Strangely, I can consistently hit Super A (A above the A above the staff), but Super G, right below, I find extremely hard to hit.
D.J.

This phenomena is completely normal, and just about every sax player
experiences the same problem. A is easy, G is not.

Just keep practising.

I'm sure if you search you will find many posts on this very same subject.

I good way to build up your altissimo chops is to practise the
overtone series. For example, by fingering a low C :line0: , then without
changing the fingering or using the octave key try and get these notes..
:space3:, :space5:, then the octave above these notes, :space3:,
:space4:, :space5:

 

I good way to build up your altissimo chops is to practise the
overtone series. For example, by fingering a low C :line0: , then without
changing the fingering or using the octave key try and get these notes..
:space3:, :space5:, then the octave above these notes, :space3:,
:space4:, :space5:

This is one of the most important things to practice. Also, you should incorporate altissimo notes into your scale practice, so you can play technical passages in the altissimo, rather than just being able to squeak out a high note here and there.

 

Oddly, G was the first altissimo note I could hit. :shock:
I had it going really well... I haven't tried any others yet.

 

There are exceptions to every rule...

 

I find it helps to also close the low C and Bb keys.

 

I'll have to try that. 'A' was my first altissimo note as well. I could consistently get a D before I could could squeeze out a G... so you're not alone D.J.. I might get textually pummeled for saying this, but after several years of not being able to play the elusive G, a more open mouthpiece certainly helped.....but definitely try more of that whole "practice" thing before you turn on the GAS .

 

Using the book Top Tones really helps with altissimo. I have found that it is a tedious but rewarding process.

 

Again this is normal. As for fingerings one of the Mike Brecker Transcription books has some good ones.

Also with the G try opening the side Bb key this works on my Mark VI tenor.

 

Try 1-3,--6 works well on alto especially. Otherwise develop scales & appegios with fingerings that work, and practice them till you can't miss them. It gets easier but the secret is practice.

 

I have heard Greats miss the G . On some horns it is pretty tempermental!

When I am playing a gig ,altissimo G is the note that I worry about if I don't have a great reed or if I haven't been in the shed.

 

I know the pitch very well, but if I do doubt it I will use the 1-3,--6 fingering mostly on alto. I don't seem to have the G problem with tenor as much. I did come up with a variety of scales using the same consistent fingerings and that seemed to really get me fluent up there. I also find a few strategically placed pieces of electrical tape under the felts help too.

I don't read music much anymore. I'm mostly an improvisor and rock n roll palyer, so I practice blues licks all the time, and screaming up in the altissimo is a big part of my solo building.

 

My altissimo has never been great, but I find that these exercises help:
http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=56166
Post #10 of this thread has a nice picture which shows exactly how to do this exercise.

It has amazed me that playing exercises in the lower octave has helped my altissimo. I guess this means that I had been very lazy with my diaphragm before I started playing these. Sometimes when practicing my altissimo at home, I can really sense the correlation between making or missing a note, and whether or not I was producing the focused air stream from my diaphragm.

 

It seems to be either one or the other when it comes to altissimo vs a lush low register. I get a better low range with a well broke in reed but get easier altissimo with a newer reed. But it is how you put the air thru the horn mostly

 

Exactly! I can only play altissimo the first few times I use a reed... If I want to play altissimo, I have to use a new reed but it takes away from my lower register. It's all sacrifices...

 

It is about the fingerings, and the reed... and...



Well, let me see if I can help. First, being the first possible A at the Alto, A1, the one with the octave key is A2 and first altissimo A is going to be A3. Is this A3 the one you call Super A?

G's are always hard to hit. G3 is as the next altissimo one is, G4, very hard to get but you eventually will.

Those notes demand fingerings even if you change your reed (not as for a new one, but from a brand to another one, for example). Some of the advices seem to be very useful, but not at all if you do not find help from a tunner.

Usually it is a low note, it tends to be a little lower than the middle, and you have to correct it and then many overtones and harmonics can be produced. This might be desired, but later on, when you learn to produce exactly the kind of note you want and then the effect you want.

