When most people first hear the term "saxhorn," the first thing that may come to mind is the saxophone; however, the saxhorn is a completely different instrument all together. Well, maybe not completely different, it is a brass instrument, after all. It is a tapered bore instrument, which means that the tubing of the instrument starts with a small diameter and slowly increases in the size of the diameter as it goes along the instrument. The sound of this particular instrument is quite nice in that it offers a mellow sound that goes along with other brass instruments very well.

The saxhorn originally belonged to a family that contained ten different sizes of saxhorns. For whatever reason, it now belongs to a family that only has seven different sizes, with each different size being tuned to a particular pitch. This particular kind of instrument is often forgotten about when people start thinking about the different kinds of brass instruments out there, so one would think that the instrument is fairly old; however, this is not the case. This particular instrument was first developed in the late 19th century in France.

It was the development of this instrument that had a large impact on the use and development of brass instruments altogether. It was not long before it was being used by military bands and it was there that it grew in popularity. Some minor adjustments were made to the instrument over time, as is common with most instruments as the instrument is perfected.

The saxhorn might not be the first choice for people because it tends to be forgotten about, possibly because of the number of other brass instruments that exist in the family. Another reason why the saxhorn is not picked as often is probably because many new musicians tend to want to go for the instruments that their favorite musicians play.

Few seem to realize that this particular instrument could easily find a place in with quite a few different music genres, including blues and jazz, which seem to make ample use of brass instruments. It is not an overly limited instrument and could offer much to today's music. It might not be an instrument for someone who is completely new to wind instruments, but it is one that just about anyone could learn if they wanted to. It is not too simple, but it is not overly difficult to play either.

Once a person learns how to control their breathing as well as gain a good understanding of how to read the sheet music and make the different notes, the instrument can be enjoyable to play. It is definitely an instrument that can be rewarding to play. The sound it makes can be attractive to many people. In fact, the sound is quite possibly one of the more common reasons why someone chooses to play it. The sound is bold, but mellow and is one that has the ability to bring the different instruments it is playing with together into a perfect harmony with one another.