Have you ever heard of the aulochrome? You probably haven’t, because there’s only a few in existence. This is my beat series on some of the weirdest instruments ever made. The stories will go from A to Z (if I can get that far). The aulochrome is so obscure in fact, that its Wikipedia article is only 7 lines long! Anyways, let’s get into the amazing aulochrome.
So what is the aulochrome? The aulochrome is a woodwind reed instrument with keys that is in the saxophone family. It has the same playing range as a normal soprano saxophone. So why is it so obscure? Well, the aulochrome is actually two soprano saxophones attached. The aulochrome is definitely a failure since it was just an experiment made by François Louis, a saxophone player and maker. Surprisingly, Louis is not mentally ill, just very creative.
Why is the aulochrome even around? Well, in 2003, Louis partnered up with designer and engineer, François Decorte to design the aulochrome. Before this, Decorte had made his own personal designs for clarinet and saxophone reeds. The two went on to create the aulochrome in 1999, which failed and never became a popular instrument so now only a few are around. The name aulochrome comes from aulos (ancient Greek double flutes, similar to the aulochrome), and chrome (colored/chromatic).
Now, let’s hear what a saxophonist thinks about the aulochrome. Here’s Jadon Younie, a 7th grader on the Green Team:
Q: “What type of saxophone do you play?”
A: “I play the Tenor sax.”
Q: “How long have you played the sax?”
A: “I’ve been playing playing for about 7¾ months.”
Q: “Have you heard of the aulochrome before?”
A: “No I haven’t heard of that.”
Q: “What do you think about the aulochrome?”
A: “I think it’s a very cool and interesting concept that could possibly be successful sometime.”
Q: “Is there anything you’d like to say about the aulochrome?”
A: “It looks larger than I expected, and I would love to be able to play it.”
In conclusion, the aulochrome is a pretty interesting instrument. I hope someday the aulochrome will get the love it deserves. If I had the opportunity, I would 100% play the aulochrome, not as a main instrument but I would definitely like to try it out. I think the aulochrome is a pretty creative instrument, although it doesn’t sound the best. Here is a video of Grammy-winning saxophonist, Joe Lovano, playing the aulochrome. Anyways, that’s the story of the obscure aulochrome. Toodles.
