italian wind bands the bass and soprano saxes are part of the normal instrumentation..Just go on youtube and see videos of them marching with bass saxes.
Great video
I find the bass saxophone a little awkward in that it both is only a fourth lower than the baritone and also lacks the written low A extension the baritone has, so that it can only play a major third lower than the baritone. In pieces where I'm committed to extending the saxophone section on the low end (which I often am), I really want a bass *and* a contrabass. On the other hand, the idea that the bass is no longer that rare changes the equation a bit.
Yes ideally both a bass and contrabass would be used, particularly in a wind band. However, the cost is an issue certainly.
Although the bass can only go a third lower than the baritone, the sound quality is sufficiently different to the bari and contrabass to justify its inclusion.
It's a tricky situation for composers, granted!
What’s next🤨bass oboe? Contrabass clarinet? Contrabone? Eb trumpet? Bass or alto flute?
Definitely bass oboe and bass flute. Got a few more planned!
I just saw this and thought it was excellent. The problem I have as a bass saxophonist is playing with a community band. As you probably know, no one writes parts for it. At first I had to transpose the bari parts for 70 of their songs using Scanscore and MuseScore. It was quite tedious and fraught with errors. I have now decided it would be best to learn to transpose by sight. It is not easy. I don't know what bass sax players normally do in this situation. I wish the sheet music vendors would include bass sax in their scores.
Yes this is part of the problem. Lazy arranging. If more bass sax parts were included, even marked optional, at least a player in your situation will have a dedicated part to play.
Composers just need to get used to including a part, like how most sets of parts contain both bass and treble clef parts for Baritone/Euphonium.
@@danthefugueguy Thanks.
I was JUST thinking I wanted to write for a diversified sax quintet (SATBBass) but there's just not a lot of that in the repertoire. Most quintets slot in a 2nd alto or tenor, annoyingly. But I get it, the bass is rarer and way more expensive so writing for it limits your access to performers somewhat. Anyway, this video's timing couldn't be better!
For a while I've been thinking of writing and arranging for a sax sextet, or saxtet in which there is 1 each of sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, bari & bass. I think it'll make a very unique yet versatile sax ensemble!
in the USA the bass sax is almost always a sax choir instrument, except for jazz (and only trad or avant garde jazz as a rule). i played one in our municipal band years ago, but it didn't make much impression on our director, sad to say.
there was a minor trend to write bass sax doubles in Broadway shows in the '50s and '60s. but it was mostly because school bands put them up for sale at low prices around that time.
Really great video. I'm a clarinetist and composer-in-training looking to get into and write for classical saxophone, and that gave me some really good ideas for the future. I actually didn't know bass sax was becoming less rare, I figured it was more obscure than the poor alto clarinet. I'll definitely have to start working on some solo repertoire in the future.
Thank you. Great you're writing for these instruments. 👍
I wouldn't say it's 'common' in the same way as a baritone for example, but there are definitely more bass saxes about these days, and those that own one are always keen to have opportunities to use it.
Sergei Rachmaninov wrote a beautiful sax solo in his "Symphonic Dances" piece. I think it was alto sax. I think he consulted with an American Jazz composer for advice on writing for an instrument he was unfamiliar with.
Yes, Alto is correct. Only used briefly in the first movement but a lovely moment. One of my favourite orchestral pieces.
The only issue with writing for more bass, is the availability, my state has 2 of them, one doesnt get used and the other is only used by my university, so its a little hard to want more people writing and playing when the instruments are expensive, faulty or non existent in your area :/ would love to play some more bass in the future though
Yes that is the main issue. It must be frustrating for those players who want to play bass but can't access one. My view is if the demand is increased - by way of both composers scoring for it more often, plus players wanting to play bass - then that should start a snowball effect where instrument repairers bring old basses back to life and make secondhand ones more available to players, or renting is more prevalent perhaps. There are options out there. We just need to have a positive attitude and continue to use it!
I was NOT expecting Subaru of hololive dancing on 2:46 in this video.
I might try to ask my band director if she has any bass saxes that I can use because I'm on tenor and I think it would be really fun to play on an instrument that low.
I think its important that someone talks about why string bass is in stage band. There is no video on this anywhere. Even if one exists, it probably wont explain why its suddenly a good idea to add an instrument so good at being drowned out by anything into a band that is so good at drowning out everything i.e. many low wind instruments trample all over string bass. The poor instrument can never be heard under so much weight on the low end of the other instruments
Good point. Often I ask the player to double on bass guitar as I know it can thicken the texture a bit more in loud sections, then I reserve the string bass for moderate to quiet passages to take advantage of the pizzicato, which is a sound no other instrument in the band can replicate. Sax slap tongue (esp on bari or bass) is kind of similar, but is not always appropriate in every situation.
