As saxophone players we are told early on that doubling is expected of us. Why is that anyway? Do bassoon players have to double on English horn and oboe? Do flute players have to double on clarinet and sax? Not last time I checked.<\/p>\n
So where does the requirement that sax players double in order to be truly employable,<\/em> come from?<\/p>\n If an article from the August 12, 1936 edition of the Rochester Journal<\/em><\/a> is accurate, band leader Wayne King\u2014himself a saxophonist\u2014had something to do with it. This is what the article says:<\/p>\n The saxophone, which has been part of the vertebrae of conventional dance outfits, is gradually being subordinated by smart orchestra leaders … Saxophonists are the lads who agitated for a special union rate for doubling on woodwinds … Under the Wayne King influence, leaders now like woodwinds better than saxes … Favourite bands are forcing sax players to become clarinet, flute, and piccolo virtuosi …<\/p>\n There are a few things that immediately jump out at me about this piece:<\/p>\n My thoughts and critique about the article aside, it appears that a saxophonist’s requirement to double goes back as far as the 1930s. I’m wondering if this has something to do with the 1920s saxophone craze, and the ensuing backlash?<\/p>\n It would be interesting to do some research into this area, in order to find out exactly when we started seeing the clarinet\/flute playing requirements for sax players. While true, it could be part of the backlash, but when did we see strings in dance orchestras? What was the instrumentation like at that time? Was the doubling requirement simply an attempt at cost-cutting?<\/p>\n\n
Wails Of Sax Subdued By Orchestras<\/h3>\n
Source: Rochester Journal, August 12, 1936<\/a><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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