[Treeblast]

My main horn is a tenor: P.mauriat system 76. Today I got the impulse of playing my old alto sax (my first horn, a cheap Jupiter school sax, had it for 7 years with no maintience) and I tried to do some altissimo. I managed to play from altissimo G# - D, just by looking at a fingering chart, and it was real stable notes! I haven't played my alto for at least half a year!

The thing is, I can't play any altissimo on my tenor. I sometimes manage to play G and A, but very inconsistently. Altissimo D is more relible though. I just don't understand how I can do it on my begginer alto which I don't play anymore, but not on my semi-pro tenor which I practice with every day!

This is the fingering chart I used: http://tamingthesaxophone.com/saxophone-altissimo.html?submenuheader=4/

I can't play any more than 4 notes in the overtone series either on any horn, but I know that my alto has leaks.

The main question is: Why can I play altissimo on my alto but not on tenor?

 

[NissanVintageSax]

Your head is "hearing" the extended range on ALto easier than on Tenor. I have an easier time with Soprano and Alto altissimo than Tenor and Bari (I can play Tenor and Bari altissimo, I jsut need to keep up on more practice to keep it clean and consistent).

A Tenor player friend of mine calls me an "Ato player" for this very reason. i just have better Alto chops! He's the opposite, and though he can nail altissimo on both Alto and Tenor, he is much cleaner and faster with it on Tenor!

 

[Treeblast]

I learned to do it on tenor today! It seems like if you just know what you're trying to do, you will be able to do it. I'm still having big trouble with G though, kind of annoying. Everytime I try to play G I just pop up to a D instead.

NissanVintageSax, which sax do you play the most?

 

[dexdex]

1. Jupiters are better than Mauriats
2. Working on lower horns improves your embouchure AND air support on higher horns
3. Your mp/reed combo does it on alto, and not on tenor

 

[Grumps]

I'd suggest quit using the high F# key on your tenor and instead get used to blowing an altissimo F# by using octave, front F, right hand 1 (F) and side Bb. Once you get F#3 this way, simply let go of the right hand 1 key and see if G3 pops out.

 

[NissanVintageSax]

I learned to do it on tenor today! It seems like if you just know what you're trying to do, you will be able to do it. I'm still having big trouble with G though, kind of annoying. Everytime I try to play G I just pop up to a D instead.

NissanVintageSax, which sax do you play the most?

I do play Alto the most. G is an SOB on Tenor, but 2 fingerings work for me on my Couf:

X00/000 + high F# key (this one is consistent, but flat, and not very loud before it breaks to the next overtone), and

X0X/XXX (this one is in tune, and loud, but I haven't practiced it enough to make it consistent).

 

[guesswork]

I do play Alto the most. G is an SOB on Tenor, but 2 fingerings work for me on my Couf:

X00/000 + high F# key (this one is consistent, but flat, and not very loud before it breaks to the next overtone), and

X0X/XXX (this one is in tune, and loud, but I haven't practiced it enough to make it consistent).

It's funny you should say this...G on tenor is the easiest note! G on alto however...

What I did, was find tunes with lots of altissimo, the slower the better. Classical music is probably my favourite source for this type of listening. I would then try my best to internalize the sound of these altissimo notes, and replicate them. It helped me understand the true pitch of the alt. tone, as playing them on the piano and blowing them is quite a step...

 

[Starsax A2]

I don't know about the altissimo techniques in particular, but I've seen many comments on a variety of threads here that when players pick up their alto or soprano after playing tenor for awhile, they notice a big improvement over how they used to play the alto or sop. That's been true of me. Dexdex's #2 comment.

 

[Christopher]

I do play Alto the most. G is an SOB on Tenor, but 2 fingerings work for me on my Couf:

X00/000 + high F# key (this one is consistent, but flat, and not very loud before it breaks to the next overtone), and

X0X/XXX (this one is in tune, and loud, but I haven't practiced it enough to make it consistent).

I use a very similar G fingering. It helps helps stabilize the note and the intonation by adding the side b flat key.

 

[JL]

I find altissimo much easier on tenor, but then I'm mostly a tenor player and I don't really care for altissimo on alto, aside from the occasional G or A.

On tenor, the main trick to hitting the alt G, regardless of fingering, is to not bite too hard and back off a bit on the air flow. Otherwise it just jumps up to high D or something close to that. The G seems to be very sensitive to the air stream, so you have to experiment until you get it just right.

 

[Christopher]

I definitely have to second what JL stated. If I back off on the air stream a little it pops right out. Only real reason I see to practice higher altissimo on alto is because 1, it improves my tone and 2, it always seems to improve the range and quality of my altissimo on tenor.

 

[NissanVintageSax]

I switched to a Fibracell 2 1/2 on my Drake Studio .110, now my Tenor altissimo is getting much more fluent and easier to play. My Bari altissimo is also improving, now that I made a reed switch to a BARI* Med Soft on my Drake Custom .115 . What a difference a reed makes! I've never had to chase reeds on Alto, like I have had to do on Tenor and Bari (and just recently soprano, where I'm on a Fibracell #4 now).