I haven’t watched many Altissimo videos but this is the first I have seen which emphasizes the importance of overtones. I love the finger-wiggling example, making the point that tongue position is the ultimate guide.
Thank you, you always have great content for a newbie saxophone player. You're a saint for doing this for people like me who don't want a face-to-face teacher. I've made incredible progress thanks to your videos.
Great video! Your G Altissimo fingering was a game changer for me in the past. Not really comfortable in the beginning, but once you learned it works always!! 😊😊😊😊
As a clarinet player for more than 40 years, I appreciate hearing a detailed description of how to plau alttissimo register, because compared to clarinet, I find ( as a comparatively inexperienced saxophonist ) that the basic two and a half octave range of the saxophone is comparatively limited (as opposed to almost 4 on clarinet ) . I intend to come back to this video when I feel more comfortable with the basic saxophone compass. I really appreciate learning about the subtle nuances of altissimo playing -- and you explain it so well. Thank you for helping to de-mystify this FASCINATING subject. I look forward to the time when I am adept enough at saxophone to play altissimo welll -- because then, the clarinet and saxophone will be more equal for me in terms of their playable range. a QUESTION : IS IT REALLY NECESSARY to approach overtones with ''bugle call" exercises using the fundamental fingering for a certain note? If so, how is that done? Do YOU have videos explaining this approach -- because if you do, I will be very happy to view them. Having never had formal tuition on saxophone, Your videos are GREAT!!! I love to consult them, and they are among my very favourites on You Tube, because I learn SO MUCH from you! You are an excellent teacher and I THANK YOU very much. P. S. Those altissimo notes sound astonishingly clear and true and focused when you play them!!! Of course, ANYTHING is easy when you know how to do it ( and have had a lot of PRACTICE ! ) Yours, Richard.
Yeah, a lot of them have a zillion fingerings and don't really make much sense. This one is just simple and to the point. These fingerings have worked on every alto that I've played.
Commenting because you welcome them. Interesting that you have 22k views but less than 100 comments here🤔 A lot of lurkers out there😉 As for altissimo notes, I am a total newbie with a cheapo-ish, but boss-sounding tenor sax, and I accidentally played a lot of accidental altissimos by biting a little too hard on the reed. The notes sounded great, and crystal clear, but weren't the notes i was shooting for with the fingering positions. I had originally gotten discouraged because i "missed" the note due to Emboucher, but at 6:56 in your vid here, you seem to be giving some wiggle room to finger position as long as you hit the right note, using Emboucher or whatever, and that thought is very liberating for me. Plus, I see some young experts on TH-cam making a lot of note changes without the full attendant finger position changes. It is going to be fun experimenting. Once I get more familiar with notes, finger position and Emboucher, my next step will be lessons, probably starting with online, and probably with your offerings.
Most of the time you want a higher Tongue position, and you want to think about a “He” or “hiss” sound. And most of it is trial and error to see what works for you.
My first altissimo was G (pop fingering) I actually learned that after 3-4 month of playing, because I needed it for a song I was working on. The easiest for me is A, but I can play up to D (yesterday I got a D# a couple of times) My 12 year old kid actually got his first Altissimo yesterday, altissimo G. With the “wrong” fingering. But cannot get it with the correct fingering. But he has to go from F# to G to be able to get it. He cannot start off with the G So if anyone has any suggestions, we’re all ears
Scott, but what about the mouthpiece in altissimo? When I started experimenting with different 3-D printed ones and going for a darker sound, I noticed a big loss in those altissimo notes, either from the baffles or length of facings apparently. Why no mention of mouthpieces in altissimo I wonder? thanks!
Hey, some mps definitely make altissimo a little easier.... especially high baffle mps. However, in this video, I was referring to different fingerings, and how they weren't that important.
They do and don’t….. if you want consistency then you want to nail the fingerings but like he said the tongue position is key to voice the note. And if you understand overtones then you understand if you can’t voice the note then no fingering altissimo or not will not be right
I think of altissimo D as the top note of my altissimo range, but using overtones, I can go much higher. I just feel like D is where the functional part of my altissimo part ends, and everything above that is note "on demand"
@@ScottPaddock yeah D is also my highest and l have no appetite to expand that range. I am trying to keep things even when it comes to the overall sound.
