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Sax on the Web Forum Archive / Altissimo & Multiphonics / altissimo fingering for 10M

Gramophone
User ID: 0840444 Feb 22nd 11:05 AM
can someone give me some altissimo for my 10M? i'm having some dificulties here :)

Screech
User ID: 0624334 Feb 23rd 4:56 AM
How much do you want?

Gramophone
User ID: 0840444 Feb 23rd 7:38 AM
screech: as much as possible? :)

thanks a million

Screech
User ID: 0624334 Feb 24th 7:30 AM
I knew that was coming.

Screech
User ID: 0624334 Feb 24th 7:38 AM
I'd love to bottle it <hic>. Seriously though the best way to get started is to get a book on it. I use Rascher's book, "Top Tones for the Saxophone" supplemented with Dr. Luckey's book, "Saxophone Altissimo". There are other books on it, too that are good according to others in this area. There are two things that really helped me - tone imagination and the overtone series. I feel that one octave is doable on a closed mpc. Beyond that takes something a bit on the open side. Good luck!

Mike C
User ID: 9663323 Feb 24th 8:10 AM
Gramaphone,when I switched from Selmer to the 10 M I changed a couple things. For altissimo I DON'T use the octave key. Also I had my F fork key set so it only cracks open 1/8 inch. This alone made a huge difference especially on the G3.It weakens the E fork but I don't use that fingering much. A is LH 2,3(can also add RH 1,2).I don't always do it but it gives another sound. for Bb I play LH 3(remove LH 2) and then add the side C. For B I play Palm D,LH 3,RH 1,2(RH 1,2 is optional).C4 I add the palm Eb to that.I don't play alot of altissimo where I play alot of acoustic jazz but these combo's have been my most reliable. I forgot G#3. I use LH 1,2,3 side C and RH 3. Hope this helps.I found some mpcs better than others as you probably know. These worked the best and I use an Otto Link NY 7* now and they are fine with that.

MojoBari
User ID: 1864304 Mar 6th 11:51 AM
I have a 70's 10M. I learned on the TopTones book many years ago but fixed my intonation 2 years ago using the Luckey book fingerings. Luckey givs some modern insight in his book, a few different exercises and several fingerings to micro tune the intonation on the different size saxes. There are several options to try to find what works best for you and your equipment.

For me I use the octave key and:
G:123/__6 low C# (little awkward but stable, in tune and a nice sound)
G#: same but lift LH1
A: _23 side C
Bb: add D key or use Rascher fingering

From this point up I can keep adding palm keys or use the Rascher fingerings.

Now on my Yamaha bari, nearly ever fingering needs to be different than the Rascher fingerings. But Luckey has some good stable ones to choose from up to G4.

Mike C
User ID: 9663323 Mar 6th 8:07 PM
Just for the record I play a 1946 10M. I'm going to try your fingerings Mojo,but for me the side C on the A makes it quite sharp. That is one I messed with alot.The others I'll try

Mike C
User ID: 9663323 Mar 9th 10:01 PM
Just wanted to add that today I was playing alot of altissimo Bb's and found that side D,RH 23,LH 123 plus Eb was great . No octave key though. That's the trick for me.

ferrari
User ID: 1655274 Mar 11th 1:42 PM
Mike C; I've got a 1941 10M, and I tried your trick of not using the octave key. It works great; much better tone. What fingering do you use for G3? For some reason this is one of the harder altissimo notes for me.

Mike C
User ID: 9663323 Mar 11th 3:32 PM
Ferrari,I use the front high F key( the top pearl) and the side Bb.the F key has got to be set to open only slightly (1/8 ") .This is the key to get the G out.For kicks try closing up the front F key as you try for the G with your 3rd finger of your left hand.reach up and under the F key and close it off and I'll bet the G will pop out. That's the point the F has to be set at. The only trade off is the Front fork E will not be as full but I rarely use that fingering.Hope that helps.

ferrari
User ID: 1655274 Mar 12th 7:17 PM
Mike C; You the man! I tried the 3rd finger left hand reach up and close off the F key trick, and just like you said that G3 popped right out. Thanks. Does this F key adjustment help with other altissimo fingerings or just G3?

Mike C
User ID: 9663323 Mar 12th 7:37 PM
Ferrari,it mainly gets the G3 out,I'm happy it worked for you.

Zman
Moderator
User ID: 9265663 Oct 22nd 2:56 PM
Mike C, I tried your G3 trick on my 10M this morning. Amazing! Instant wall to wall G3!

My horn is back to the shop for adjustments in two weeks...I will definitely have the F key lowered. Excellent!

Mike c
User ID: 9663323 Oct 23rd 3:46 PM
Great guys,gotta give Paul Coats the credit on that tip though.He had posted the F key tip sometime back and with the 10M it made a huge difference.

Zman
Moderator
User ID: 9265663 Nov 14th 3:34 PM
Glad to report that after my F key adjustment last weekend, I now have a wall to wall G3! It's about 80% reliable since I've only been practicing for a few days, but give me one more week and it will be rock solid.

Not quite as loud as palm F3, but on my 10M it definitely wails. I'm excited!

Merlin
User ID: 8931733 Nov 14th 10:44 PM
I remember going to a Rousseau masterclass at Humber college in the '80s. He spent the portion of his talk on altissimo showing us how to lower the front F key to facilitate those notes.

ferrari
User ID: 9454293 Dec 4th 9:08 AM
Zman thanks for bringing this post back to life. A couple of weeks ago I was looking for it and thought it had dropped off. I printed it this time. Thanks ya'll.

Zman
Moderator
User ID: 9265663 Dec 4th 12:51 PM
I've been working it hard for the past few weeks. My F#3 and G3 are getting very reliable now, so I am trying to work them into licks. Lots of oral cavity adjustment required, but they sound great.

