Sax Family

The saxophone was originally patented as two musical families: the "orchestral" family and the "band" family. Each family has seven instruments: Sopranino, Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass and Contrabass.

Of these, the orchestral family is rarely found nowadays, and of the band family, only the alto, tenor and baritone are in common use.

Alto: most common for beginners although altos also exist for intermediate and professionals.
Tenor: rich sounding, lower than alto and very common.
Baritone: one of the physically largest woodwind instruments around.