Awesome video! Bought the book a few months ago and love it! Still mostly been working on the overtones pages because I’ve struggled with the fingerings, but I already have my own fingerings that’s work pretty well so this inspires me to get going past the fingering pages and get into some of the exercises!
Great! Ok, I can get up to the high 'e' on the 4th octave on the tenor saxophone, 🎷 but I don't know the finger pattern(s) for the f / f# that follow, can anyone help?
Great information but after many years of playing sax I still don't have see a ton of value in altissimo notes as they sound awful in my opinion even when played by people who are basically experts in them. Maybe useful as the climax of a loud and hot solo, but they are too brash, squeaky and out of tune for my liking to really want to use them much. Ben's Bach example is probably the one of the most impressive ones I've heard and even still, if that were a video of myself practicing a piece and it wasn't altissimo voicings (let's pretend it was on soprano in the normal range) I would think "OK I need to practice this piece more before I'm ready to perform it in public". There are some squeaky notes and overall the sound is just strained and a little srhill. That's not his fault at all, just a fact of altissimo notes. It's just physics that such high overtones are very unstable on such a large horn. Very impressive for sure, but I don't know where I would apply it
Man oh man, the Saxophone Community is so lucky to have people like you, Jay. Thanks for a great interview with, basically, everybody's favorite saxophonist!
i’m 15 and just a few weeks ago finally had that click moment for the high g. i can play up to an a and maybe sometimes squeak out a high b flat now. hasn’t gotten old yet! it’s such a good feeling, especially after my teacher told me that he couldn’t get the g until he was 18. i’ve played for 5 years now for reference. best advice to anyone like me who’s almost there is just to kind of leave your tongue slightly off the reed and pull you lower jaw back. do not bite hard. good luck!
@@bettersax My main job is professional video and photography, @flesichman is absolutely on spot. Keep on the hard work Jay, you're a fantastic professional and human being for sharing such a knowledge.
Lenny Pickett... You didn’t even mention him. Sad. He’s been in the Saturday night live band since mid 80’s and was the lead tenor player in Tower of Power during the 70’s. He also a master of altissimo and a multi wind instrumentalist.
If you're interested in reaching and developing the altissimo range, I suggest these: Voicing by David Sinta: www.amazon.com/Voicing-Approach-Saxophones-Register-Revised/dp/B007BPJ3UK Top Tones by Rascher www.amazon.com/O2964-Top-Tones-Saxophone-Four-Octave-Range/dp/082582642X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=top+tones+rascher&qid=1623940044&sr=8-1 Developing a personal saxophone sound by Liebman: www.amazon.com/Developing-personal-saxophone-sound-Liebman/dp/B0006PF5E0/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=liebman+saxophone&qid=1623940086&rnid=2941120011&s=books&sr=1-1 Saxophone High Tones by Rosseau www.amazon.com/Saxophone-High-Tones-Eugene-Rousseau/dp/158106005X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=saxophone+rousseau&qid=1623940151&s=books&sr=1-1 Joe Allard exercises compiled by David Demsey: d1av9c1o38t6ow.cloudfront.net/2016/Allard%20Overtone%20Exercise.pdf Sinta's book is my favorite for mastering overtones; however, he takes a different approach than those in the Joe Allard school, such as Liebman. I took a couple lessons from Dave Tofani that focused on overtones; Dave taught in the same department as Allard and knows Allard's methods well. I haven't bought Ben's book yet, but look forward to it.
Wish I could find the link rn, but I remember seeing an interview where Lenny basically says voicing “if it exists” has nothing to do with your throat. I don’t agree, but it’s a very interesting take considering his remarkable skill
I’m so far away from altissimo that I thought you were talking about breath mints. I can play up to a weak high F#. I believed that altissimo started at high G because it stands for Gerald Albright. Glad to hear that the fingerings are not the key to altissimo because I’ve tried many just to get to F#. I’ll be adding overtones and voicing to my practice with the hope of adding altissimo to my range. Thanks for another excellent video in addition to your BetterSax lessons. Thanks again.
As always, Jay, a great interview! I'm definitely getting Ben's book! Since starting your courses a year ago, I've been practicing overtones as a part of my warm-up routine (after long tones), at least most of the time. I still can't hit any altissimo note with confidence except for altissimo D, for some reason or another! I'm hoping this book will finally get me over the hump!