It's there, it just might look a little different. Sometimes it's a button looking key, other times it's a tear drop. It's the key directly above your B key.
That’s what those overtones are for. By being able to control those you learn the embouchure and throat voicing to be able to control those note. Or you could just brute force it. Just keep trying and eventually you’ll be able to. Make sure to rest your face though.
On my soprano sax, I haven't really had any problems pulling out the altissimo notes except for that altissimo F#. It might be the reeds. I'm using Rico Royal 2.5. I used a Rico Royal 2.5 Bb clarinet reed once and the altissimo notes just wanted to sail out of my saxophone but, the narrowness of that reed hurt my lower lip so I stopped using it.
I have a hard time with altissimo on the soprano - it's much more natural on alto and tenor for me. Yeah, I wouldn't recommend using a clarinet reed on the sax. It's not quite wide enough.
@@ScottPaddock Scott, mine is an eBay purchased Chinese no-name horn. It was unplayable until I modified the plastic mouthpiece. It started playing well after I spent time re-regulating and setting all the linkages. The biggest change was when I took a soprano metal mouthpiece, turned it down shorter on a lathe and added a bit of a baffle with epoxy. Soprano reeds work great by cutting them short to fit the mouthpiece. I like to have the Nino around when playing alto as it eliminates transposition… so much easier than doubling on soprano. When I have to do some waiting around for my grandkids I find the Nino is handy for practicing in the car… I take it lots of places I would never risk schlepping my Selmer VI. The Soprano comes out when I will have an audience, the Nino is a bear to play in tune on A and higher above the staff. It has two palm keys… don’t miss having the F palm key! Soprano has nice tone throughout, Nino only in the lower register… perhaps more work on the mouthpiece might improve this!
Thanks! Yeah, tonguing is one of the toughest things to teach because there are a few different concepts, everybody's tongue is a different shape, and you can't see inside your mouth. I've done a few videos on the subject on my TH-cam channel, check them out!
For the altissimo notes make the sound "eeeeeeee" and that will put your tongue in the right position. Then experiment with moving it slightly forward and backwards to dial it in.
I haven’t watched many Altissimo videos but this is the first I have seen which emphasizes the importance of overtones. I love the finger-wiggling example, making the point that tongue position is the ultimate guide.
👅👍🎷
Thank you, you always have great content for a newbie saxophone player. You're a saint for doing this for people like me who don't want a face-to-face teacher. I've made incredible progress thanks to your videos.
I fully agree and couldn’t say better.
Great video! Your G Altissimo fingering was a game changer for me in the past. Not really comfortable in the beginning, but once you learned it works always!! 😊😊😊😊
Yeah, it's a super stable fingering, but takes a minute to get used to the crazy fingering 😵💫
Good video! My first one was G and A because the fingering I used it was easy to go back and forth
Thank you for this lesson. It's very helpful with lots of practice.
As a clarinet player for more than 40 years, I appreciate hearing a detailed description of how to plau alttissimo register, because compared to clarinet, I find ( as a comparatively inexperienced saxophonist ) that the basic two and a half octave range of the saxophone is comparatively limited (as opposed to almost 4 on clarinet ) .
I intend to come back to this video when I feel more comfortable with the basic saxophone compass.
I really appreciate learning about the subtle nuances of altissimo playing -- and you explain it so well. Thank you for helping to de-mystify this FASCINATING subject.
I look forward to the time when I am adept enough at saxophone to play altissimo welll -- because then, the clarinet and saxophone will be more equal for me in terms of their playable range. a
QUESTION : IS IT REALLY NECESSARY to approach overtones with ''bugle call" exercises using the fundamental fingering for a certain note? If so, how is that done? Do YOU have videos explaining this approach -- because if you do, I will be very happy to view them.
Having never had formal tuition on saxophone, Your videos are GREAT!!! I love to consult them, and they are among my very favourites on You Tube, because I learn SO MUCH from you! You are an excellent teacher and I THANK YOU very much.
