solo to the song tequila

[Michael Bishop]

Awesome Frank! It would be cool to see you post a video of your playing here on the Member’s videos when you’re doing learning it. Just like you said, gotta love this site for sure; Johnny has taught us all so many things. I haven’t driven my wife crazy…..yet. But sometimes I wonder if I’ve pushed the limits LOL I am working on a few things for her; you know the smooth kinds of songs where we don’t play past high F# LOL

[Anonymous]

@Michael – i must have over a 1000 songs for Alto Sax that i have bought in various song books, and
none of them go above High F#!

In fact the the only sheet music with altissimo in it is what i bought from Johnny’s web site – which is quite sad reslly!

Seems to me it’s mainly for soloing? and improvising? Which
i can’t do properly yet! Still got
a long way to go for me! lol

[Michael Bishop]

There’s certainly a time to use Altissimo notes in your playing, and there’s a time not to use them. As you have seen with Johnny’s help/instruction I’m playing freely–at will–in the Altissimo range (Johnny’s Altissimo course, help, constructive criticism is the ONLY reason why I’m playing up there, I wouldn’t have a clue how to play up there without his instruction). I hit Altissimo G in the 5th Octave twice in the Green Onions and I can hit notes, freely with full control, that are higher than that..but rarely is it necessary. So now, I promised my wife that I was going to do some stuff for her that she’s been wanting me to do like “Moondance” “Just the Two Of Us” “Takin’ it To the Streets” I most certainly still have music of Johnny’s that will be uploaded soon like “What Does It Take”. I’m also working on an Improvised Saxophone Instrumental with a backing track of Piano Boogie Woogie from the 1960s…GOOD stuff 🙂 It’s perfect for to use to apply Johnny’s lessons in Killer Blues!
I know with the song of “Takin’ It To The Streets” what key to play it in, so I know what Blues Scale to use to transpose the solo by ear; good for ear training too; seems to be pretty simple as Johnny as already commented on it when I shared it in “Share a Saxophone Video” Funny thing is, I had to remind my wife that in a couple of her requests, there’s a few Altissimo notes in the solos and she’s like “Oh, I didn’t know that” LOL 🙂 There’s a song that she REALLY loves that I’m working on right now and I’ll have done soon. I decided to turn it into an Alto/Tenor Duet. It’s a perfect example of a great song with a great solo with no Altissimo in it: It’s a song from the 1980’s called “True” by a group called Spandau Ballet, I posted a link to the solo below. Notice how he’s using a hard rubber MP in the solo. All of this Saxophone playing is keeping my VERY busy these days…..but you won’t hear me complaining about it, way too much fun 🙂

[Anonymous]

Thats awesome for you Michael! i’m sure there are other members on here that can play some of the altissimo range (myself included) probably into the 6th octave etc.

I was just stating a fact in my case that i have only a couple of
song sheets that have altissimo in it – no one seems to write sheet
music with altissimo notes in it for the alto sax. Thats why i get the
feeling it must be more a case of using it in improvising?

As i can’t improvise on the atlo sax like you can, i rarely play in the
altssimo range as for me it doesn’t fit in with the song sheet backing
tracks i have.

I’m not having a go at you! i’m just stating a fact that i have had little or no opportunity to use it all – and wish more song sheets would
include altissimo. The only song sheet i know of with altissimo in it
is hey jude by the beatles, and some of Johnny’s sheets!

Constructive criticism is what i hope i give out, whether or not it is
recieved in that way is another matter! But i am pleased for you that you
can hit those high notes – look forward to hearing more of your playing! lol 🎷

[Michael Bishop]

LOL no worries JB, constructive criticism is always most welcomed, that’s how we all grow. Glad to hear you’re hitting some of those high notes too! That’s great news for sure. I’m sure there are other Members who can play those really high notes too, I was just sharing my own personal experience. Really glad you love playing the Alto Saxophone too. Some of the best Saxophone music ever made was/is on the Alto. When I got my new Saxophones, my first choice was the Alto…the Tenor was NOT in the original plans. My wife helped make that happen as I’m very happy with my Selmer Bundy and will still pull it out and upload with it from time-to-time. You may remember the article below that Johnny posted in the blog sometime back about the Alto Sax. I’ve been told by a few that I wasted my $ on a pro-model Alto Sax, wonder what a player like Earl Bostic would say to something like that.
If you see sheet music that has some Altissimo notes in it, don’t let that hold you back. You can always scale down and play the same note in a lower Octave. As an example, look at the video I posted about as I’m working on that song right now, it’s all in the normal range of the Saxophone. Take a close look at his MP/reed combo, he’s even using one of those really cheap stainless steel ligatures! Some of the best music out there doesn’t have any Altissimo in it at all.

Alto Sax Sheet Music

[Anonymous]

Thanks Michael

[Author]

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