The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contrabass and subcontrabass saxophones are relatively uncommon. Like all saxophones, it is a single-reed instrument. It is commonly used in concert bands, chamber music, military bands, big bands, and jazz combos. It can also be found in other ensembles such as rock bands and marching bands. Modern baritone saxophones are pitched in E. History The baritone saxophone was created in 1846 by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax as one of a family of 14 instruments. Sax believed these instruments would provide a useful tonal link between the woodwinds and brasses. The family was divided into two groups of seven saxophones each, from the soprano to the contrabass. Though a design for an F baritone saxophone is included in the C and F family of saxophones, no known F baritones exist. The family consisting of saxophones in the keys of B and E was more successful because of their popularity in military bands. All saxophones were originally keyed to low B, but a low B mechanism was patented in 1887 and by 1910 this was standard for most saxophones including baritones. This low B is a concert D on baritone saxophone, and players began creating 'low A pipes' to insert into the bell to extend the range to the very useful concert C just below that (low A on the baritone sax). This made the low B inaccessible and low B out of tune. This method is still used today by some players. From the 1930s through the 1950s, manufacturers experimented with extending the bell to add a low A key to the instrument. The simplest way was to add a cylindrical section between the bell and bow to provide the extra length and tone hole, and some makers produced and sold instruments built this way, but these horns generally suffer from intonation problems in the lowest few notes and players often consider their tone poor as well. Selmer Paris began producing low A versions of the Mark VI baritone saxophone in the late 1950s which had a bell that had been designed separately from the low B version (such a bell may have been a custom-order option before this time), and these