Let's not forget Brandon Fields as another top altissimo player as well. But Ben Wendell.....my goodness. He has insane control and command of the register. I thought Brecker was the end of the saxophone, in terms of altissimo playing, but apparently Wendell had other plans! I wish Adolph Sax could see how far his instrument has advanced.
So, I've been playing sax for 30 years (self taught) and never knew about Overtones. Still so much to learn. Thanks Jay and @benwendel for being fellow nerds and helping us all to be better players.
This is soo good!! Thank you BetterSax! Quick question, I practise mouthpiece exercises for like 5min every time I pick up the horn...In your experience, of what benefit is this?
Great video! Ben is an awesome player. I can't wait to check out his book. But as far as being the best altissimo player out there, I'm sorry but IMO that title goes to Sirvalorsax (check his YT channel out), the King of Altissimo.
Jay, you always have something to help all types of sax players. Thanks for having a big heart to share music with us. I am learning a lot from your channel.
This is a great video. I love it. I don't expect that I will explore the altissimo register that much because most or the notes sound "out of tune" to me. I liked it because it taught me that the notes on the saxophone are acquired by voicing not just by fingering. it's important to learn a song by ear and sing the notes. I've experienced that, when I play a note that is in my head even though i may not be fingering it right, the note will play. I would classify myself as an advanced beginner. I'm 79 years old and play most of my tunes by ear.
After two years of almost useless trying, I unlocked altissimo in like three days using the Jazzlab's Silencer. To me, it's not a mouthpiece silencer, it's an embouchure educator. You can't hold a pitch if your embouchure is faulty (unlike when on the sax), and once you realise how to raise the pitch using that, while trying to play a whole octave with your mouthpiece only, you've found your path. After learning to play a whole octave, I put my mouthpiece on the sax and the first note that came out while fingering a low Bb was altissimo Ab. I was done. Now I recommend it to anyone.
Thanks a bunch for this. It's fantastic watching your tutorials. I just started learning sax; less than four months now. Is it advisable for me to start learning the Altissimo?
Awesome. Unfortunately I am out of touch with so many awesome players, I need this I bought the physical book and the e book . My only fear is that it will remain on the shelf. I so hope not. Lol, Got to start getting my playing to the next level
Great video and great perspective! I grew up playing jazz and was never introduced to the concept of voicing until studying classical saxophone at university. In jazz studies until then, I had been told to play overtones and work out of the rascher book but no one had explained the mechanics and understanding of voicing to me.
The only fingerings that matter are the f keys and side keys not palm. The altissimo a cause there aren’t many exceptions, and 3 fingerings for the notes from f sharp to g sharp. Otherwise magic f buttons and a couple solid a fingerings. Make sure all the keys are set correctly, I had a tech for years set my keys incorrectly and left my bflat jiggly and didn’t seal correctly when I pressed my f key. Simply tightening the keys up on my left hand and adjusting the height is important. He was a tech and couldn’t play above an f sharp and so I never knew and just thought it was me. I sat down one day when I noticed that my altissimo g rang when I held that bflat down on my left hand after that I realized he had to installed a flimsy bflat key spring on my left hand and it was fine during normal playing as when beginning you favor the side bflat key. And since my teacher just ignored the saxes basically and never taught us above high fsharp or alternative fingerings, overtones etc. and we were often top five in the state for classical in high school. My college teacher could care less as well and was only concerned with playing easy songs well and only allowed trumpeters to solo and didn’t help us saxophonist out. Strangely UT got their act together the year I moved on and started teaching overtones and allowing saxes to solo etc….. 😂 otherwise we just did the quote unquote heavy lifting, basically play fast lines hold the chorus or hook and fill space, funny thing was the sax players were the best performers. And as I played out even with my meager altissimo skills I realized how many people really aren’t that good at it.
