Soprano saxophone range

The soprano saxophone’s range in notes and hertz

Written B♭3 to F6, sounding a tone lower. Many sopranos have a high F♯ key, and altissimo goes higher.

Written and sounding pitch

The soprano saxophone is a transposing instrument: it sounds a major second lower than written, which makes it a B♭ instrument. So the range on its part is B♭3–F6, while the notes you hear are A♭3–E♭6. To convert a part, use the concert pitch to B♭ chart. The transposing-instrument tuner reads out the written note as you play.

Instruments with a similar range

The instruments whose normal range shares the most notes with the soprano saxophone’s:

• Violin · G3–E7 32 notes shared
• Viola · C3–D7 32 notes shared
• Cello · C2–A6 32 notes shared
• Mandolin · G3–D7 32 notes shared
• Harp · C2–A6 32 notes shared
• Alto flute · G3–G6 32 notes shared

Tune it, play it

• Soprano sax tuner — tune by microphone, with the soprano saxophone’s own target notes.
• Play a soprano saxophone online — the same range, playable in your browser.

Songs that fit the soprano saxophone

36 songs from our public-domain library fit inside the soprano saxophone’s range, each written out in the notation soprano saxophone players read:

• Hot Cross Buns
• Lightly Row
• Going Home (New World Largo)
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• Happy Birthday
• Ode to Joy
• Mary Had a Little Lamb
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat
• Jingle Bells
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• Yankee Doodle
• Silent Night

All 36 soprano saxophone songs ›

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• The chart behind our playable soprano saxophone, itself checked note by note against published charts.