[craisycraze]

Is it possible to play altissimos on crappy mouthpieces? I play on a beginner plastic mouthpiece and i can't play any altissimos even though i now most of the techniques. I'm wondering if it's because of the mouthpiece. Soes anyone know??

 

[playitfunky]

anythings possible but you should eventually make a step up from the student mouthpiece.

 

[Seasax]

it is possible, i know someone who plays a yamaha 4c and they get a great sound out of it, and have reasonably impressive harmonics,

 

[martysax]

Is it possible to play altissimos on crappy mouthpieces? I play on a beginner plastic mouthpiece and i can't play any altissimos even though i now most of the techniques. I'm wondering if it's because of the mouthpiece. Soes anyone know??

I bought a cheap chinese ebay alto ~1 year ago. I took it out of the case, removed the spacers, popped on the stock mouthpiece with the stock reed and blew the solo from Carly Simon's "You Belong to Me."

I've played the solo better, but I just had to try it.

 

[Grumps]

Is it possible to play altissimos on crappy mouthpieces? I play on a beginner plastic mouthpiece and i can't play any altissimos even though i now most of the techniques. I'm wondering if it's because of the mouthpiece. Soes anyone know??

It's impossible to play on the best mouthpieces if you don't know how to blow it. You say you know most of the techniques. Do you mean fingerings alone? It's much more than that.

 

[craisycraze]

yea i know the fingerings pretty well, but what else must you do? must you change the embrocher a little?

 

[SaxyAcoustician]

A person well-skilled in voicing will be able to play altissimo on any mouthpiece.

Altissimo isn't so much about the fingerings as it is how you blow air across the reed.

 

[ZephyrSax]

Speaking of this, I had the weirdest experience today. I've always had practically no altissimo on my own horn, though I've had much more success on others. But today, I whipped out a completely unknown, plastic, nameless mouthpiece, and it just screamed in the altissimo. I don't know why...I don't think I'll ever figure it out. Strange, huh? I guess the answer is yes.

 

[Martinman]

yea i know the fingerings pretty well, but what else must you do? must you change the embrocher a little?

If you have a private teacher this would be a good thing to ask them about. If not, you could get one and talk to them about it. I couldn't play altissimo at all until I got some help with it.

 

[Grumps]

yea i know the fingerings pretty well, but what else must you do? must you change the embrocher a little?

1) Altissimo fingerings are relative. The fingerings differ from player to player. Yes, there are some that many share, but they can vary from alto to tenor to bari, and some fingerings used are rather unique to the player.

2) It's all in how you blow. Knowing the fingerings won't help if you don't know how to blow the notes. You have to squeeze the air flow by raising your tongue up towards the roof of your mouth, and vary how you do so depending upon the note you wish to voice. Absent a teacher as someone has already suggested, you can try reading the basics from the books others have recommended on this site (that a search will easily reveal).

 

[Reedsplinter]

A person well-skilled in voicing will be able to play altissimo on any mouthpiece.

Altissimo isn't so much about the fingerings as it is how you blow air across the reed.

I agree. And the best way to learn this technique, IMO, is to work on the overtone series.

 

[BlueLight]

I think no matter how bad your Saxophone is, you should invest in a good mouthpiece. Get a good mouthpiece like a Selmer S80/S90 or Vandoren Optimum AL3. It will be well worth the 90$. And you'll probably only find them for a good deal online, so go to www.prowinds.com or www.wwbw.com NOW!!

 

[SaxyAcoustician]

I agree. And the best way to learn this technique, IMO, is to work on the overtone series.

The overtone exercises are good but what made me believe in the power of voicing--I mean BELIEVE--is the fork high F scoop "trick".

 

[AltoRuth]

Is it possible to play altissimos on crappy mouthpieces? I play on a beginner plastic mouthpiece and i can't play any altissimos even though i now most of the techniques. I'm wondering if it's because of the mouthpiece. Soes anyone know??

