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Altissimo Fingerings for Tenor Sa ophone

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To search, type and hit enter By KEVIN DANENBERG | Published: SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

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I ve been interested in the altissimo register since high school when I first heard Tower of Power recordings featuring Lenny Pickett. There are so many sources of information out there for people who want to learn to play altissimo (see below for a few useful links). In this post, I want to share the set of fingerings that I ve found most useful in my own tenor playing. I favor fingerings that work well together to facilitate melodic lines. Some of these aren t the best available options in terms of intonation or tone, but sometimes the better sounding fingering is a bit awkward within a passage. Given this philosophy, here are the altissimo fingerings I use. Try them out in a melodic context so you can see how they flow together. Also, if you are new to altissimo, please learn the fundamentals of overtone production first before jumping into fingering charts. You shouldn t have to bite or strain to do any of this. Sigurd Raschr s book is where I started.

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It s a little unclear, but the palm keys indicated in the charts, from left to right, are D, Eb, and F. Notation is as written for saxophone. Note names are in reference to saxophone range (ie. F3 is the third F from the lowest available note).

M Sites

F3

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This note sounds a little dodgy, but in passing this a nice alternate fingering to the standard palm high F and front F fingerings. Works well chromatically through G#3.

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F#3

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A nice alternate to front F. Easy transition between alternate G3 below.

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I usually use front F, but the alternate fingering facilitates some passages.

#3

A3

In passing, I just play left hand 2 and 3 (A and G keys). Adding the pinky G# key raises the pitch and adds pop. You might like to add right hand 123 (F, E, and D keys) instead.
SOURC ES: Sigurd M. Rasch r. Alternate, Lenny Pickett.

A#4

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Left hand 3 (G ke ) is optional here, but I find that it adds pop, and it often minimi es finger motion in lines.

#4

As with C4, left hand 3 is optional.

I mostl use the front F. The alternate fingering pops

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a little better, and flows in sequence with A#4 through C#4. However, using front F resets hand position nicel to get at D#4.
SOURC E: Alternate, Lenn Pickett.

our

#4

D#4 through F#4 are simpl repeated, overblown b a fourth.

A#4 through C#4

D#4 through F#4 are simpl repeated, overblown b a fourth.

A#4 through C#4

D#4 through F#4 are simpl repeated, overblown b a fourth.

A#4 through C#4

#4

D#4 through F#4 are simpl

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A#4 through C#4

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Altissimo Fingerings for Tenor Sa ophone

repeated, overblown by a fourth.

For me, this is the highest note to easily pop out.

SOURC E: Sigurd M. Rasch r.

#4

I find this fingering to be a little muted.

SOURC E: Lenny Pickett.

A4

SOURC E: Sigurd M. Rasch r.

A#5

Try arpeggiating up to these at first.

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Altissimo Fingerings for Tenor Sa ophone

SOURC E: Norbert Stachel

Try arpeggiating up to these at first.

SOURC E: Norbert Stachel

Try arpeggiating up to these at first.

SOURC E: Norbert Stachel

#5
None

I haven t worked out a decent way to get at this note yet. If you have any suggestions, please share!

This is a harmonic of low Bb flat that just come out.

ants to

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So rces & Reso rces

I created the fingering diagrams using Bret Pimentel s wonderful Fingering diagram builder Thanks, Bret! software Music notation created with Sibelius Octave Range

A lot of these fingerings came from Top-Tones from the Saxophone: Fourby Sigurd M. Raschr. I highly recommend this book. Work through all the overtone e ercises. The are critical for developing altissimo technique! Another great book is Larry Teal s The Art of Saxophone Playing , with many alternate fingerings up through F4. The reed adjustment chart within is priceless! These Saxophone Fingering Charts and find what works best for you. The University of New South Wales has a detailed site about Saxophone Acoustics . It s worth learning about acoustic impedance and studying their database profiling acoustic response Thanks to Norbert Stachel well into the altissimo range. for his expert mouthpiece refacing work and advice are ridiculously thorough. Go through them

that has really helped with my altissimo. I d love to hear your comments and suggestions!

This entry was posted in Sa ophone, Uncategori ed and tagged altissimo, fingering chart, Lenn Pickett, Norbert Stachel, Sigurd Rascher, tenor, top tones. Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

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