Not to say I never ask the bass guitar to play quietly though - that's a very useful colour too.
do a video about viola and how underrated it is
Can you do one on contra bass clarinet???
you inspired me to add the bass sax to my latest pieces...by the way, if you have any idea on how to name pieces, please let me know😅
Great news! You'll find adding one makes a big difference.
I don't have any orchestra knowledge, but I found this video extremely intresting !
Do you know if a bass saxophone can replace a bass guitar in a band (by taking into account the constraints related to the instrument oc) ?
Thanks, glad you found the video useful.
It would certainly be possible to write for a bass sax with its role functioning as a bass guitar. Whether it fits with the overall soundworld of the band however is a matter for the players to decide. It should have a definite purpose.
You have a slightly limited bottom end, in that you miss the lowest four semitones of a standard 4-string bass guitar.
You could use slap tongue effects occasionally to mimic some bass guitar-type sounds too.
That said, using both would be very interesting too.
Whats your view on the Contrabass and ContraAlto Clarinets and the extremly rare OctoContraAlto Clarinet
Planning on doing a vid on the ContraAlto Clarinet. Very underrated instrument which can do a lot.
Love the contrabass. I write for it often. Has a growing number of concerti too.
OctoContras were a fantastic concept. I understand that the LeBlanc models are languishing in a museum never to be played again. Shame, as it'd be great to hear one in a band setting or film score.
@@magnostadt341 still on the list! Probably aim to finish it next year.
“The dude of the wind band”
MEUTE band using it correctly :-)
Was a bit confused to see your stuff for Bass Sax written in the Bass clef vs the G clef where all sax parts usually lie-- also I have heard it is challenging to find bass sax mouthpieces, and reeds-- and a large enough case-- and if you live in an apartment a place to store it out of sight-- we are doing Wm Schuman's George Washington Bridge in concert band and there is a part for Bass sax- our Bari has a Bass but cannot do both .
The example was in concert pitch rather than transposed pitch.
When preparing a score I use treble clef for all saxes as is the norm.
It is very similar in timper to the contrabass guitar.
Are you trying to tempt me into getting myself a bass saxophone?
Cuz its working.
I own a tubax (Eb) and agree 100% with everything you said. Baritone saxophonists should not need to play the part bass & contrabass saxes should be playing. Let the baris play their other octaves!
Check the OST for Horton hears a who! it features some cool bass and baritone sax stuff
Wait so the Tubax is NOT a Eb instrument?? I thought it was an octave below Baritone Sax, is it not?
There are two types of Tubax. There's the E flat, which is an octave lower than the bari, which is in effect a 'compact' contra; and the B flat which functions as a subcontra and is an octave lower than the bass sax .
@@danthefugueguy thank you so much for the confirmation!
Also, Eppelsheim has released an actual subcontra sax. Check his website. It's a bit of a behemoth!
Many people would like to play it, not many can afford it...
My Brothers in laws and my sweetie play bass and contrabass saxes
As a sax guy myself, I can say that I've written plenty of music for bari sax, especially within sax quintets/sextets
Most of the good ones only go up to Eb3. By good ones I of course mean the Conn and Buescher horns made from 1924 until WWII, the golden age of bass sax. Modern bass saxophones don't sound like bass saxophones, they sound like baris.
I would compose a major work for bass sax but there aren't many players.
The problem is finding the instrument not the players. Any bari sax player worth their salt should be able to pick up the bass sax pretty easily. Having only played bari for 3 months into my undergrad, picked up bass with relative ease. Now I've become a fairly regular bass sax player pulling it out a couple times a year. The problem is, bass saxes worth playing like the Selmer Series II are like $30,000 to buy, so broke people like me have to borrow them from our school/a friend of a friend who has one.
Where can i get a bass saxophone
There is a group on FB called Contrabass Mania. Somebody is selling a bass sax there.
The tubax is a move compact version of the contrabass sax not the subcontrabass
Yes, although Eppelsheim does call his B flat Tubax a subcontra.
Having said that, I believe he has now made an actual subcontra, which is not a Tubax, just to muddy the waters slightly!
All instruments with amazing engineering. His contraforte is a brilliant updated contrabassoon too.
Any way I can get the bass solo?
I want one, but where and how to get one is a big question in and of itself.
the sarrusophone should be brought back! It is the woodier cousin of the bass saxophone.
Agreed!