Feel the note as it comes out and be very focused as it turns bad. That is the key for your embouchure to correct what is going on. Need patience and practice.

I personally use the fork fingering, but sometimes I use the side Bb key or whatever I feel fits.

Hope it helps,

JI

 

Ironically, Altissimo G was the first (and also the most consistent note) that I've hit in my altissimo range. You have to keep practicing basically - my teacher's always told me that you can only hear altissimo (the upper partials) at the beginning or the end of a note.

Basically clamp your throat shut as if you're choking, and let just a smidgeon of air through while keeping your embouchere tight. Back of the tongue should be slightly raised. And blow air through it - if it doesnt work try doing a very wide 'vibrato' until you hear it.

 

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll definitely put these comments into practice. I just get easily frustrated. If it doesn't sound like the guys on the CDs, I get impatient. But I'll definitely start working.

 

If you really work on your sound, most of the harmonics are present
in the regular notes you play.

That is why a sax playing a particular note does not sound the same
as a flute, for example, playing the same note.

It is the particular mix and various levels of those frequencies
that make each player sound unique.

If somebody has a mellow sound then the note is made up predominantly
of the fundamental frequency.

If the sound is edgy and bright, then the note contains more of the
upper frequencies mixed in with the fundamental note.

The particular mouthpiece, reed and sax all contribute to the sound,
however it is mainly the player who is modifying the sound.

You can experiment by altering your lip pressure etc., and then hear
how the tone of the note changes even as you keep playing the same
fundamental note.

So when it comes to playing harmonics, basically all you are doing
is attenuating the fundamental frequencies and emphasizing the
overtones.

That is why practising the overtone series is essential for learning
to play harmonics, as it teaches you how to isolate specific frequencies,
using only embrouchure control.

After you have developed your skill level doing this, then by playing
certain finger combinations which players have found over the years,
you can pop these notes out very easily.

I still maintain that G is more difficult than A on a Mk VI tenor.
I know this from having tried a few. The G note has a tendency to
split. However, sometimes I go for that split sound. In certain
situations it can have a very gutsy sound.

Obviously others who have commented here that are using different setups
find the G easier than the A.

 

A good thing to do as well would be to start long tones on your alternate E (the front F fork with the A and B keys) and go up chromatically. Once you get to F, just add the side Bb key and you'll have F#. Make sure the voicing and embouchure feels strong on this note, and then move up to a G (my preferred fingering on alto is the front F fork with the 1st finger in the right hand and the side Bb key.) (octave key on all of these, of course) Good luck!

 

I've found that a lot of it is to do with the reed and mouthpiece combo. I've hit F# G Ab A Bb B C C# D etc with one reed and then I can change the reed to another brand that's maybe a different strength (using the same mouthpiece) and overshoot F# and basically lose all altissimo notes under A and then I go back to my original reed (using the same mouthpiece) and the F# to A altissimo notes reappear. On some of the reeds I've had I would like to see Lenny Pickett hit the altissimo notes from F# to A on Alto because I think some reeds are just not capable of freely vibrating at some overtone frequencies when coupled with some mouthpieces no matter how good the player is. Like recently I had a Vandoren 2.5 Alto reed on my Yamaha Alto 4C mouthpiece and getting F# to Ab was just about impossible so I go back to a Chinese (Maestro?) 2.5 or 3 Alto reed and surprise the F# to A notes are all there loud and strong and then I had a go at using a Chinese Tenor reed on my Yamaha 4C Alto mouthpiece and the F# to A notes were really easy to nail and I also tried a Alto Rico 2 reed which made strange bleating noises from F# to A. Now if I can get the F# to A altissimo notes with the same setup on some reeds but not others it would seem to me to be a reed thing. Going through the 10 reeds in a new traditional Vandoren 2.5 box using Yamaha and Jupiter Altos and Yamaha and Meyer mouthpieces, I could only get 3 reeds to nail the F# to A altissimo. All of the other reeds need some reed balancing work for the lower altissimo but the higher altissimo A and above notes were ok.