P. S. Those altissimo notes sound astonishingly clear and true and focused when you play them!!! Of course, ANYTHING is easy when you know how to do it ( and have had a lot of PRACTICE ! )
Yours, Richard.
Finally an altissimo chart where I can understand the fingering. Thanks Scott.
Yeah, a lot of them have a zillion fingerings and don't really make much sense. This one is just simple and to the point. These fingerings have worked on every alto that I've played.
Thank You ! Very helpful ! Tongue position,,YES ! So that has been my problem. (ok, one of my problems)
Thank you so much for helping out
A brilliant video Scott; great content as ever. Cheers 🍻
Great lesson Scott. Thank you.
Great video!!!
Thanks!
Commenting because you welcome them. Interesting that you have 22k views but less than 100 comments here🤔 A lot of lurkers out there😉 As for altissimo notes, I am a total newbie with a cheapo-ish, but boss-sounding tenor sax, and I accidentally played a lot of accidental altissimos by biting a little too hard on the reed. The notes sounded great, and crystal clear, but weren't the notes i was shooting for with the fingering positions. I had originally gotten discouraged because i "missed" the note due to Emboucher, but at 6:56 in your vid here, you seem to be giving some wiggle room to finger position as long as you hit the right note, using Emboucher or whatever, and that thought is very liberating for me. Plus, I see some young experts on TH-cam making a lot of note changes without the full attendant finger position changes. It is going to be fun experimenting. Once I get more familiar with notes, finger position and Emboucher, my next step will be lessons, probably starting with online, and probably with your offerings.
Thank you sir 🎉❤
A BIG thanks
Thank you so much 🎉🎉🎉
Thanks😃
Tenor is easier. F# was my first altissimo note. Thanks for the video.
👍👍👍
thanx scott 👍🏼
You're welcome!
Thanks Scott - Top stuff. Appreciate all you do. Tenor is far easier to hit the notes than on Alto !!
A lot of my past students agree with you! I think it is the tongue position doesn't need to be as extreme on the tenor.
Scott can you set up a pdf of Altissimo for tenor sax an baritone? And thank you for the alto pdf ,🤝🙏❤
Altissimo G was my first
Alto saxophone definitely
Thanks for the video, Scott. You talked a lot about using the correct tongue position, but you didn't describe what the correct position is.
Most of the time you want a higher Tongue position, and you want to think about a “He” or “hiss” sound. And most of it is trial and error to see what works for you.
Lovely 😍
Woooowww amazing 🎉🎉🎉
Thanks!!
My first altissimo was G (pop fingering) I actually learned that after 3-4 month of playing, because I needed it for a song I was working on. The easiest for me is A, but I can play up to D (yesterday I got a D# a couple of times)
My 12 year old kid actually got his first Altissimo yesterday, altissimo G. With the “wrong” fingering. But cannot get it with the correct fingering.
But he has to go from F# to G to be able to get it. He cannot start off with the G
So if anyone has any suggestions, we’re all ears
Scott, but what about the mouthpiece in altissimo? When I started experimenting with different 3-D printed ones and going for a darker sound, I noticed a big loss in those altissimo notes, either from the baffles or length of facings apparently. Why no mention of mouthpieces in altissimo I wonder? thanks!
Hey, some mps definitely make altissimo a little easier.... especially high baffle mps. However, in this video, I was referring to different fingerings, and how they weren't that important.
Point taken Scott! On the other hand, isn't it worth mentioning that many types of MPs make Altissimo notes all but impossible? @@ScottPaddock
Alto altissimo G and A
They do and don’t….. if you want consistency then you want to nail the fingerings but like he said the tongue position is key to voice the note. And if you understand overtones then you understand if you can’t voice the note then no fingering altissimo or not will not be right
Why not not tenor fingerin chart?
Hi, Mister Paddock,
What is the highest note you use (altissimo wise) when you play?
