Virtual Saxophone You Play on a Keyboard
This virtual saxophone is a keyboard with an alto sax sound: each key is one note that sounds for as long as you hold it and stops when you let go. It covers the alto sax range at concert pitch, D♭3 to A♭5, on 32 fixed keys that fit on one screen. Play it with your fingers on a phone, with the mouse, with your computer keyboard or with a MIDI keyboard.
How to use it
- Tap the keys with your fingers or click them; each note lasts as long as you hold it. You can press several at once to hear an interval or a chord.
- On a computer, Z X C V B N M play C4 to B4 and Q W E R T play C5 to G5; the row above each one gives the sharps (S D G H J and 2 3 5 6, where 6 is A♭5). The notes from D♭3 to B3 are on screen or MIDI only.
- With the MIDI keyboard button you can play from a keyboard plugged in over USB, in Chrome, Edge or Opera.
- Tap Record, play your tune, then tap again to stop. Then use Play, ↓ MIDI, ↓ WAV or Share.
- Under Key labels, choose to show each note's name, the computer key that plays it, or nothing.
Help and explanations
The sound is synthesized on your device from the harmonics of a sax tone, with vibrato and a little breath; it is not a recording of a real saxophone. There are no sax keys to finger and you don't blow into the microphone. It's a quick way to work out a melody, hear how it sits in the alto's range and record it to download as MIDI or WAV or send as a link.
Concert pitch vs. written alto sax notes
The alto sax is in E♭ and sounds a major sixth lower than written: a written C comes out as E♭. This virtual saxophone always shows concert pitch, the note you actually hear, just like a piano. To play alto sax music here, move every note down a major sixth: a written A becomes C and a written E becomes G. That's why the page's range, D♭3 to A♭5, matches the written notes B♭3 to F6.
To see the fingering for each note, open the alto sax fingering chart; to turn concert-pitch chords or notes into an alto part, use transpose for alto sax.
What a virtual saxophone is good for
Use it to work out a sax solo by ear, check whether a melody fits the alto's range, or sketch a line and take it into MuseScore or your DAW: the MIDI file uses General MIDI Alto Sax, so it opens with a sax sound. Beginners can also use it to learn what the notes they're about to play should sound like. What it can't do is teach technique: mouthpiece, reed, fingerings and breathing only come from practice on the real instrument.
Tips
- To practice blues, light up the blues scale under Chord or scale; Listen plays it for you, then it's your turn to improvise.
- Each note sounds for as long as you hold the key, like a long breath: let go to stop it.
- The alto sounds warmest in the middle of its range: melodies between F3 and C5 sound more natural than ones at the extremes.
- A phone speaker cuts the low end: with headphones the saxophone sounds fuller.
Frequently asked questions
How do I play the virtual saxophone with my computer keyboard?
Z X C V B N M play C D E F G A B from C4, and Q W E R T carry on from C5. The sharps sit on the row above: S D G H J and 2 3 5 6. The lowest notes, D♭3 to B3, are played on screen. Esc releases everything.
Is it an alto or a tenor sax?
Alto. The keyboard covers the alto sax range at concert pitch, D♭3 to A♭5. You can play tenor melodies that fall inside that range, but the tone and range are the alto's.
Why doesn't the note on the page match my sax music?
Because the page shows concert pitch and alto sax music is written a major sixth higher. A written C sounds as E♭. Lower each note of your part by a major sixth to play it here.
Can I practice with my own saxophone?
Yes. Open Challenge: play the note, turn on the microphone and play the requested note on your sax; the site recognizes it by sound, on your device, without recording. It asks for concert pitch, so on alto sax, for a C on the page, play a written A.
Is there a virtual saxophone app?
You don't need one: this page runs in the browser on phones, tablets and computers, with nothing to install and no account. Once it has loaded, the sound is generated on your device.