This is interesting. Funny, I’m thinking, I don’t recall hearing Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon, Hank Mobley, Gene Ammons or any of the greats play many high notes. Can you play a pretty ballad up there ? Well, maybe . It’s an effect I suppose that’s nice to be able to utilize from time to time….I guess ! Thanks
Okay... It may be a new concept, it may or may not help, but, I'll just wait for someone to sell it on flea bay, after they have finished or got frustrated with obtaining what the book is suppose to do altissimo wise. I am not dishing out 30.00 dollars for a PDF File that I may need to print anyway... Way too expensive, well to me being on a fixed income, so don't blame me too much for complaining on the price, as I've seen other books at half the price... Just my two cents...
The only real advantage of a high F# or high G key is that it expands the possibilities for altissimo fingerings. For whatever reason altissimo has always been super easy for me. My old tenor doesn’t even have a side F pad, I just lip it from A.
"Everyone wants to learn how to play altissimo". Not really. It honestly doesn't interest me. Lester Young didn't play altissimo. Nor did Ben Webster and a host of other legends. Why not just get a soprano?
My Teacher Joseph R has baptised me with Overtones I am so thankful , am sure I have saved a lot of time and frustration, always a struggle but with Summer weather coming I ll be out on the Bridges soon :) Blowing up a Storm!!!!(of Overtones),Thank you Jay and Ben.
Cool. Been working on this stuff a long time. Looking forward to finding out some new things and seeing what I can improve. Been working on a Bach music video. Great for tone exercises. Anyways, thanks for sharing your experiences.
Teenage me first encountered altissimo from the music of Jr. Walker. I had just switched from Alto to Tenor but I couldn't figure out what the the notes were that Jr. was playing. I wanted to play Shotgun but how the hell was Jr getting those notes? Fast forward to the 21st century me. I'm ok venturing into some altissimo but need to refine what I'm doing. Oh if I could only get a consistent altissimo G. Ben's book looks like a worthy investment. Thanks Jay for presenting it to us and thanks Ben for writing this book.
When I started learning altissimo I made almost no progress with the low note overtones. I got really frustrated and skipped ahead just to see what would happen and suddenly I could play altissimo. I still practice overtones. I still suck at them. I can play altissimo relatively well.
Great video Jay! So cool you got to have this discussion with one of the greatest living saxophonists! His insight into the top of the horn is very important to have here on TH-cam.
@@bettersax I keep watching the part where he holds an A and moves his fingers around and the note stays the same... tried to do that and it is not as easy as he makes it look! 😅
The exercises and techniques are both for alto and tenor, but Ben's book only refers to tenor fingerings. Jay has a great pdf with fingerings for Alto and Tenor... check this out: @t
Would still love to learn the altissimo range for the options, but finally recorded myself playing alto sax along with my brass instruments to realize that I personally prefer the low end of a bari sax, lol
For alto players, Baptiste Herbin plays amazing altissimo, actual bebop phrases in the stratosphere. 😂 Of course David Sanborn was the original top tones cat. Speaking of which, is Ben’s book kind of a more accessible Top Tones for Saxophone, the great Sigurd Rascher book?
@@MyRackley Thanks. I've tried this one, and not sure if it's me or my saxophone, but I'm not even close to overblowing the C#. I probably need to practice more overtones.
I swear your last 2 videos have been perfect timing for me ! I was wondering whats the differences in mouthpieces: BOOM! video on mouthpiece variations next I wanted to improve my altissimo: BOOM altissimo video! Keep it up Jay
Everything you have suggested both equipment & technique wise have been 100% spot on-from getting my Jean Paul Tenor, Boston sax reeds, reed geek tool, practice and tuning apps-to long tone/overtone practice and focusing on my tone rather than “notieness” jamming (which really helped me develop a better overall sound)-and even more I haven’t mentioned... ps I just hit my first high F# two days ago-perfect timing for this book-ordered the hard copy-making some great progress and this will be a great guide to further my range!-Again Thanks for all of the help!...🤙🏽 🎷
I'm not bluffing, but I'm really happy today as I started my alto sax journey six months ago and by thinking the same way as Ben Wendel (the altissimo is part of the horn nature), I begun practicing altissimo a month ago and today I was able to blow the high altissimo G twice (G4). I played it on my cheap '95 Selmer Bundy II, Yamaha A5 mouthpiece and a 2.5 Vandoren Green Box-Reed. I been familiar with playing music, but always with strings (guitars and basses) so I know a little bit of what I'm dealing with. I have to agree also with Ben: The higher you go with your notes, the narrow the window becomes related with getting the note you want, but I also know it's a natural thing when you find them. Make a memory on your mind and keep on practicing. More sooner than later you'll find yourself playing these notes easier, but it doesn't show up without compromise and dedication. Thanks Jay.
