Toot.

I'm going to give automobiles a rest for a bit and pick on musical instruments. It would be too easy to go for the odd ball crazy stuff. Instead I'm going to take a short look at genuine intruments that by the very size of them, almost got out of hand. First up is the contrabass saxophone.

Adolph Sax included the contrabass in the first group of saxophones he invented around 1840. He had designed instruments to fit most musical ranges, and with an eye for the dramatic was justly proud of this monster being part of the all saxophones bands of the era. Saxophone bands were popular through the late 1900's and into the 20th Century and any band worth its lung power had a contrabass.

A baritone sax weighs in about 15 to 20 pounds and is about 31/2 feet high. Marching bands are not fond of this. The contrabass is in the 50 pound range and stands 6+ feet high. Solely for orchestral or ensemble playing, nobody bops around with one of these. They play an entire octave below a baritone sax or bass clarinet. Check in tommorow where I'll get some pics of these beauties and links to current musicians who play them.