Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax created the instrument in 1846 when he wanted to create the most powerful and vocal of the woodwinds to fill the middle ground between the brass and woodwinds. Usually saxophones are made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to a clarinet. Saxophone students can study jazz, pop or classically based music, music for their school band, and/or how to improvise. At the more advanced levels, saxophone students continue to study the rudiments of the technique, master scale drills, study out of etude books, and learn standard higher saxophone repertoire, modal scales and jazz runs. Saxophone players have been known to become the President of the United States, like Bill Clinton.

The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically appears in orchestra, concert band, and chamber music literature. Known for its distinctive tone, color, range, and agility the bassoon creates a warm, dark, reedy timbre often compared to that of the male baritone voice. Unlike the flute, clarinet, or saxophone, the bassoon cannot be supported by a player’s hands alone. Most commonly, it’s held with a neck strap or shoulder harness or a seat strap is attached to its base to hold it up. Bassoon embouchure is an important aspect of producing a full, round tone and is made by putting one’s lips together as if one were to whistle but the jaw is dropped as if were to yawn without opening one’s mouth. Students typically start with another wind instrument like the clarinet or saxophone and then progress onto the bassoon. Two of the most popular symphonic solos pieces written for the bassoon are the the grandfather’s theme in Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” and the opening solo in Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.”

The oboe is a soprano-ranged double reed member of the instrument family that makes versatile bright sounds by blowing into the reed and vibrating a column of air. Intermediate and advanced students learn how to manufacture their own double reeds. Most professional oboists make their own reeds to fit his or her individual needs. Thereby oboists can control factors such as tone, color, and tuning. Most often used in European traditional and classical music it has also been used in jazz, rock, pop, and film music. When Peter Gabriel was the lead singer of Genesis, he played oboe on the group’s studio recordings. The oboe is featured as the solo instrument in John Williams’ score to Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and in Basi Poledourius’ score to Conan the Barbarian, and in Indian composer A.R. Rahman’s score to Jodha Akbar. The oboe is a standard member of any orchestra.

The clarinet has the widest pitch range of the woodwind family and is used in jazz and classical ensembles, chamber groups, orchestra, and as a solo instrument. Popular in klezmer music the clarinet also is also an integral part of Brazilian choro and samba, Bulgarian wedding music, Romani folk music, and the music of Turkey, Greece, and the Arab world. The clarinet was invented by a German named Johann Christoph Denner in the early 18th-century. The first great composers to write for the clarinet were Vivaldi and Handel, followed by Mozart and Beethoven. However, it was the Romantic Era composers like Carl Maria von Weber, Schumann, and Brahms who really showed off the full potential of the clarinet as a solo instrument. Sometimes referred to as a licorice whip because of its dark wood and shape, no orchestra is ever complete without a clarinet.

Aside from the human voice, the flute is the oldest known musical instrument. The oldest flutes found by archaeologists are made of bear and bird bones, but today most flutes are made of silver-plated metals like brass, copper, and zinc combinations. Most professionals play on solid silver flutes. Unlike its other woodwind siblings, the flute does not need a reed to play, but produces its sound just from the flow of air across an opening. The flute is one of the most versatile instruments for playing different styles and is used in classical, rock, jazz, pop, and hip-hop. One of the most famous flute players in popular culture is featured in our academy hallways, Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He took up playing the flute when he played basketball for UCLA to relax before games.