Hello. I am a classical alto saxophone player who has been playing for a couple of years and I have discovered a piece that requires the "Slap Tongue" technique. Could you make a video on this topic or respond to this comment? Thank you for producing such helpful material! 😀🎷
Thank you so much for the video Jay. I really like that you get lots of super great musicians to speak about their life work - playing saxophone. Very nice work. Big fan of Ben - amazing player. I will get the book - very nice tip. Great inspiration.
Awesome video! Bought the book a few months ago and love it! Still mostly been working on the overtones pages because I’ve struggled with the fingerings, but I already have my own fingerings that’s work pretty well so this inspires me to get going past the fingering pages and get into some of the exercises!
You should get sirvalor to do something like this as well, I’m sure he would love it
I second this.
I concur... I haver seen SirValor on TH-cam play alot of altissimo on tenor saxophone .
I second this!! Sirvalor plays effortlessly to double altissimo C and has an altissimo course for sale.
Agree Sirvalor "piece of cake,man"
PLEASE! Bring him!
Hi Ben does this book also helpful for those none musical notes readers? And, when will you be putting this book into a video?
Great video! I’m growing to become a BW fan. I have lots of specific questions about altissimo-can I send them somewhere?
Great! Ok, I can get up to the high 'e' on the 4th octave on the tenor saxophone, 🎷 but I don't know the finger pattern(s) for the f / f# that follow, can anyone help?
Lmao this comment is literally the opposite of the whole point of this video
Great information but after many years of playing sax I still don't have see a ton of value in altissimo notes as they sound awful in my opinion even when played by people who are basically experts in them. Maybe useful as the climax of a loud and hot solo, but they are too brash, squeaky and out of tune for my liking to really want to use them much. Ben's Bach example is probably the one of the most impressive ones I've heard and even still, if that were a video of myself practicing a piece and it wasn't altissimo voicings (let's pretend it was on soprano in the normal range) I would think "OK I need to practice this piece more before I'm ready to perform it in public". There are some squeaky notes and overall the sound is just strained and a little srhill. That's not his fault at all, just a fact of altissimo notes. It's just physics that such high overtones are very unstable on such a large horn. Very impressive for sure, but I don't know where I would apply it
“Saxophonist with the best haircut nine years in a row”
I love sax players so much. Such a special breed of crazy. 🤣🤣
😀
Man oh man, the Saxophone Community is so lucky to have people like you, Jay. Thanks for a great interview with, basically, everybody's favorite saxophonist!
Thank you Jordan
i’m 15 and just a few weeks ago finally had that click moment for the high g. i can play up to an a and maybe sometimes squeak out a high b flat now. hasn’t gotten old yet! it’s such a good feeling, especially after my teacher told me that he couldn’t get the g until he was 18. i’ve played for 5 years now for reference. best advice to anyone like me who’s almost there is just to kind of leave your tongue slightly off the reed and pull you lower jaw back. do not bite hard. good luck!
Jay puts out the highest quality saxophone related videos by far
I like Sirvalorsax, and GetYourSaxTogether a lot too.
Yup. There are several good online teachers around but Jay goes out of his way to produce professional quality vids as well as solid content.
@@johnwhyte-venables2167 facts!
Thanks for watching and noticing the effort I put in.
@@bettersax My main job is professional video and photography, @flesichman is absolutely on spot. Keep on the hard work Jay, you're a fantastic professional and human being for sharing such a knowledge.
Lenny Pickett wrote the book, without literally writing a book 😂
Lenny Pickett... You didn’t even mention him. Sad. He’s been in the Saturday night live band since mid 80’s and was the lead tenor player in Tower of Power during the 70’s. He also a master of altissimo and a multi wind instrumentalist.
Very true! Lenny Pickett was a pioneer in the extreme altissimo, and he has to be mentioned in any discussion of this topic.
I too wondered why Lenny Pickett was never mentioned.