I think of altissimo D as the top note of my altissimo range, but using overtones, I can go much higher. I just feel like D is where the functional part of my altissimo part ends, and everything above that is note "on demand"
@@ScottPaddock yeah D is also my highest and l have no appetite to expand that range. I am trying to keep things even when it comes to the overall sound.
So far only played altissimo on tenor. First notes. C,c# D.
Oh wow! Starting up at the top. Most people hit the A or G first. Congrats!
@@ScottPaddock yeah. I can’t hit the notes below though. 😑
Hi. My saxophone does not have the last top key. Can I sing the notes in altissimo if it doesn't have that key?
It's there, it just might look a little different. Sometimes it's a button looking key, other times it's a tear drop. It's the key directly above your B key.
How to be consistent on altissimo g? I got higher note when I'm playing altissimo g
That’s what those overtones are for. By being able to control those you learn the embouchure and throat voicing to be able to control those note. Or you could just brute force it. Just keep trying and eventually you’ll be able to. Make sure to rest your face though.
Still working on altissimo Bb with low Bb fingering… feels close
Try the Bb fingering from this video, I bet it will pop out!
I think alto is far easier but my tenor tone is overall better when I’m wailing so….
On my soprano sax, I haven't really had any problems pulling out the altissimo notes except for that altissimo F#. It might be the reeds. I'm using Rico Royal 2.5. I used a Rico Royal 2.5 Bb clarinet reed once and the altissimo notes just wanted to sail out of my saxophone but, the narrowness of that reed hurt my lower lip so I stopped using it.
it's not from the reed , you should fix the leaking
I have a hard time with altissimo on the soprano - it's much more natural on alto and tenor for me. Yeah, I wouldn't recommend using a clarinet reed on the sax. It's not quite wide enough.
I haven’t tried altissimo on my soprano or my nino. I really don’t feel the need for that …. Maybe I am too empathetic for the neighborhood canines!
@@terryhorlick9707 I'm with you! The soprano is already high enough! How do you like your soparnino? What make/model is it?
@@ScottPaddock Scott, mine is an eBay purchased Chinese no-name horn. It was unplayable until I modified the plastic mouthpiece. It started playing well after I spent time re-regulating and setting all the linkages. The biggest change was when I took a soprano metal mouthpiece, turned it down shorter on a lathe and added a bit of a baffle with epoxy. Soprano reeds work great by cutting them short to fit the mouthpiece.
I like to have the Nino around when playing alto as it eliminates transposition… so much easier than doubling on soprano.
When I have to do some waiting around for my grandkids I find the Nino is handy for practicing in the car… I take it lots of places I would never risk schlepping my Selmer VI.
The Soprano comes out when I will have an audience, the Nino is a bear to play in tune on A and higher above the staff. It has two palm keys… don’t miss having the F palm key! Soprano has nice tone throughout, Nino only in the lower register… perhaps more work on the mouthpiece might improve this!
Alto sax
Tenor was easier for me, f# was the first note I achieved.
🍷🍷🎷🎼🎶🎶🎶🤙
Hey Paul! 🍺🍺🍺
@ScottPaddock I've been following you for years Scott. I'm from Chioggia in the province of Venice You are magyko 🍷🍷🎷🎼🎶🎶🎶💪🔥💗
Thanks, I’ve failed all altissimo above F# for over 50 years. Your videos seem to hint to me that maybe Earl Bostic wasn’t really super human!
@cyberbusker Thank you Scott. Nobody explained as well as you to a Newbie like me 4 years in. The mysteries have been revealed. Now this tounge thing…
Thanks! Yeah, tonguing is one of the toughest things to teach because there are a few different concepts, everybody's tongue is a different shape, and you can't see inside your mouth. I've done a few videos on the subject on my TH-cam channel, check them out!
I prefer alto sax
Tenor F# was my first
Note So where should the tongue position be ?
On the roof of your mouth?
Thx leny
on the tip of the reed
For the altissimo notes make the sound "eeeeeeee" and that will put your tongue in the right position. Then experiment with moving it slightly forward and backwards to dial it in.
Thx Scott🎷✌️🪈😎
Tenor is easier to play in general than the alto
Alto is much easier