The saxophone is one of the most popular instruments in the world. However, an entire generation of musicians could not access it because of its little size or it’s age. The goal of Trevor J. James was to construct an instrument which would be adapted for young and little musicians, by adjusting the weight and the hand positioning.
The saxophone is one of the most popular instruments in the world. However, an entire generation of musicians could not access it because of its little size or it’s age. The goal of Trevor J. James was to construct an instrument which would be adapted for young and little musicians, by adjusting the weight and the hand positioning.
For nearly a year of research, many fundamental factors have been take into account :
- The weight of the instrument must be reduced by at least un third for the younger musicians, without changing the material ou thickness of the instrument’s body, in order to provide the same characteristics of a traditional alto saxophone
- The new saxophone must be able to play a minimum of 2 chromatic octaves. The research clearly demonstrated that two octaves were enough for the first few years of studies
- Some keys are impossibles to avoid, and the instrument would be unplayable without them. On the other hand, other keys are difficult or impossible to reach for little hands. Trevor J. James made changes to the mechanism, thereby reducing the overall weight and making it more accessible for small hands. This development does not just bring the pearl buttons closer together, the mechanism is genuinely modified
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It is equally important that the case of the instrument is lightweight, because a child must be able to easily transport everything.