Really appreciate your channel man!
Thanks 🙏🏻
This makes me want to see a video of like "TOP 10" or 5 or whatever saxophone/jazz/music books.
If you're interested in reaching and developing the altissimo range, I suggest these:
Voicing by David Sinta:
www.amazon.com/Voicing-Approach-Saxophones-Register-Revised/dp/B007BPJ3UK
Top Tones by Rascher
www.amazon.com/O2964-Top-Tones-Saxophone-Four-Octave-Range/dp/082582642X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=top+tones+rascher&qid=1623940044&sr=8-1
Developing a personal saxophone sound by Liebman:
www.amazon.com/Developing-personal-saxophone-sound-Liebman/dp/B0006PF5E0/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=liebman+saxophone&qid=1623940086&rnid=2941120011&s=books&sr=1-1
Saxophone High Tones by Rosseau
www.amazon.com/Saxophone-High-Tones-Eugene-Rousseau/dp/158106005X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=saxophone+rousseau&qid=1623940151&s=books&sr=1-1
Joe Allard exercises compiled by David Demsey:
d1av9c1o38t6ow.cloudfront.net/2016/Allard%20Overtone%20Exercise.pdf
Sinta's book is my favorite for mastering overtones; however, he takes a different approach than those in the Joe Allard school, such as Liebman. I took a couple lessons from Dave Tofani that focused on overtones; Dave taught in the same department as Allard and knows Allard's methods well.
I haven't bought Ben's book yet, but look forward to it.
I highly recommend you listen to Lenny Pickett, former lead tenor saxophone/ current SNL (Saturday Night Live co-music director) playing altissimo!
or Marc Russo
Lenny is the man
Wish I could find the link rn, but I remember seeing an interview where Lenny basically says voicing “if it exists” has nothing to do with your throat. I don’t agree, but it’s a very interesting take considering his remarkable skill
Talk about different perspectives...
@@TonyAguirreJazz Was just about to type the same thing!
I’m so far away from altissimo that I thought you were talking about breath mints. I can play up to a weak high F#. I believed that altissimo started at high G because it stands for Gerald Albright. Glad to hear that the fingerings are not the key to altissimo because I’ve tried many just to get to F#. I’ll be adding overtones and voicing to my practice with the hope of adding altissimo to my range. Thanks for another excellent video in addition to your BetterSax lessons. Thanks again.
Thanks 🙏🏻
0:20 How has Leo P not won yet? lol
Only a sith deals in absolutes.
Still, love your channel, man !
Is there any word on when the orders on the better sax will resume?
I’ll let you know. Still waiting.
This is a comment. Just because you deserve a comment
As always, Jay, a great interview! I'm definitely getting Ben's book! Since starting your courses a year ago, I've been practicing overtones as a part of my warm-up routine (after long tones), at least most of the time. I still can't hit any altissimo note with confidence except for altissimo D, for some reason or another! I'm hoping this book will finally get me over the hump!
Let's not forget Brandon Fields as another top altissimo player as well. But Ben Wendell.....my goodness. He has insane control and command of the register. I thought Brecker was the end of the saxophone, in terms of altissimo playing, but apparently Wendell had other plans!
I wish Adolph Sax could see how far his instrument has advanced.
I've not watched this video yet, nor have I ever heard of Ben previously. How does he compare in altissimo to my fellow Detroiter, James Carter?
we need al the altissimo tenor finger charts
So, I've been playing sax for 30 years (self taught) and never knew about Overtones. Still so much to learn. Thanks Jay and @benwendel for being fellow nerds and helping us all to be better players.
Thank you Lynda
Overtones are fun to play and they'll improve your sound, especially when practiced with or as long tones.
Indeed
This is soo good!! Thank you BetterSax!
Quick question, I practise mouthpiece exercises for like 5min every time I pick up the horn...In your experience, of what benefit is this?
Great video! Ben is an awesome player. I can't wait to check out his book. But as far as being the best altissimo player out there, I'm sorry but IMO that title goes to Sirvalorsax (check his YT channel out), the King of Altissimo.
You both helped me so much for altissimo. Thanks SO MUCH!
