sopranino

[soh-pruh-nee-noh]

noun

plural

sopraninos 

1. a musical instrument, as a saxophone or recorder, that is a pitch higher than the soprano instrument of its class.

sopranino

/ ˌsɒprəˈniːnəʊ /

noun

1. 1. the instrument with the highest possible pitch in a family of instruments

   2. ( as modifier )

      a sopranino recorder

Word History and Origins

Origin of sopranino¹

1900–05; < Italian, equivalent to sopran ( o ) soprano + -ino diminutive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of sopranino¹

Italian, diminutive of _soprano

Example Sentences

Also on offer was Ewart’s piping, ecstatic approach to the sopranino saxophone, informed by bebop and the avant-garde alike.

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When Roscoe Mitchell brandished his sopranino sax on the piece just after “Edge,” it was in short staccato bursts of honk and screech that created a unique layer of syncopation.

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His flights of fancy on the sopranino recorder relied on elaborately soulful ornamentation in the slow movement, accompanied by two violins and viola that played with gossamer grace.

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Mr. Coltrane, who played much of the set on sopranino saxophone, provided the trio’s most heroic voice, its main source of impassioned exposition.

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They favored a twitchier free-form interplay, full of jackhammered clusters and rattling cowbells, with Mr. Mitchell blowing gales through his sopranino saxophone.

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