The C soprano saxophone is a member of the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

family, invented in 1846. It closely resembles the more common B

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

but is pitched a whole step higher. Unlike most other saxophones, it is not a

transposing instrument A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which music notation is not written at concert pitch (concert pitch is the pitch on a non-transposing instrument such as the piano). For example, playing a written middle C on a transposing i ...

, a quality it shares with the C melody (also called C tenor) saxophone. The C soprano has a very similar range to the

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

. As with C melody saxophones, American production of C sopranos commenced circa 1919 and ended around 1929. The same companies that made C melody instruments manufactured C soprano saxophones, and they were marketed to those who wished to perform

parts in

military bands A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

arrangements, or church hymnals. C sopranos made by some French manufacturers exist but are exceedingly rare. In the early 2010s, the New Zealand-based company Aquilasax contracted a factory in China to produce C sopranos, with modern keywork but a bore copied from

C.G. Conn C. G. Conn Ltd., sometimes called Conn Instruments or commonly just Conn, is a former American manufacturer of musical instruments incorporated in 1915. It bought the production facilities owned by Charles Gerard Conn, a major figure in earl ...

's 1920s model. These received a very mildly positive response from players and technicians who encountered them, but demand was low and only a small number was produced. Aquilasax is now defunct, and the factory that produced these instruments is no longer operational. C sopranos are the same shape as B sopranos and differ in length by only around 3 centimeters. Nearly all vintage examples are keyed from low Bb to high Eb. Aquilasax's 2010s models were keyed to high F and F#. C soprano saxophones usually have a "C" stamped on them, close to the serial number.

In classical music

The C soprano saxophone was written for by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

in his ''

Sinfonia Domestica ''Symphonia Domestica'', Op. 53, is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss. The work is a musical reflection of the secure domestic life so valued by the composer himself and, as such, harmoniously conveys daily events and family li ...

'', where included in the music are parts for four saxophones including a soprano saxophone in C.

Notes

Saxophones C instruments {{SingleReed-instrument-stub