Jay, you always have something to help all types of sax players. Thanks for having a big heart to share music with us. I am learning a lot from your channel.
Great to hear
This is a great video. I love it. I don't expect that I will explore the altissimo register that much because most or the notes sound "out of tune" to me. I liked it because it taught me that the notes on the saxophone are acquired by voicing not just by fingering. it's important to learn a song by ear and sing the notes. I've experienced that, when I play a note that is in my head even though i may not be fingering it right, the note will play. I would classify myself as an advanced beginner. I'm 79 years old and play most of my tunes by ear.
"Advanced Beginner"!
I ❤️ it; it's new to me, the phrase.
Well this is my first altissimo lesson
I can give him a run for his money, hair wise. Sax wise, I couldn’t carry his reed box.
After two years of almost useless trying, I unlocked altissimo in like three days using the Jazzlab's Silencer. To me, it's not a mouthpiece silencer, it's an embouchure educator. You can't hold a pitch if your embouchure is faulty (unlike when on the sax), and once you realise how to raise the pitch using that, while trying to play a whole octave with your mouthpiece only, you've found your path. After learning to play a whole octave, I put my mouthpiece on the sax and the first note that came out while fingering a low Bb was altissimo Ab. I was done. Now I recommend it to anyone.
Thanks a bunch for this. It's fantastic watching your tutorials.
I just started learning sax; less than four months now. Is it advisable for me to start learning the Altissimo?
No real reason not to. As long as you avoid the bad habits we talked about here.
@@bettersax Thanks a million.
Awesome. Unfortunately I am out of touch with so many awesome players, I need this I bought the physical book and the e book . My only fear is that it will remain on the shelf. I so hope not. Lol, Got to start getting my playing to the next level
To clarify, I'm advanced in years and a beginner at saxophone.
Great video and great perspective! I grew up playing jazz and was never introduced to the concept of voicing until studying classical saxophone at university. In jazz studies until then, I had been told to play overtones and work out of the rascher book but no one had explained the mechanics and understanding of voicing to me.
Thanks for watching
The only fingerings that matter are the f keys and side keys not palm. The altissimo a cause there aren’t many exceptions, and 3 fingerings for the notes from f sharp to g sharp. Otherwise magic f buttons and a couple solid a fingerings. Make sure all the keys are set correctly, I had a tech for years set my keys incorrectly and left my bflat jiggly and didn’t seal correctly when I pressed my f key. Simply tightening the keys up on my left hand and adjusting the height is important. He was a tech and couldn’t play above an f sharp and so I never knew and just thought it was me. I sat down one day when I noticed that my altissimo g rang when I held that bflat down on my left hand after that I realized he had to installed a flimsy bflat key spring on my left hand and it was fine during normal playing as when beginning you favor the side bflat key. And since my teacher just ignored the saxes basically and never taught us above high fsharp or alternative fingerings, overtones etc. and we were often top five in the state for classical in high school. My college teacher could care less as well and was only concerned with playing easy songs well and only allowed trumpeters to solo and didn’t help us saxophonist out. Strangely UT got their act together the year I moved on and started teaching overtones and allowing saxes to solo etc….. 😂 otherwise we just did the quote unquote heavy lifting, basically play fast lines hold the chorus or hook and fill space, funny thing was the sax players were the best performers. And as I played out even with my meager altissimo skills I realized how many people really aren’t that good at it.
Oh man....I have always struggled with this technique.
This is interesting. Funny, I’m thinking, I don’t recall hearing Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon, Hank Mobley, Gene Ammons or any of the greats play many high notes. Can you play a pretty ballad up there ? Well, maybe . It’s an effect I suppose that’s nice to be able to utilize from time to time….I guess ! Thanks
Who needs a high F fork key anyways? If you completely unregulate the F to Bb bis key, 1 and 1 become high G. 2 (LH) and 1 (RH) is F#. 2 and 2 is F
Wow that's amazing video thank you better sax for this important lesson and I have a question does he do online lessons? Thanks a lot both of you 🎷🎷🎷
Check the link to Ben’s websites
Okay... It may be a new concept, it may or may not help, but, I'll just wait for someone to sell it on flea bay, after they have finished or got frustrated with obtaining what the book is suppose to do altissimo wise. I am not dishing out 30.00 dollars for a PDF File that I may need to print anyway... Way too expensive, well to me being on a fixed income, so don't blame me too much for complaining on the price, as I've seen other books at half the price... Just my two cents...
