The saxophone is one of those tricky instruments where it looks like one group but fits into another.
As a music teacher and musician, I don’t hold it against anybody for getting this wrong since it’s pretty tough to tell the difference without some expertise, but since I’m asked if the sax is a woodwind instrument enough, I thought I’d explain the real answer.
The saxophone is a woodwind instrument and a member of that family, despite being made of brass. The key to sorting instruments is in how it makes their sound. Saxophones use a small piece of wood or plastic called a reed; therefore, it’s part of the woodwind family.
There is no debate for musicians, but I understand how many people get this one wrong.
Let’s get into the details to fully understand why this is the case.
Table of Contents
Is Saxophone Brass Or Woodwind?
As I said before, the saxophone is a woodwind instrument. There is no debate.
The key is in how instruments make a sound.
This is what separates them into different families.
In the next sections, we’ll talk a bit more about the two families in question (brass and woodwinds).
What we need to know is how the saxophone makes its sound.
The saxophone uses a mouthpiece with a piece of wood or plastic called a reed held tight to it by a ligature.
When the musician blows on it, the reed vibrates, creating sound in the air.
The vibration is passed through the neck and the body of the sax, changed by the keys, and then comes out through the bell.
This is a simple but effective explanation.
Because the sound comes from a reed (or wood) vibration, it’s part of the woodwind family.
Yes, it’s made of brass, but that has no impact on its family or how it’s played.
The saxophone is much closer to clarinet because it makes sound and is fingered than brass instruments like trumpets or trombones.
Some musicians will swap the clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces to achieve a specific sound with no issues.
Speaking of sound, check out these tips for making a good saxophone sound.
What Is A Woodwind Instrument?
Woodwind instruments need to make a sound in one of two ways, and the name gives you a hint:
Wood – wind.
- If the instrument uses a reed (wood) to vibrate making the sound
- If the instrument blows across or into a hole where the air (wind) is split
Reed instruments can use a single reed (like the sax) or a double reed (like an oboe) where two are tied tightly together.
Wind/woodwind instruments can blow air across the top of a hole like a flute or into a tube where the air is split like the recorder.
The woodwind family is pretty large. It’s bigger than the brass family but much smaller than the all-encompassing percussion family.
Like the brass instruments, musicians need to blow air, making it a part of the larger Wind Family, not to be confused with its smaller sub-family of Woodwind (or the saxophones even smaller sub-sub-family of saxophones.
Use the image above to help you get a better visual of this.
Check out our article on the instruments of the saxophone family.
Members Of The Woodwind Family
Members of the woodwind family include but aren’t limited to:
- Flute
- Piccolo
- Clarinet
- Saxophone
- Oboe
- Bassoon
- English horn
- Bagpipes
- Recorder
What Is A Brass Instrument?
Brass instruments are not part of this family because they’re made of brass (though this is why this name is used).
A brass instrument belongs in this family because we use a mouthpiece to buzz our lips.
The buzzing makes the vibration, unlike the reed or air of the woodwind family.
If you buzz, you’re a brass instrument.
Brass instruments need air to buzz, so they’re part of the big family of Wind Instruments and then the sub-family of Brass Instruments.
Again, use the visual at the top of the section to better visualize this.
Members Of The Brass Family
Members of the brass family include, but aren’t limited to:
- Cornet
- Trumpet
- Flugelhorn
- French horn
- Trombone
- Bass Trombone
- Euphonium
- Baritone
- Tuba
- Sousaphone
Where Is The Saxophone Used?
The saxophone is found in almost every type of group and genre of music, but there are somewhere it’s found with more regularity, including:
- Middle school band
- High school band
- Concert bands at all levels
- Marching band
- Military band
- Jazz bands, combos, etc.
- Saxophone quartets and ensembles
- Orchestra* (rarely)
- Pop music
*Read more about why the saxophone isn’t in the orchestra very often.
Is The Sax A Horn?
The word “horn” in music is pretty amorphous; it has no direct definition.
In general, the word horn refers to an instrument with a bell or flared end, typically facing toward the front.
In this definition, the sax is considered a horn.
According to this definition, the other instruments we could call horns are:
- Clarinet
- Oboe
- Saxophone
- Trumpet
- French horn
- Trombone
- Euphonium
- Baritone
- Tuba
- Sousaphones
This loose definition leaves some debate as many would argue the clarinet and oboe have no room on the list.
If we exclude them, we can argue that a horn is an instrument made of brass, regardless of how it makes a sound.
But there are many jazz performers and leaders who would fight to include clarinets in using the term horn.
If we do, then what about the oboe (which is usually not called a horn)? It fits the definition, sort of.
Well, let’s include jazz wind instruments then.
This complicates things too.
The flute is a wind instrument used in jazz, but the tuba, euphonium, and french horn aren’t.
You see how this is complicated.
I tend to stick with the “made of metal” definition for horns myself, but I respect its use in other contexts.
