Q 01/05

Who invented the saxophone in the early 1840s?

A) Adolphe Sax

B) Antoine Courtois

C) Theobald Boehm

D) Henri Selmer

Answer · why

A) Adolphe Sax

He was a Belgian instrument maker, flautist and clarinetist working in Paris.

Q 02/05

Although usually made of brass, the saxophone belongs to which family of instruments?

A) Brass

B) Strings

C) Woodwind

D) Percussion

Answer · why

C) Woodwind

Its sound comes from a vibrating single reed, like a clarinet.

Q 03/05

In what year was the saxophone patented?

A) 1820

B) 1846

C) 1866

D) 1899

Answer · why

B) 1846

The 15-year patent covered 14 versions of the design, from the smallest to the largest.

Q 04/05

The saxophone's inventor was born in which town in what is now Belgium?

A) Liège

B) Ghent

C) Bruges

D) Dinant

Answer · why

D) Dinant

He moved to Paris in 1842 to set up his instrument business.

Q 05/05

Sax's patent covered instruments in two series of seven. Which two keys became the dominant series?

A) B-flat and E-flat

B) D-flat and G-flat

C) A-flat and D-flat

D) C natural and F natural

Answer · why

A) B-flat and E-flat

The C and F instruments never gained a foothold and were made in tiny numbers.