The only real advantage of a high F# or high G key is that it expands the possibilities for altissimo fingerings. For whatever reason altissimo has always been super easy for me. My old tenor doesn’t even have a side F pad, I just lip it from A.
"Everyone wants to learn how to play altissimo".
Not really.
It honestly doesn't interest me. Lester Young didn't play altissimo. Nor did Ben Webster and a host of other legends.
Why not just get a soprano?
Really enjoyed this- Ben is an inspiring player and I love his duo collaborations, among other things. Glad you were able to do this interview!
Thanks for watching
My Teacher Joseph R has baptised me with Overtones I am so thankful , am sure I have saved a lot of time and frustration, always a struggle but with Summer weather coming I ll be out on the Bridges soon :) Blowing up a Storm!!!!(of Overtones),Thank you Jay and Ben.
Thanks, Jay! I love Ben's playing. John.
"Fingerings are Really Not Super Important" xD That´s what i like to here^^
Hi Jay, concerning altissimo, you should check out Babtiste Herbin from France, he's on youtube and instagram.
Cool. Been working on this stuff a long time. Looking forward to finding out some new things and seeing what I can improve. Been working on a Bach music video. Great for tone exercises. Anyways, thanks for sharing your experiences.
Thanks!
Any coupon codes for your viewers? I'll purchase the book either way.
Does anyone else get ‘autism’ instead of ‘altissimo’ in the transcript? See 4min. 😁
He's shredding those altissimo notes so fast, looks like it gave him 2nd degree burns on his hands.. they really red.
Outstanding! Thanks for bringing Ben! What a great saxophone player!
Thanks
This was very interesting especially the "voicing" info!
Best of all!
Many similarities to high notes on the French horn here, except the physical effort required on sax is much less.
5:16
Loved it hahahahhhaha
The best haircut award? Oh boy, that's so funny! lol
you just play up and down , you dont show people the finger chart how to play the high A or high B and so on , i watched but i dont learn anything .
Teenage me first encountered altissimo from the music of Jr. Walker. I had just switched from Alto to Tenor but I couldn't figure out what the the notes were that Jr. was playing. I wanted to play Shotgun but how the hell was Jr getting those notes? Fast forward to the 21st century me. I'm ok venturing into some altissimo but need to refine what I'm doing. Oh if I could only get a consistent altissimo G. Ben's book looks like a worthy investment. Thanks Jay for presenting it to us and thanks Ben for writing this book.
Thank you Jay to bring us again. You ROCK!
bro that guys literally more of a robot than mark zuckerberg, just look at his eyes
When I started learning altissimo I made almost no progress with the low note overtones. I got really frustrated and skipped ahead just to see what would happen and suddenly I could play altissimo. I still practice overtones. I still suck at them. I can play altissimo relatively well.
Great video Jay! So cool you got to have this discussion with one of the greatest living saxophonists! His insight into the top of the horn is very important to have here on TH-cam.
Agreed!
@@bettersax I keep watching the part where he holds an A and moves his fingers around and the note stays the same... tried to do that and it is not as easy as he makes it look! 😅
I have played that Bach piece on my flute - amazing to hear it played on a tenor saxophone. Wow!!
I love your channel and I also really love saxologic so you guys should try to collaborate if you haven't or more if you have.
A great video, as usual. But I have chosen the tenor for a reason. If I had liked the altissimo sound I would have chosen a soprano. I haven’t.
How can this book be converted from music sheet to tonic solfa notation
Is this for just Tenor or does it work for alto players also?
The exercises and techniques are both for alto and tenor, but Ben's book only refers to tenor fingerings. Jay has a great pdf with fingerings for Alto and Tenor... check this out: @t
@@eduardopizarro1961 Thank you for the response, I appreciate it 🙏🏽
Soo when it comes to the likes of Evan Parker ...?
No one can beat Marc Russo. Not even the Altissimo nerd.
Would still love to learn the altissimo range for the options, but finally recorded myself playing alto sax along with my brass instruments to realize that I personally prefer the low end of a bari sax, lol
I really love the music in the intro! what was it?
