Altisimo G

[brother cavefish]

thanks Mike, i play by ear, and i just started back on the sax after 20 years, every one has their own style, i don’t ry to be like any one particular player, i like the song i learn it, if the style is in my area of taste, , i just need to find my right combination to hit the notes i need to express the particular sound, right now that is the altissimo G, you guys have been very helpful,

[jak Swift]

That’s a good point Michael made about many players not wanting to venture into altissimo. Its been noted Dexter Gordon specifically chose his tunes to fit around the mid range of tenorsax. Stan Getz, Charlie Rousse, Zoot and many more rarely used the ” extreme ie.lowest \ highest notes “, though Getz was fond of the occasional honk but for effect, rather than part of a pattern.
My opinion , is these guys were pre R & R. They opened doors re melodic \ harmonic construction. That stuff is priceless. Time moves on as does style. The screaming altissimo was just the next progression. I don’t know what I’d do without it BC. A whole octave and more ( chromatic also ). Keep at it Brother, if you want it bad enough its coming man !!

[brother cavefish]

i don’t care for screaming highs myself, just enough to get the job done, stan getz, and slow moody blues, in a sentimental mood, ipanema, this masquerade , misty, etc this i my idea of cool, if i feel frisky, then little richard old style

[Pete]

BC
Agree with you on that, altissimo ok occasionally but not my goal,
as you say Stan Getz or some slow bluesy stuff is the way to go for me,
do like a lot of r/b as well. Nothing worse than a player doing (or trying)
altissimo and it just sounds unbearable on the ears.

[jak Swift]

I totally respect your opinion guys, your choice of playing styles etc. Altissimo is tough, that first G , Brother….the hardest !! Its not going to happen overnight. Don’t give up man, even if you only put one hour a week aside, it will come. Better still , your asking questions, you want to do it , you can do it but by the sound of it you need Johnny’s help badly. I mean all of this with total respect…its a R & R site, essentially….be one of the guys who can !! Good luck….☺

[jak Swift]

Its a lot easier to play an altissimo octave, than to sound like Stan !!

[jak Swift]

Again, with all respect, good constructive practice is taking you out of your ” comfort zone “. Altissimo or not, whether you have a half hour or all week, a combination of working on your weak spots, and getting down with your favourite tunes, in my opinion is the way to go…
Great day guys….jak ☺

[brother cavefish]

yea i will get it soon enough, just need the right fingering for my airflow and mouth position, , i usually find these by accident anyways, as far as sounding like stan getz, i don’t really have that mindset, , i just like the pace and the song , the slow dragging, laziness of the notes, no push just expression, , its like “talking” with the sax not screaming

[jak Swift]

Yeah, that’s not a bad analogy Brother.
So , for now I’m gonna finish this with my thoughts on altissimo. It starts with the ” Latin Screamer “…. The late Gato Baberi ( sic ? ). For many years I thought he was an insanely talented player, but his tone put me right off. I found it thin, even irritating. Theses days I’d rate ” Bolivia ” as on of my favourite albums.
Gatos alt was off the scale, incredible. He used very soft reeds, and not a huge tip opening. Try it !! You will get a thin sound, unwanted vibrato due to the reed strength ( 1 \ 1.5 ). Can you see where this is going ??
DIAPHRAGM CONTROL. I’ve been really into altissimo these last few weeks, and that is exactly what it comes back to every time. For a while, I’ve put my usual Otto Link #8 aside, with the harder bari reeds. For altissimo, I’m using my Berg 95\1, and a soft* bari reed. For the first day I was horrified. So thin, erratic, intonation issues. None of it is to do with the horns or mpcs; its all down to that push from the pelvic floor and maintaining a steady airflow …THROUGH NOT INTO THE HORN. The vibrato settled, an easy blow, and yeah that first octave is pretty much sorted. Sorry to go on, I’m just enthusiastic. Give Gato a listen, hopefully what I’ve said will make sense.
# DIAPHRAGM… # WARM AIR…..# CONSTANT & STEADY AIRFLOW !!
Once you get that G guys, its not as daunting as you would imagine, in fact in my opinion, the higher, the easier. Keep at it BC….Little by little, follow Johnny’s course…Man, you’ll be the new Lenny Picket before you know it….☺

[brother cavefish]

well i got it, it was easy, i just needed the fingering , octave key, b, lowest right side key and f# key, —-found G# and a altissimo too,

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