I've just read through this thread. I'll say at the get go that I know NOTHING about playing altissimo---never have tried and don't know if I will. BUT, if I were to try, I'd want to start out with a mpc that optimizes my chances of success, if there is such a mpc (as I said, I know NOTHING), not on one that makes it more difficult. As many of you have said, it is possible to play altissimo on a "crappy" mpc, if you already know how to do it. So (with apologies to craisycraze if I've misinterpreted his post):

What mpc advice would you offer to someone who wants to learn altissimo and is willing to buy a different mpc for the purpose?

With regards and thanks for all the wisdom I've encountered on this Forum.
Ruth

 

[BlueLight]

In response to your question Ruth, I still honestly believe mouthpiece plays a small role in terms altissimo production. Just by getting any professional mouthpiece where it makes it easier on the person to make a nice warm tone, it in turn will help with altissimo production.

But that really doesn't answer your question. I found that as far as classical mouthpieces go, a vandoren AL3 makes it somewhat easier for me to produce altissimo. As far as jazz mouthpieces go I can produce nice altissimo on a Meyer and almost as good on my Otto Link. But as a rule of thumb, find the mouthpiece you like that sounds best to you, altissimo production of a mouthpiece should not convince you to play on a mouthpiece.

 

[mlscnr]

Is it possible to play altissimos on crappy mouthpieces? I play on a beginner plastic mouthpiece and i can't play any altissimos even though i now most of the techniques. I'm wondering if it's because of the mouthpiece. Soes anyone know??

Define "crappy mouthpiece". What are you playing on now? I can play altissimo on a Hite Premier or a BARI Esprit with no problems. Lots of folk would consider those crappy mouthpieces. Of course, they'd be wrong, but that's beside the point.

 

[Grumps]

What mpc advice would you offer to someone who wants to learn altissimo and is willing to buy a different mpc for the purpose?

Altissimo might be easier with a more open tipped and/or high baffled mouthpiece, but any such piece may be difficult for a developing player to control; especially the more open tipped pieces. Buying a mouthpiece solely for altissimo production might leave more fundamental development behind. Best to learn it on a mouthpiece that is proper for the player's skill level.

 

[Martinman]

Altissimo might be easier with a more open tipped and/or high baffled mouthpiece, but any such piece may be difficult for a developing player to control; especially the more open tipped pieces. Buying a mouthpiece solely for altissimo production might leave more fundamental development behind. Best to learn it on a mouthpiece that is proper for the player's skill level.

Also, being able to play altissimo on a high baffle does not mean you can play it on another mouthpiece. I could sort of play altissimo on my Dukoff, but it really took off after I started learning how to do it on a C* (I am talking about alto).

 

[AltoRuth]

Thanks, BlueLight and Grumps! Your answers definately clarified this situation for me, and I hope they will help craisycraze as well. I may or may not tackle altissimo one day but understand from you that I (and craisycraze) should find the mpcs that work best for us for the music we are currently playing and, if skill level is up to it, start altissimo on the more open tipped piece.

And to craisycraze, I did find that upgrading my mpc from the plastic one that came with my student horn made a big difference for me. I've since upgraded the horn as well and added a couple more mpcs, but would like to think that I've stopped short of being a full-blown GAS sufferer. Perhaps I delude myself.....

Aside to BlueLight---you attend a dynamite school--congrats on gaining admission...keep us posted on your post-graduation plans.

Thanks again, Ruth

 

[SaxyAcoustician]

Open-tipped mouthpieces are actually more difficult to play altissimo on unless those open tips are accompanied by high baffles. Closed-tip pieces are easier in this regard.

Go with something "mainstream" like a Selmer C* or Meyer 5M/6M. There is no shortcut to altissimo. 99% of altissimo playing occurs in the oral cavity (1% is fingerings). Once you've figured the whole tongue-positioning thing (called 'voicing'), you'll be able to play altissimo on any mouthpiece/horn.