Altissimo G can be a little troublesome. Something that's worked for me on my alto is to just modify my embouchre while playing high B. A simple fingering, and it pops out in tune. I'm no altissimo afficionado, however.

I use altissimo a lot in solos. I try to shape my altissimo register to Lenny Pickett. I used to only play alto, and I listened to his playing and other tenors so much my alto started sounding like a tenor. But back to the subject, what sax maniac said works a lot for me. ( the B fingering) I have a few other good ones, but I do my altissimo on a king super 20, and none of the fingerings seem to work on any other saxes very well. One that works on my yamaha best is a jam fingering, but on some others it comes out f#. Put down the front f, middle c, Bb side key, and the f# alternate. It works well for me because of patterns and fingerings I use related to it. It might seem strange for other people. A good way to train yourself for it, is to get someone to play your G on the piano, and then you play it. You'll find that your ear kind of picks it up on its own and it pulls it out of your horn.

I've found that altissimo note fingerings vary a bit from horn to horn. The most common fingering that works for me is 1-3-4-6 side Bb. Hope you get it soon! :) Christie J

Absolutely, SPP... Each horn may need a little different fingering to get the same note in tune. I was playing at a graduation ceremony recently, and before things got officially rolling, it got pretty rowdy in the auditorium. I was tone-matching (with altissimo) the occasional air-horn blast coming from the crowd. I had no idea what note it was as I don't have perfect pitch, but I was able to match it dead-on. Not to say I could do it right now if I had money on the table, but it made me think about how altissimo is about hearing the note before you play it - like singing.

Altissimo is very doable on soprano, but it tricky of course. If your soprano has a high G key, then the fingering is the same as playing the high F# with the high F# key, except you use the G key instead (the three left hand palm keys with the high G key located above the high F# key for the right hand). However, I often end up using the altissimo fingering for high G mentione above (1-3 1-3 and side Bb), because it's easier to continue to other altissimo notes from there (all with the octave key of course) : for G# (1-3 1-3 and side C), For A (the left hand G key only), for Bb (same as high A with the D left hand palm key), etc. This works well on my Yani 992 anyway. Your results may vary of course. Whatever you do, try not to bite to get them out and don't bother with it if you can't play up there musically. There are many great sax players of the past that found plenty to create with using just the normal range of the instrument. Playing musically always sounds better than trying to blow people away with technique (even if you have it to show off). Have FUN playing!

For soprano altissimo you need a good strong reed, possibly a four. For altissimo G the fingering i use is left index and ring finger and then right index finger, the side Bb and the low Eb key. Hope this helps!

I know what you are talking about... If you have a very nice and new sopranio, it might have the high G key. It would be the one above the high F# key. PLay like you are playing a high F# on your alto but add the key about the high F# key. Hope that helps.

I completely disagree with the statement that you need a really hard reed to play altissimo. This is not a good idea at all and will only serve cause you to hurt yourself. Use the same strength of reed you use for all your playing. Most altissimo playing is tongue position and if anything, backing off with the lower teeth. Don't bite. Again, it's more important to be musical than to try to show how high you can play. Whatever you do, don't let it bleed (your ears or your lower lip). Have fun!

Here is my two cents worth: not all altissimo fingerings are created equally. They change from brand to brand and player to player. Just breakdown and get (if you don't alredy have these). The Art of Saxophone Playing my Larry Teal and Top Tones for the Saxophone by Siguard Rascher (I think thats the title It might be Studies in the Altissimo Register). Each one of those has a pretty extensive list of fingerings for each note all the way up to f above high f. It is possble to go to c above that; I use to be able to do it. Actually I did it to improve my lower altissmio range. But, geez when you get up there then there are no rules sometimes you just have to "woodshed" until you come up with a fingering that works for you. You can Scream around on soprano and sopranino too. Why should the piccolo players have all the fun:). Good Luck and as jazzax said "don't let it bleed" (good advice by the way)