[LateNiteSax]

So I'm listening to Lenny Picket do his insane 4th register thing, and wondering what is it about his MP that allows him to "play the reed" like that, because once you get past around E4 it seems to me like you are pretty much just playing the harmonics off the reed. Is there some aspect to the way his mouthpiece is faced/setup aside from a large tip opening that allows for that freedom? I have a some good mouthpieces here that simply don't do that sort of thing thing no matter how hard a reed I use or experiment with different reeds. Any mouthpiece techs have a clue?

 

[mfry]

So I'm listening to Lenny Picket do his insane 4th register thing, and wondering what is it about his MP that allows him to "play the reed" like that,

Nothing. He's just really good at it.

because once you get past around E4 it seems to me like you are pretty much just playing the harmonics off the reed.

Once you get above C#2, you're just playing harmonics of the saxophone. The higher you get the closer together the partials are and so the more the note is defined by your chops rather than your fingers.

 

[AZAZAZ]

stock mouthpiece. bass clarinet reeds. there is nothing special in regards to his setup that allows him the extra range. he is impressive at what he does best

 

[Pete Thomas]

I agree, . Although there are certain changes you can possibly make to help altissimo, such as wider tips, shorter facing, harder reeds, anything you do equipment wise in order to get more top range, it will compromise your low notes. The answer is to practise long notes, breath support, embouchure, overtones, ear training.

Ear training is important, as if you can hear exact pitches of those high note in your head, it will be easier to voice them.

Just work up to the notes gradually.

 

[MojoBari]

Although reports say he is using a stock Berg, I do not think he will be able to get all these notes on most stock Bergs. He probably will loose an octave or two (and still beat out the rest of us). If the facing curve is too flat near the tip rail, high altissimo goes away. The thin tip Vandoren blue box reeds help. Probably more than the bass clarinet cut.

 

[super20dan]

mojo-have you ever studied the desighn of the runyon bionex? what makes the altisimo so easy to play on this desighn. the alto version works great for this

 

[kfoster]

I don't think there is anything particularly special about Lenny's set-up. Take a look at this clip of TOP from 1976. Lenny was only about 22 years old. His set-up is a Larson with a Single Socket Silversonic. He sounds great! He is also a bundle of energy!

 

[Nefertiti]

I've never tried to go over altissimo E. I always thought that was pretty darn high and didn't see a need for it...........until I heard Lenny Pickett play up there. He sounds killer. I'm wondering if there is anyone on this board that can play in that 4th octave. I'd be interested in how you do it. My high E is voiced as high as I can go with my tongue and vocal tract. I can go higher if I bite the reed but that kills my bottom lip. Is that what Pickett is doing perhaps?

 

[hakukani]

I suspect he puts his teeth on the reed for the really high stuff.

 

[Grumps]

I suspect he puts his teeth on the reed for the really high stuff.

I don't when I get up there; which isn't very often, as there's got to be a time and a place for it. That octave, front F and left hand 2 is a truly wonderful fingering to work the harmonics of that extreme range. An extremely open mouthpiece doesn't hurt either.

 

[Joe Jazz]

Naaa man, GOTTA BE THE HAIR:rr::yikes!:!!!!!

 

[stormott77]

I can get up into that 4th octave pretty easily but I can't jump around up there. After about E4 I just kind of slide up and hold what ever note sounds good. I can jump around below the E4 fairly well. I practice my licks and patterns in that range of the horn. I don't use my teeth unless the reed is shot but I do use a little more lip pressure than I would in the lower altissimo notes. Not a lot of lip pressure just a touch more.

 

[AZAZAZ]

once you get high enough, the intervals become so close together that you are essentially playing the horn as if it were a fixed tube like a trumpet or trombone. lenny has been playing a VI for years. probably since at least the early 80s

 

[Joe Jazz]

once you get high enough, the intervals become so close together that you are essentially playing the horn as if it were a fixed tube like a trumpet or trombone. lenny has been playing a VI for years. probably since at least the early 80s

Many years ago I was fortunate enough to see the purported video of Lenny's birth....he came out of his mom and was immediately given his first saxophone. His mom had Lenny in one arm and his sax in the other......all those months of listening to sax recordings while in the womb really paid off......:binky::baby::bluewink:.

 

[soybean]

I can go higher if I bite the reed but that kills my bottom lip. Is that what Pickett is doing perhaps?

I bite my lip up there around D4 and higher. Don't know about Lenny. But I do remember talking to a guy in NY who knows Lenny and said he had a unique way of tonguing. It was something like tonguing on the inside of his lower teeth. Anyone here know about that?

 

[MojoBari]

I have a west coast client who knows Lenny and has played in TOP himself for a year. He says Lenny plays with loose chops and uses long fingerings for all the high 4th and 5th octave stuff. You can see on SNL that his chops look fairly loose. He's pivoting the sax a lot while playing.

 

[DexterS123]

Mojo, thanks for the info. What do you mean by long fingerings?

 

[AZAZAZ]

Mojo, thanks for the info. What do you mean by long fingerings?

fingerings that lengthen the effective length of the horn. fingering D ooo|ooo lengthens the horn more than fingering G ooo|xxx. in theory and based on your approach, this may assist with the top tones. essentially it is an extreme study of overtones

 

[MojoBari]

Yes. Low D through Low Bb. It probably doesn't matter which one he uses on a given note. But he may switch to a different one to help with articulation.

 

[MyMartinTenor]

I don't think there is anything particularly special about Lenny's set-up. Take a look at this clip of TOP from 1976. Lenny was only about 22 years old. His set-up is a Larson with a Single Socket Silversonic. He sounds great! He is also a bundle of energy!

Yeah man, I like his sound better in that video than his more recent sound. I'm heading to the shed tonight to work on some of those long fingering ideas. Great stuff, very helpful.