Instrument reference · woodwind

Saxophone

By Band Tuning editorial · Facts checked 15 September 2026

All B♭ and E♭ saxophones are written in the treble clef between B♭3 and F6. The alto in E♭ sounds a major sixth lower than notated; the tenor in B♭ a major ninth lower; the soprano in B♭ a major second lower; the baritone in E♭ an octave and a major sixth lower. ^3,4,6,7

The frequencies on this page are computed from the pitch standard A4 = 440 Hz, the 1939 London conference standard reaffirmed by ISO in 1975, in twelve-tone equal temperament, which divides the octave into twelve equal semitones: f = 440 × 2^(n/12), where n is the number of semitones above A4 (negative below). ¹ The notes are named in scientific pitch notation, where C4 is middle C.

Tuning notes and reference pitches

In a band's daily tuning the concert B♭ and the concert A are the notes this instrument tunes to, and the source says to warm up before tuning and to use no vibrato. ⁸ The table gives every octave of those notes inside the instrument's sounding range, the note the player reads for it, and its frequency. The browser tuner plays each of these as a reference tone.

How the pitch is adjusted

• Mouthpiece pulled out from the neck plays flat, pushed in plays sharp. ⁸
• A soft reed plays flat and a hard reed sharp; loud plays flat and soft plays sharp unless the air is weak; cold plays flat and hot plays sharp. ⁸
• Saxophones are transposing instruments: a tenor is tuned to B♭ and an alto to E♭, the fingerings are the same, and playing a written C produces a B♭ on the tenor and an E♭ on the alto. ²

Every note in the range at A4 = 440 Hz

C♯3 to A♭5, alto saxophone, sounding; the plate and the tuner use the alto, the other sizes are in the family table. ³ The written column is the note the player reads; the sounding column is what a tuner hears.

Maker's specification

Figures as printed in the maker's catalogue for its standard and intermediate models; a bore is the inside diameter of the tubing, a bell the diameter of its rim.

The family: other keys and sizes

Notes from the sources

• In pitch order from high to low the family runs sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass. ¹⁰
• The saxophone is an open conical tube and overblows at every harmonic partial, starting at the octave. ³
• Adolphe Sax designed two lines of saxophones in seven registers each; four registers of the military-band line, soprano, alto, tenor and baritone, remain in common use. ³
• Each size has a compass of about two and a half octaves and is fully chromatic over it. ^3,4