What’s the Difference Between Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxophones?

If you’ve ever watched a horn section onstage, you may have noticed that the sax players are sometimes playing different-sized instruments, even ones that have different shapes. On occasion, they even swap out their saxes from song to song.

Ever wonder why? If you guessed it’s because each type of saxophone makes a slightly different sound, you’d be right, but the differences don’t end there. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what differentiates the four most common types of saxophones, but first let’s talk a little about the history of this fascinating and exceptionally versatile instrument.