Gramophone User ID: 0840444	Feb 22nd 11:05 AM can someone give me some altissimo for my 10M? i'm having some dificulties here :)
Screech User ID: 0624334	Feb 23rd 4:56 AM How much do you want?
Gramophone User ID: 0840444	Feb 23rd 7:38 AM screech: as much as possible? :) thanks a million
Screech User ID: 0624334	Feb 24th 7:30 AM I knew that was coming.
Screech User ID: 0624334	Feb 24th 7:38 AM I'd love to bottle it <hic>. Seriously though the best way to get started is to get a book on it. I use Rascher's book, "Top Tones for the Saxophone" supplemented with Dr. Luckey's book, "Saxophone Altissimo". There are other books on it, too that are good according to others in this area. There are two things that really helped me - tone imagination and the overtone series. I feel that one octave is doable on a closed mpc. Beyond that takes something a bit on the open side. Good luck!
Mike C User ID: 9663323	Feb 24th 8:10 AM Gramaphone,when I switched from Selmer to the 10 M I changed a couple things. For altissimo I DON'T use the octave key. Also I had my F fork key set so it only cracks open 1/8 inch. This alone made a huge difference especially on the G3.It weakens the E fork but I don't use that fingering much. A is LH 2,3(can also add RH 1,2).I don't always do it but it gives another sound. for Bb I play LH 3(remove LH 2) and then add the side C. For B I play Palm D,LH 3,RH 1,2(RH 1,2 is optional).C4 I add the palm Eb to that.I don't play alot of altissimo where I play alot of acoustic jazz but these combo's have been my most reliable. I forgot G#3. I use LH 1,2,3 side C and RH 3. Hope this helps.I found some mpcs better than others as you probably know. These worked the best and I use an Otto Link NY 7* now and they are fine with that.
MojoBari User ID: 1864304	Mar 6th 11:51 AM I have a 70's 10M. I learned on the TopTones book many years ago but fixed my intonation 2 years ago using the Luckey book fingerings. Luckey givs some modern insight in his book, a few different exercises and several fingerings to micro tune the intonation on the different size saxes. There are several options to try to find what works best for you and your equipment. For me I use the octave key and: G:123/__6 low C# (little awkward but stable, in tune and a nice sound) G#: same but lift LH1 A: _23 side C Bb: add D key or use Rascher fingering From this point up I can keep adding palm keys or use the Rascher fingerings. Now on my Yamaha bari, nearly ever fingering needs to be different than the Rascher fingerings. But Luckey has some good stable ones to choose from up to G4.
Mike C User ID: 9663323	Mar 6th 8:07 PM Just for the record I play a 1946 10M. I'm going to try your fingerings Mojo,but for me the side C on the A makes it quite sharp. That is one I messed with alot.The others I'll try
Mike C User ID: 9663323	Mar 9th 10:01 PM Just wanted to add that today I was playing alot of altissimo Bb's and found that side D,RH 23,LH 123 plus Eb was great . No octave key though. That's the trick for me.
ferrari User ID: 1655274	Mar 11th 1:42 PM Mike C; I've got a 1941 10M, and I tried your trick of not using the octave key. It works great; much better tone. What fingering do you use for G3? For some reason this is one of the harder altissimo notes for me.
Mike C User ID: 9663323	Mar 11th 3:32 PM Ferrari,I use the front high F key( the top pearl) and the side Bb.the F key has got to be set to open only slightly (1/8 ") .This is the key to get the G out.For kicks try closing up the front F key as you try for the G with your 3rd finger of your left hand.reach up and under the F key and close it off and I'll bet the G will pop out. That's the point the F has to be set at. The only trade off is the Front fork E will not be as full but I rarely use that fingering.Hope that helps.
ferrari User ID: 1655274	Mar 12th 7:17 PM Mike C; You the man! I tried the 3rd finger left hand reach up and close off the F key trick, and just like you said that G3 popped right out. Thanks. Does this F key adjustment help with other altissimo fingerings or just G3?
Mike C User ID: 9663323	Mar 12th 7:37 PM Ferrari,it mainly gets the G3 out,I'm happy it worked for you.
Zman Moderator User ID: 9265663	Oct 22nd 2:56 PM Mike C, I tried your G3 trick on my 10M this morning. Amazing! Instant wall to wall G3! My horn is back to the shop for adjustments in two weeks...I will definitely have the F key lowered. Excellent!
Mike c User ID: 9663323	Oct 23rd 3:46 PM Great guys,gotta give Paul Coats the credit on that tip though.He had posted the F key tip sometime back and with the 10M it made a huge difference.
Zman Moderator User ID: 9265663	Nov 14th 3:34 PM Glad to report that after my F key adjustment last weekend, I now have a wall to wall G3! It's about 80% reliable since I've only been practicing for a few days, but give me one more week and it will be rock solid. Not quite as loud as palm F3, but on my 10M it definitely wails. I'm excited!
Merlin User ID: 8931733	Nov 14th 10:44 PM I remember going to a Rousseau masterclass at Humber college in the '80s. He spent the portion of his talk on altissimo showing us how to lower the front F key to facilitate those notes.
ferrari User ID: 9454293	Dec 4th 9:08 AM Zman thanks for bringing this post back to life. A couple of weeks ago I was looking for it and thought it had dropped off. I printed it this time. Thanks ya'll.
Zman Moderator User ID: 9265663	Dec 4th 12:51 PM I've been working it hard for the past few weeks. My F#3 and G3 are getting very reliable now, so I am trying to work them into licks. Lots of oral cavity adjustment required, but they sound great.