Love your channel so much Jay, thanks for sharing all this amazing content!
Thanks Jasmine
For alto players, Baptiste Herbin plays amazing altissimo, actual bebop phrases in the stratosphere. 😂 Of course David Sanborn was the original top tones cat. Speaking of which, is Ben’s book kind of a more accessible Top Tones for Saxophone, the great Sigurd Rascher book?
Yes
All this applies very much to the clarinets. I am always amazed how much overlap in technique there is with the cone clarinets from the crazy Belgian.
Ben Wendel and Mark Turner have some of the most beautiful altissimo.
To me, he’s still pitchy, and that’s more important than the rest.
Great Info Jay.... Thanks to Ben.... Incredible
Best teacher out there, Jay!!! Thanks for your work! 🙏😃🚀
Thanks
incredible stuff as usual, Thanks a ton both!
Great Stuff! Thanks!
Just as I'm struggling with the altissimo Eb in the Mario Kart Dolphin Shoals solo (yes I'm a bit slow), you put out this video... Perfect. Thanks!
Overblow the altissimo Bb for the 4th above.
@@MyRackley yes, I’ve used that, but the overblown Bb is more in tune on my sax.
@@Osnosis Thanks. I'll try that. Actually succeeded once with an overblown Bb, but I can probably find a better Bb to try on.
@@MyRackley Thanks. I've tried this one, and not sure if it's me or my saxophone, but I'm not even close to overblowing the C#. I probably need to practice more overtones.
@@MyRackley Cool. Don't have a F# key, but will try the other ones. Thanks
Great class! thanks for that Jay and Ben 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Looking at his hands, does he have Raynauds?
I swear your last 2 videos have been perfect timing for me ! I was wondering whats the differences in mouthpieces: BOOM! video on mouthpiece variations
next I wanted to improve my altissimo: BOOM altissimo video!
Keep it up Jay
Haha what should I do next?
So overtones = alternate fingering in upper reg?
Excellent video. Thanks Jay
Hiii
18:40 21:40 tantalizingly, almost, the licc
Thank you very much for this
i'm about to embark on this journey
Everything you have suggested both equipment & technique wise have been 100% spot on-from getting my Jean Paul Tenor, Boston sax reeds, reed geek tool, practice and tuning apps-to long tone/overtone practice and focusing on my tone rather than “notieness” jamming (which really helped me develop a better overall sound)-and even more I haven’t mentioned... ps
I just hit my first high F# two days ago-perfect timing for this book-ordered the hard copy-making some great progress and this will be a great guide to further my range!-Again Thanks for all of the help!...🤙🏽 🎷
You’re welcome!
I'm not bluffing, but I'm really happy today as I started my alto sax journey six months ago and by thinking the same way as Ben Wendel (the altissimo is part of the horn nature), I begun practicing altissimo a month ago and today I was able to blow the high altissimo G twice (G4). I played it on my cheap '95 Selmer Bundy II, Yamaha A5 mouthpiece and a 2.5 Vandoren Green Box-Reed. I been familiar with playing music, but always with strings (guitars and basses) so I know a little bit of what I'm dealing with. I have to agree also with Ben: The higher you go with your notes, the narrow the window becomes related with getting the note you want, but I also know it's a natural thing when you find them. Make a memory on your mind and keep on practicing. More sooner than later you'll find yourself playing these notes easier, but it doesn't show up without compromise and dedication. Thanks Jay.
Congrats on your progress
Is the book beginner friendly?
I’ve been told that Altissimo is much easier on tenor opposed to learning on Alto?
myth
Ben's lower lip is red from pressure on the mp
Hello. I am a classical alto saxophone player who has been playing for a couple of years and I have discovered a piece that requires the "Slap Tongue" technique. Could you make a video on this topic or respond to this comment? Thank you for producing such helpful material! 😀🎷
Check @beatboxsax for lessons on slap tongue.
Thank you so much for the video Jay. I really like that you get lots of super great musicians to speak about their life work - playing saxophone. Very nice work.
Big fan of Ben - amazing player. I will get the book - very nice tip.
Great inspiration.
my bane! but then again, practice practice practice...