Soprillo

Soprillo
Woodwind instrument
Classification Single-reed
Hornbostel–Sachs classification422.212-71
(Single-reed aerophone with keys)
Inventor(s)Benedikt Eppelsheim
DevelopedLate 1990s
Playing range
Soprillo in B♭ sounds a minor seventh higher than written.
Related instruments
Sizes:
Orchestral saxophones:
Specialty saxophones:
Musicians
Builders

The soprillo, also known as the piccolo saxophone or rarely sopranissimo saxophone, is the highest pitched and smallest saxophone. The soprillo was developed as an extension to the saxophone family in the late 1990s by German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim, although a working prototype was made in 1960 in compact curved form. Pitched in B♭ and 33 cm (13 in) long, including the mouthpiece, the soprillo is one octave above a soprano saxophone and half its length.