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Home Alt Forums Altissimo Course Hitting An Overtone Wall

Viewing 10 posts - 11 through 20 (of 40 total)
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  • #34193
    Dazza
    Participant

      Yes please sxpoet. You speak in such detail and with a lot of knowledge about this topic. Would love to hear some audio on it through your new mic!

      #56364
      JD Smith
      Participant

        I too, have hit that brick wall. I try for 5 or 10 minutes, get aggravated and quit. Been trying for two weeks. Looked at the course videos again and again, just cannot figure out the tongue, throat, lip combination. Tried all the vowels as suggested here. I guess I’ll come back to it in a couple of months! Didn’t want to pay money to get this aggravated!

        #56395
        john
        Keymaster

          work just on the low Bb. you need to play this low note with the “wrong” embouchure. something needs to be different with the way you approach it until you break thru and actually play an overtone.
          also, can you play a middle Bb while doing the low Bb fingering?

          #56396
          JD Smith
          Participant

            That’s what I have been doing. Just the low Bb. I can consistently play the low Bb and then the first overtone and switch between the two with just embouchure adjustment. I cannot hit the third nor forth but maybe 1 time out of 10. Trying my very best to remember what I do. It’s just not “jelling” in my brain!

            #56414
            john
            Keymaster

              ok that’s pretty good.
              you’re getting a couple overtones I thought you weren’t able to get any.
              it’s more trial and error then.
              what is your mouthpiece and reed setup?

              #56415
              JD Smith
              Participant

                I amd using my “practice horn”, not my Selmer MK VI. It is a newly overhauled Buescher Tru-Tone C-Melody sax with a 1960s Brillhardt Level-Air mouthpiece withe a #3 Van Doren Reed. The horn plays perfectly, all notes up and down without ANY problems. I figured it I could master this on that horn it would be a breeze on the Tenor MK VI.

                #61391
                JD Smith
                Participant

                  Well, I have basically GIVEN UP on playing altissimo. Just can not figure it out. I will just pick up the Alto when I need to play higher notes!
                  Never got past the Overtones section of the JF course…. 🙁 I’m sure this is not the first time or the last time I waste money!

                  #61402
                  Pete
                  Participant

                    JD
                    You can survive without altissimo.

                    #61403
                    JD Smith
                    Participant

                      Yep, I have for 50 years. I guess it’s true about what they say about teaching and old dog new tricks!

                      #61415
                      john
                      Keymaster

                        what most sax students don’t understand about being able to control and play the altissimo range is that it’s not just about being able to play the altissimo range…
                        the journey of months that it takes to master those specific exercises and techniques is that by the time you discover that you can hit all those higher notes something else has happened along the way… you sound much better. you play in tune, and you’re in more control of your entire horn.

                        one of my pro sax player buddies was telling me about when he was younger and studying with his teacher, he would always bug him to teach him the altissimo range but the teacher said no, just do the exercises I’m giving you (long tones, overtones etc)
                        further into his studies his teacher showed him some altissimo fingerings and he instantly was playing up there. he WAS studying altissimo without even knowing it.
                        so anyway, we certainly don’t need to play up there but don’t underestimate the value of those altissimo exercises, they make us better all-round sax players.

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