Piccolo Saxophone

The Piccolo saxophone or Sopranissimo saxophone in the picture is the smallest of the saxophone family. It is commonly called the Soprillo sax which is actually it's brand name.

These saxophones are tiny. At about a foot long it romps into first place as the smallest of the saxophone family. Add a mouthpiece to the instrument increases it's size by about an inch. Wow! The keys are very close together so meat hooks for hands would not be a good thing if you want to learn. Space is at a premium on this sax and as such the octave key is by the mouthpiece.

As with most saxophones of today it is pitched at Bb and is a transposing instrument and the fingerings are the same as any other sax.

Soprillo Saxophone

They are currently made by the Benedikt Eppelsheim company in Germany. Given that they seem to be the only makers of the Soprillo sax reality would say that mouthpieces, reeds and ligatures would be hard to come by. In fact I haven't seen any for sale at all by the major manufacturers.

If you are driven by the desire to learn the Sopranissimo Saxophone you will need to bear in mind it is a very high pitched instrument and as such your saxophone embouchre will need to be extremely strong.

The Benedikt Eppelshiem site actually recommends this sax for professional players only with a foot note stating it may take months to be able to reach the higher notes.

It is still a beautifully well engineered instrument and well worth a look at the B.E. site where they have several pictures of the Soprillo. Good luck if you fancy it. I would be interested in knowing your experiences if you would like to make a comment on our comments page.

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